Making the decision to execute your first direct mail campaign can lend itself to a variety of emotions. Near the top of the list are likely confusion and excitement. Fortunately, the confusion that comes with being tasked with executing a direct mail campaign can be cleared up by knowing what the most successful direct mail campaigns consist of.
After getting an idea of what it takes to make your direct mail campaign successful, you’ll have the confidence necessary to make direct mail a mainstay of your marketing toolkit. For more insights about what you should and shouldn’t do when it comes to your next direct mail campaign, continue reading below.
Do’s of Successful Direct Mail Campaigns:
Learning the steps that the most successful direct mail marketers use to execute their mailing campaigns is beneficial for numerous reasons. First, is that it’ll make it easier to avoid making the same mistakes most direct mail marketers make when executing their first direct mail campaign.
That can go a long way in helping you reduce your expenses, while connecting with your target audience. Some of the most important things to remember while executing your direct mail campaign include:
- Address Verification
One of the most crucial functions for both reducing costs and making sure your message reaches the right hands is address verification. Address verification is essential in helping you save money on costs associated with direct mail because of how it helps reduce costs on postage and materials.
By having a mechanism in place for real-time address verification you can validate addresses prior to sending any mail. Without verifying addresses, you could be sending mail to addresses to vacant homes, which is a waste of your money.
- Personalize Your Direct Mail
Personalization is one of the most crucial aspects of connecting with your target audience. By making your direct mail campaigns personalized towards your prospect, you have a better chance at getting the response you’re hoping for. The impact of personalized marketing messages can’t be overstated.
In fact, 72% of consumers exclusively engage with messages that are personalized. By personalizing your marketing outreach you’ll stand out to your core audience, while increasing your odds of getting the response you want.
- Track Sends to Verify Delivery
Tracking the status of the direct mailers you send to prospects has the potential to reveal numerous important insights that can help you conduct future direct mail campaigns. By tracking the status of your mail from the moment it departs en route to the mailboxes of your prospects, you can compare delivery times to response times. This could be instrumental in helping you plan a mailing cadence that best suits your audience.
That’s the case because tracking allows you to see when your mailer was delivered. Not having that information makes it more difficult for you to know when you should send your next mailer. Additionally, without the ability to track the status of your direct mailers, it’s difficult to determine what type of overall impact they’re having on your bottom line.
- Make Use of Triggers and Variable Fields
Direct mail campaigns that are constructed using automation allow users to seamlessly send mail to prospects. Instead of sending mail manually to prospects that might be interested in your message, automation allows for your mailers to be sent to prospects based on triggers. When using automation for your direct mail campaign, prospects will receive your mail whenever they complete a certain action, or a series of tasks.
This increases the odds of sending mail only to prospects that are likely to take action upon receiving it. Additionally, programs used for automating direct mail campaigns also make personalization simple with the use of variable fields. These are essential in helping to make your marketing messaging more personal.
Don’ts of Successful Direct Mail Campaigns:
Knowing what not to do when constructing your first direct mail campaign is equally as important as knowing what you should do. If you’re unaware of what mistakes you should avoid, the likelihood of making them increases.
This could negatively impact both the performance of your direct mail campaign while increasing your expenses. Some of the most common mistakes you should try to avoid when it comes to direct mail campaigns include:
- Using Inaccurate or Outdated Data
The worst case scenario for your direct mail efforts is to spend hard-earned money getting your message into mailboxes, just for them to sit there unread. Fortunately this scenario can be easily avoided by ensuring that the information you have regarding your prospects has been verified for accuracy prior to sending your mail. It goes without saying that combing through every bit of data you’ve collected over the years can be time consuming.
That’s why Direct Mail Manager automatically sorts through your data to verify addresses and correct errors that could impact deliverability. All you have to do is import the list, and let Direct Mail Manager do the rest.
- Using Generic Phrases or Wording
Like we touched on earlier, marketers see the most success with direct mail when the messaging you use in your campaigns is personalized. Taking that into mind, you should refrain from using placeholder terms like “resident” or “to whom this may concern”.
Another tip you should keep in mind is to avoid using wording that is too technical or industry-specific. Ideally, you should try to use a friendly, conversational tone that clearly states what action you want the recipient to take.
- Relying on Manual Labor for Every Task Related to Your Direct Mail Campaign
Another common mistake people make when it comes to their direct mail campaigns is thinking they have to do everything by hand. By automating tasks related to direct mail campaigns, you reduce the time it takes to complete tasks associated with it.
Automating tasks associated with your direct mail campaigns also means you’ll avoid making typos and other kinds of costly mistakes. Ensuring that your direct mail is free of errors is essential in making sure that it reaches its destination in a timely manner. The best way of doing that is by using Direct Mail Manager to automate tasks related to your direct mail campaign.
Automate Your Next Direct Mail Campaign with Direct Mail Manager
Conducting a successful direct mail campaign is likely easier than you think. That’s especially true when deciding to automate your direct mail campaign. Automating your next direct mail campaign using Direct Mail Manager has the potential to make a bigger impact on your marketing efforts than you can imagine.
From mail tracking, to a variety of easy-to-use CRM integrations, Direct Mail Manager offers numerous features that could help take your marketing efforts to new heights. If you’re ready to discuss how Direct Mail Manager can help you reinvent your marketing strategy, schedule a demo with us today!
