How and when to use direct mail for your

Direct mail regularly receives a bad reputation as an exclusively outbound-oriented tactic that does not keep pace with how buyers want to consume content.

But in the right situations, direct mail could be a crucial differentiator in a world where 78% of consumers have unsubscribed from a company 's mailing list because it was sending too many e-mails.

Just as a product similar to a dozen competitors will struggle to take off, marketing that looks like everyone else just won't be memorable. Classic digital marketing tactics like emails arebecome so overcrowded that it is essential to creatively stand out in order to stand out from your competition.

The key to doing direct mail well is to keep it aligned with your inbound marketing funnel. - Call-to-Action Code ->

Never forget your main goal: you want to bring prospects back online to keep feeding them there. Any mail you send should direct prospects online to help you follow them through the process , whether it is a link to a landing page or 'a code they can enter on your website. Also, the more information you have about the types of offers they cater for, the better you can talk about their weaknesses and specific needs.

Identify your potential direct mail audience

Before starting a marketing campaign, your team shouldfocus on the preferences and needs of your potential customers.

Your number one priority is to stand out with those who are most likely to buy your product. This fundamental step shouldn't change when you consider incorporating direct mail into your marketing. Inbound traffic is all about meeting potential customers where they are.

Given the plethora of other places to spend, it will be difficult to justify spending on direct mail, for example, promoting paid content on social media if your target audience is addicted to their smartphones.

However, if your potential clients are old enough to own a house or apartment and are likely to check their mailbox often, direct mail can be effective. It's about understanding what your audience needs.

If you have identified that sending a letter or cardmailing is an effective way to reach your specific prospects, you can start to think about times in the buyer cycle when it is best to contact with the personalized touch of a physical mail.

Be aware of your prospects' stage in the buyer's cycle

A prospect finds useful content and subscribes to your blog to stay informed. So what's your next step?

Keep in mind that all your prospect did was subscribe to a mailing list. This means that they are probably still a pretty "cold" trail. If they found a blog post through an organic search or because they saw a headline that looked interesting on LinkedIn, they won't appreciate receiving a type of content that tries to do a tough sale, let alone a postcard explaining your prices.

Think about the number of coupons and offers you have decoratedopen in your mailbox, for immediate disposal in the recycling bin. These emails were probably irrelevant to the needs you expressed.

You need to make the content that you deliver through direct mail is directed to the person. This means that whenever possible, you want to segment your email list in the same way you would segment the entire list. Can you match a physical offer on a piece of paper to the article or propose the lead that was just opened online?

Ultimately, hitting the right time with direct mail comes down to maintaining awareness of your prospects stage of the buyer cycle. Create the direct mail item that stands out from the crowd by showing that your business understands its prospects.

Creative ways to incorporate direct mail - at the right time

Back to the subscriberrecent from the blog.

The typical response from inbound marketers is to send them an email, thanking them for subscribing and assuring them that you will keep them posted when the next blog is published. Rather than sending a follow-up email, what if you reply with a direct mail message?

You can thank them for subscribing to your blog and direct them to some of your most popular blogs. You can even direct them to a landing page with a video containing a personal message. It certainly stands out from the mundane marketing messages they see on a daily basis.

Rather than sticking with a full email campaign, you can use a direct mail article to encourage your prospect to check out an ebook or other offer you've created.

You can also provide them with a case study of a company similar to theirs and include convincing statisticsantes. The main thing is to help them learn to solve the problems they are trying to solve.

Further down the funnel, once a prospect is more familiar with your brand, you can organize an event they want to find useful. Guests often perceive physical event invitations as more personal - just as an invitation to a wedding or a big birthday party is likely to feel more authentic when you find it in your mailbox rather than your back. mailbox.

Increase participation in the event. and effectively track your offline efforts by inserting a QR code on the invitation that motivates invitees to register online.

Direct mail is particularly useful when you are looking to target a specific geolocation, age group or household income level. It's like meeting your customers where they are. Yesyou run a campaign locally, generate buzz in your community by sending a visually appealing direct mail that neighbors are likely to discuss.

Keys to success in direct mail marketing

1) Focus on the traceability of your campaigns.

You should already be using a marketing automation solution to track your typical inbound efforts. In order to get the most out of your direct mail efforts, you should also track these campaigns to decipher what is working and what is not.

Without tracking - a feature of driving recipients online - you won't have a real understanding of what resonates with your prospects (and what matters to them).

2) Keep it visual.

Remember what the last long brochure said about youhave read? Me neither. Stay away from long sentences and blocks of text. Instead, pique your recipient's interest with a beautiful image that's relevant to the content or event you're offering.

3) Provide a clear next step.

It's best to limit yourself to a direct-send CTA and make it obvious. This will limit confusion and make it easier for you to assess the return on investment of the item.

4) Target people who check their mail (especially those who are hard to reach online) .

It doesn't matter how attractive the image or copy on your postcard is if your recipients don't see it. Consider configuring automation to send physical mail to recipients who have expressed an interest in your business, but have not responded.wave to digital awareness after a certain length of time.

5) Always relate this to online efforts .

The only way you'll really know the influence of direct mail your goal is to track everything. Your senders must have unique codes or phone numbers with unique extensions.

Prospects should access the landing pages that follow their journey and trigger the next steps in your marketing automation or your selling process. Make sure to prepare yourself to prove the effectiveness of your campaign.

Remember that providing information to prospects when they're ready is a fundamental tenet of inbound marketing.

If you can automate sending the right information at the right time, you'll be ready to turn prospects into customers.

Marketers typically paint direct mail with an outgoing brush, but regular mail can be an effective marketing tool with the right approach. With creativity and a focused approach, you have the opportunity to speak to your prospects in a personalized and authentic way.

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