The holiday season is one of the busiest times of year for marketers. I can’t promise you that the craziness has passed with Black Friday and Cyber Monday; however, there is an upside to that! This festive season still has many marketing opportunities coming up. Spending increases during the holiday season, and it is important to make sure that your business is ready to take advantage of the holiday marketing boom. Prepare your direct mail marketing for the next holiday rush with this checklist. By following these guidelines, your direct mail marketing results will have you cheering with joy.
Proofread
There’s nothing worse than realizing that you have sent your direct mail copy to the printer, or that you have mailed it out with a typo in it. No one can afford to send out a flawed direct mail campaign during the most important shopping season of the year! Sometimes it is hard to see your own typos, so before sending your campaign, make sure a different person reads the copy for you to make sure there aren’t any mistakes.
Make it Personal
Show your customers that you understand their needs this year by tailoring the direct mail piece to them personally. You can put the recipient’s full name in the direct mail’s send-to address instead of “Current Resident”, and/or use their name in the direct mail piece’s headline. You can also tailor your copy to recommend products or services based on the recipient’s previous purchases. Since mailing lists can be highly targeted, personalizing your direct mail to make your recipients feel special this holiday is easier than ever.
Clear CTA
This is a must. If you do not have a clear call-to-action, you are missing out on a critical step in the direct mail marketing process. The CTA prompts your reader to take an action and respond to your offer. People usually skim or skip through pieces, so make sure the CTA is easy to find, or your recipients might not know what to do next. After you have explained what the offer is in the direct mail piece, you have to encourage them to take action and tell them how do so.
Holiday Design
Help your direct mail recipients get into the holiday spirit with your direct mail piece’s design. Having an eye-catching design will make your piece stand out and increase its chances of being read. This can be as simple as using holiday colors and/or images in your direct mail creative. These elements can set the festive mood of your direct mail piece. Consider hiring a graphic designer if you do not have designing experience or an in-house designer. Give your direct mail creative the attention it deserves, because recipients won’t give it much attention if it looks bad.
The holiday season can be very stressful for marketers, but just take a deep breath and hang in there! Even if people do not respond immediately to your holiday direct mail campaign, it is important to look at it as an investment. Promoting with direct mail before and after the major holidays ensures that your business will be remembered by customers when they are ready to buy. Follow this checklist and you are bound to have an awesome direct mail campaign for the next holiday and beyond. If you need extra help with direct mail marketing, US Data Corporation would be happy to help. Contact us today to get your holiday direct mail campaign going at (888) 578-3282.