Is your direct mail campaign not getting the results you want? Whether your return on investment is low or your response rate is lukewarm, you can revamp your direct mail efforts in multiple ways. One is by working with an experienced custom mail services provider to improve your mailers and ads. Another is by improving your mail designs in the following ways:
Grab attention by getting personal
Direct mail is free from the cluttered territory of digital marketing, but your mail campaigns still face competition. How many times have you opened your mailbox to find a pile of mailers, bills, and print ads? Do you remember which mailers caught your attention? They might have been designed creatively, had vibrant graphic designs, or been personalized.
Personalization is a simple way to put your direct mail ahead of the competition. Simple ways to personalize your mail include adding your recipient’s name, incorporating a handwritten element, and addressing the envelopes by hand. If you have the time, budget, or ability, you can write messages directly to the recipient. Nonprofit organizations often do this by thanking recipients for prior donations.
Keep it simple but creative
As with any ad, you don’t want to overwhelm your recipients with information or images. You don’t know how much mail your recipients receive, or how they sort through mail. Your mail should be designed for the “worst case” scenario: people who receive huge piles of mail and skim through them. This might sound dissuading, but businesses aren’t cutting their direct mail budgets anytime soon.
Look at your previous direct mail designs. How do they stand out from other mail? Do they have bright colors and bold images that weren’t pulled off a stock image website? The general rule is to use two or three relevant images, but that could change depending on your mailer format and size.
Then consider your text. Do you have short and easy-to-read headers and text bodies that can be understood in a few seconds? How long does it take for someone to understand your products or services, and know what to do next? For short and snappy text, limit yourself to a hard-to-miss headline and a few lines describing your offer.
Additional ways to stand out include cutting your mailers until unique shapes, such as those of your product or another relevant shape. For a creative and interactive design, you could have your mailer unfold into a different shape. Another interactive design might include scratch ‘n’ sniff patches if your product has a unique scent.
Use quality design and materials
Keeping your direct mail simple doesn’t mean skimping out on quality. Use durable print materials from direct mail marketing companies. If you aren’t experienced with printing, your mailers won’t look as professional as you imagined. Your mailers also need to survive the journey from post office to mailbox. If they arrive bent out of shape or torn, at best, your recipients won’t mind. At worst, they’re unimpressed.
Complete Mailing & Printing provides a full range of business mailing services for businesses and nonprofits on the Central Coast and in the Bay Area. Contact us to receive a quote for virtually any type of direct mail project, including design, digital printing, mail merging, bulk mailing, and database management.
