How to Implement a Successful Direct Mail Marketing Campaign

The world of marketing is changing. First, businesses had to accommodate the World Wide Web in their marketing strategies with SEO, PPC, and search engine rankings transforming the way the promoted a business.

Then came social media marketing, and the balance shifted again. And most recently, Google?s algorithm updates have made marketers question everything they?ve learnt over the last few years. But there is one marketing strategy that we?ve been able to rely on since the very beginning.

Direct mail marketing remains to be one of the most successful campaigns marketers can implement. Everyone from b2b through to b2c companies can yield the results of promoting their business in this way. But if you?re new to marketing, or have always relied on the Internet to do your bidding, how can you get the best results?

Implementing a Winning Campaign

Putting in place a successful direct mail marketing campaign doesn?t have to be scary. Neither should it be seen as a prehistoric marketing method. Multinational companies the world over use direct mail to promote themselves amongst new and existing clients.

If you?ve found yourself penalised by penguin, direct mail marketing is the proverbial silver lining you?ve been looking for. With no risk of over-optimization penalties to contend with, you?re free to market your business in a comprehensive and far reaching way. Here are five tips on implementing a successful direct mail marketing campaign:

1. Keep it Personal

The beauty of direct mail ? as opposed to social media marketing ? is that you can tailor and personalise your messages. Not only can you send mail tailored to past purchases, gender, and age; but you can address each recipient by name.

In the age of the spam email and letter, we?re much more likely to open mail where we are named. This not only looks more ?genuine?, it also looks more professional. In the same way you would with email marketing, you can use software to make this easier.

2. Appeal to Emotions

Consumers are driven, more often than not, by their wants rather than their needs. There have been many occasions when our emotions have swayed our purchases. When you implement your direct mail campaigns, you should appeal to your consumers? emotions.

You?ll know what is most important to them, what their concerns are, and what they want and need from you. Tailor your campaigns to fit these, and appeal to your audience?s emotions. This is much more likely to result in a sale, than a straightforward ?Buy it Now?.

3. Branding

As well as personalising your post, ensuring it follows your corporate branding will help showcase your professionalism. You are recognisable to your clients by your company colour scheme, typography, logo, and strapline. Make sure to include all of these on any printed business literature to increase your open rate.

You should have already identified a ?voice? for your brand (i.e. what you want to say, and how you say it). Make sure that you keep this consistent across direct mail too. The best way to do this is to ensure the same person write the copy for all your marketing materials where possible.

4. Copy is Key

Speaking of the copy, content is still King in print. Sure, a well designed poster or eye-caching postcard will get your customers? attention. But it?s the copy that keeps them engaged. Bear in mind what makes your audience tick, what you want to say, and what your desired action is. You then need to craft this into killer copy.

Nail your headline, focus on the body copy, and craft an irresistible call-to-action. Appeal to the emotions of your reader, and tell them exactly why you?re the company they?ve been looking for. Writing winning sales copy doesn?t have to be hard, but it?s not something you should rush.

5. Make it Track-able

Many marketers shy away from direct mail marketing because they?re not sure how to track the results. With email marketing for instance, you can see how many people have opened your emails and how many have clicked on the links. You don?t have the luxury with direct mail marketing.

However, what you can do is create unique URL. Include this on your site, and track how many people visit via this address. If you don?t have great success, alter your campaign until you get it right. Direct mail is all about trial and error. And once you get it right, you?ll never look back.

By following these steps, and using some common sense, implementing a successful direct mail marketing campaign is easier than you may think. You?re able to quickly and efficiently reach out to your clients ? past and present ? and remind them exactly why you?re the company they should return to.

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This guest post has been written by print management company Charterprint.co.uk. Contact them today to see how bespoke envelopes, printed letterheads, and flyers can enhance your campaigns.??

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Photo Credit:?http://www.flickr.com/photos/vittoare/6575990397/

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Related posts:

1. Managing or Starting an Email Marketing List
2. What is Content Marketing? Interview with Joe Pulizzi

Source: http://www.rightmixmarketing.com/offline-marketing/direct-mail-marketing-campaign/

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