Mail call! You may recall that one of the hot topics of Canada’s most recent federal election was door-to-door mail delivery. Despite the increasing number of businesses going paperless, your customers are still invigorated by snail mail.
You sort through your own mail every day, you’ve seen that those big businesses still include postcards and flyers as part of their overall marketing plan – because it works! And now that so many bills and notices are sent via email, your direct mail campaign has a better-than-ever chance of being seen. How do you get your direct mail campaign to stay on the counter and avoid recycle? Here are our top tips for a stellar direct mail campaign strategy.
Be Hard to Ignore.
Direct mail is harder to ignore than email because you can’t do away with it in one fell click. You have to pick that sucker up and actually use your brain to walk over to the blue bin in order to dispose of it. Since it’s 
going to take that much effort, and also because every once in a while there’s a special something stuck between the flyers and postcards, you take a careful moment to read the large print on everything that makes its way into your mailbox. You’re not alone. Take the design aspects that work from your social media advertising and apply that to your direct mail pieces, paying particular attention to the first thing the potential client’s eyes will land on.
Study the competition.
In this case, your competition is other direct mail campaigns from a variety of businesses rather than your fellow industry professionals. Take note of commonly used colours, sizes, paper type, and the offers themselves. Play around and choose a look and feel that is easy to get a hold of, quick to offer something worth stopping to read and analyze why something works and equally when something doesn’t work.
Get Personal.
If you have a mailing list, use it! Send out personalized invitations to your anniversary sale or jump on the birthday coupon bandwagon. This is particularly tempting if you’re mailing out a catalogue or multi-page flyer. Adding a name will buy you a few more seconds with your customer.
Make an offer they can’t refuse. Yes, you want to make your brand memorable and your logo highly visible in case your direct mail pieces land in recycling immediately, but for customers who dare to read on, you want to make that offer worth their while. Make it easy to understand, and simple to accomplish. If customers have to “mention this ad” they likely won’t, and that coupon is easily misplaced. Reward the customer for reading by coming into your shop on the day of your sale and offering the BOGO or free cake as advertised without any additional hurdles.
Direct mail is more costly than online marketing which is why it’s a great idea to hire professional marketers and designers to help make your campaign a success. Contact Jelly Triangle for custom graphics and photography, as well as marketing copy and individual piece design! Call us at 519-624-8888 to get started.
