How Direct Mail Marketing Works

How does direct mailing really work? Besides using mailing services for sending advertising mediums, what exactly are the steps and elements involved in making the whole thing work and succeed? If you are wondering about this and more then you are reading the right article. In this guide, I will teach you the different aspects of direct mailing from production to mailing services and how you can make it work for you.

Your direct mail medium:
The first step in direct mail marketing is the creation of the direct mail medium. This can be in the form of actual mail (with a letter and custom envelope) or it can be in other forms like color postcards, catalogs and brochures. Each medium has its advantages and disadvantages for a certain campaign. You should know the best tools for your own unique needs.

I recommend using color postcards for efficient advertising for direct mailing, while mailed in catalogs are best for purely sales objectives. Only use letters and custom envelopes for precision kinds of direct mail marketing.

Your target areas and target demographics:
The next element to consider is your target area or target demographics. You will need to collect addresses of the areas you want to cover. Moreover, for some campaigns, you might even want to target specific demographics. That is why you will need accurate market research and where your most ideal demographic targets live to get the best results for direct mail marketing.

There are two ways to get this information. You can either do your own research and basically determine the exact addresses and areas you will need for your mailing campaign, or you can just buy the information from market research companies. I recommend buying the information or commissioning for it since it is easier and better for the most part.

Your mailing services:
Afterward, you will need to determine the mailing service you want to use. While the postal service might be tempting, it should only be your last choice. It is best to hire mailing services that are faster and more accurate at certain areas. It might cost a bit more, but at least you can really gear up your mailing campaign with powerful distribution.

How they all come together:
So those are the three elements that help direct mail marketing work. The direct mail tool is your medium of course, the information on target area is your basic strategy of attack and your mailing services are your agents that enforce the campaign. If you pull this off well enough, you should reap the benefits of a direct mail marketing campaign that you will never regret.