5 ways to give your direct marketing a boost

The pendulum has swung back to make direct marketing very effective. For a long time email has muscled in on the act and, as it’s free and instant, it’s been a very popular marketing tool. It still is, but direct marketing also works very well.

Give your direct marketing a makeover and get a much higher success rate.  Here are our top 5 tips:

1:  Start with a clear focus

What is the purpose of the campaign? In other words, what do you want people to think, feel and do as a result of receiving your direct mail? 

This may seem obvious, but it’s surprising how many pieces of direct mail go straight into the recycling bin, simply because the recipient can’t see the point of them.

2:  Less is more

OK, this is a cliché, but it’s true. Don’t clutter your direct mail material with lots of information all jammed together. 

You need an attention-grabbing headline and the essential information to persuade people to take action. When you’ve done your first draft, revisit it and see what can be deleted without diminishing your message. Your designer will find it much easier to create a compelling visual if your message is clear and not cluttered.

3:  Make your call to action stand out

If you want people to take action when they’ve read your direct mail, make it clear what that is. Do you want them to phone, email, visit a website, visit a store?

Pick ONE call to action, make it clear and make it easy for people to do. If you want people to phone, tell them to do that, e.g. Phone us now on 01234 678910. Or if you want to add your website, make sure it’s in a much smaller font and not muddying the water.

If you do want people to visit your website consider how easy it is to type your web address into the browser. If your web address is long or one that has confusing spellings, it might be worthwhile investing in a domain name that is much shorter and easy to type and pointing this at your main website or the page where your offer is.

4:  Improve your mailing list

The cleaner your list the better and the more you know about the people in your list, the more targeted your mail campaigns will be.

This can be a time-consuming job, but worthwhile. It can actually save you money on sending duplicate mailings to the same address or sending mail to people who are now deceased.    

Fortunately, there are automated systems that can help with both cleaning and enhancing your list, which will save even more of your time, making your marketing more cost-effective. (We do this for many of our clients; get in touch if you’d like to know more about this service).

5: Personalise your direct mail items

If you send a personalised piece of direct marketing, the response will be much better.

This can be as simple as including a ‘hand-written’ envelope, including the recipient’s name or, if you have information on their buying patterns, it can be completely personalised to feature their favourite purchases.

This is a specialist process that requires complex software that links the data with the printing process – but it’s definitely possible – and it’s one of the services we offer.

Find out more about how your direct mail campaigns can give a boost. Call us on 020 8293 8550.