There is a lot to know about direct mail. Before starting a direct mail project, it’s important to understand what works and what doesn’t. If you don’t know what works beforehand, then your project may be a costly waste of money and resources.
Unfortunately, direct mail is often misunderstood. There are a lot of myths regarding direct mail and what it entails. The myths about direct mail take away the intent of the advertising option. Breaking through the confusion will allow you to achieve successful marketing projects that return result in more interest in your organization.
Myths About Direct Mail
Myth #1: The Purpose is to Gain Feedback From As Many People as Possible
Marketing to as many people as possible is not the priority. The purpose of direct mail advertising is to grow your organization’s revenue and attract reliable long-term interest. It may seem like the goal is to have everyone purchase a product but ideally, you want donors with a genuine interest in your organization and who will follow your organization for the foreseeable future. This means that instead of using a “spray and pray” method of direct mail, your lists needs to be highly targeted to specific market segmentations.
Myth #2: You Can Create Interest with Special Techniques
Advertising is all about timing. Organizations need to hope that their direct mail arrives at the right person at the right time. Then the right person will become a donor. But organizations can’t force consumers to make purchases. Businesses want to stand out from their competition, but successful direct mail is truthful and straight-to-the-point. You won’t be able to trick people into showing interest in your organization, so stick with honesty and provide them with accurate details of your services in the direct mail sent.
Myth #3: Imitating Others Will Lead to Success
Every company, product, and service is different and unique. So, imitating other organizations will not always work regarding advertisements. You may get new ideas from looking at other ads, but only take what you think will work for your organization. Make your direct mail specific to the response that you want. Don’t treat all donors the same because not everyone responds to various organizations in the same way.
Myth #4: People Don’t Want Direct Mail Anymore
People are glued to their phones and computer screens all day. Most people find direct mail very welcoming compared to the endless sea of emails flooding their inbox. The majority of people think printed materials are easier to read than anything that would be sent on a computer screen. Direct mail has the highest response rate of any direct-marketing choices. Direct mail wouldn’t have the highest response rate if people didn’t want it anymore. You may also think that people just throw direct mail away as soon as they collect it from the mailbox. Truthfully,many people will toss their mail into the trash, but an even larger number of mail recipients parse through their mail before deciding what to keep and what to throw away.
If your direct mail ad is straight-to-the-point, visually appealing, and informative, then chances are the people who read their mail will read your ad and decide if they will will interact or not.
Valtim and Direct Mail
Let Valtim help you overcome these popular direct mail myths and help create mail that stands out and outperforms your competition. We can make your direct mail stand out from the others while making sure your message gets across to potential and ongoing customers. We offer unique services, but we also want to keep your message straightforward and honest with your available products and services.
