Running a direct mail campaign can often yield great results and help you build a well-rounded marketing strategy for your company. Even in this digital age, direct mail campaigns shouldn’t be ignored. When done right, you’ll be able to put your products and services in the front of your customers’ minds and draw in more business. If you’re planning on running your own campaign sometime soon, consider these dos and don’ts of direct mail.

Do:

Find a Targeted List

In order to run any marketing campaign, you need to know your target audience. You can work with a data company to build the right list for your campaign and they will help you figure out who you want to target.  An article for Nolo explains this best by stating, “A solid definition of your target customer serves as a foundation for all your marketing activities. The more carefully you’ve defined your target market, the more likely your marketing efforts — even simple, low-cost methods — will bear fruit.” The more you know about your consumers, the better.

Consider Your Marketing Budget

Building an affordable direct mail campaign for your company isn’t a difficult thing to achieve, but you should take your marketing budget into account. Think about what you want your design to be. Are you sending pamphlets? Post cards? Newsletters? You also need to make sure you set aside room in your budget for a mailing list or if you need to hire any designers.  Consider all aspects of creating a marketing campaign.

Send Out Your Campaign ASAP

Once you secure your mailing list, you need to send out your campaign ASAP. In order to ensure that the data remains fresh, it’s important you send within a month or two of receiving your list. Keep in mind that people move and change addresses all the time, so lists need to be updated often. Make sure your campaign is ready to go!

Don’t:

Forget Your Call-to-Action

One of the most important parts of any direct mail piece is the call-to-action. Your call-to-action lets your recipients know what your offer or promotion is and prompts them to respond. If the call-to-action isn’t bold or relevant, your recipients will look right past it and not care about your direct mail piece. Don’t forget to include some sort of offer or information for your recipients, so they understand the point of your direct mail campaign. Make it clear!

Mail to Everyone

Don’t assume that sending your direct mail campaign to everyone will somehow yield better results. If you send your direct mail piece to people who aren’t interested in the first place, you’ll just be wasting your own time and money. Mass mailings rarely work better than targeted campaigns, so avoid mailing to a large untargeted group of people. Your direct mail campaign will not appeal to everyone.

Ignore Your Design

Recipients of your direct mail piece won’t give it any attention unless some thought was put into your design. Whether it’s something you design yourself, or you hire a designer to get the job done, make sure your direct mail campaign looks professional and fits the style and tone of your brand. Make sure you give the design of your piece the time and attention it needs.

Are you interested in running a direct mail campaign? Head over to our website to find the right mailing list for your company. Get started today!