Print isn’t dead. In fact, The DMA reports that median household response rates to direct mail are 29%. Direct mail can be a powerful medium to reach your customers, but all to often, companies make simple mistakes that could impact their ROI. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of the most common direct mail mistakes, and how to fix them.

1. Using the wrong type of marketing collateral – Often, the direct mail pieces that perform the best are letters with little to no graphics. Why? Because these pieces tend to feel more official, or like a more personal communication. Be mindful of the type of collateral you send when advertising a specific piece. While you may think a double-sided post card is best, your customers might believe otherwise.
2. Not starting strong – The term “save the best for last” shouldn’t apply to your marketing copy. Your lead sentence needs to pack a punch to pique your reader’s interest. Consider opening with a question (“can 11,000 people be wrong?”), a statistic (“47% of consumers read three to five pieces of content from a business before they take action, per Demand Gen”), or something that address a problem unique to your customer (“gone are the days of hum drum holiday sales”). 
3. Not speaking to your customers – Do your customers care about specs and statistics? Or are they more moved by what your product or service could do for them? By taking the time to learn more about your customer’s behavior, you can achieve higher open rates because you’re speaking directly to them instead of following some marketing standard.
4. Not using buzzwords – This is similar to not featuring a clearly defined offer in your piece. Using words like “free, discount, new, etc.” can increase open rates and your ROI. We’re not saying you should offer your product or service for free, but sentences like “free consultation” or “try our new product” will pique your customer’s interest and set you apart from the competition.
5. Lack of personalization – Consumers like receiving mail from businesses they like, and when those businesses market to them on a 1:1 basis, their response rate can be as high as 50% (Compu-Mail). Even something as simple as featuring the customer’s name on the direct mail piece can go a long way.
6. Lack of offer – this one should be a no brainer, but companies still make the mistake of sending out materials without an offer. Your focus should be about selling an offer instead of an actual product. Examples of an offer include a free website analysis, 10% off your next 50 mail pieces, etc. When crafting your next piece, consider gearing all your content to support this offer, rather than strictly speaking about the topic.
7. Lackluster content – Speaking in vague terms. Rambling about the service or offer instead of addressing your customer’s problems. Abandoning content creation for overly graphic materials. All of these are examples of lackluster content that will impact your ROI. Direct mail pieces are meant to convey information to customers in order to get responses – that’s why some of the pieces with the highest open rates are often the most plain. Keep your target audience in mind, and write for them.
8. Forgetting the purpose of the piece – Unless you’re sending out an introductory piece about what your business offers, there’s no need to write extensively about who your company is and what you offer. Write your copy with the goal of addressing your customer’s concerns – speak to how your product or service will solve their problems. Ask yourself if what your writing would appeal to you if you were in your customer’s shoes.
9. Weak CTA – A strong call to action (CTA) encourages your customers to call or email or visit your website. It makes them take action, so when your CTA is a dud, your conversion rates are impacted. When developing your CTA, ask yourself if the text is compelling enough to make you take action. If not, it’s time to go back to the drawing board.
10. No testing – Testing the efficacy of your direct mail piece is an essential component to success. It provides you measurable data that helps you learn about your customer’s preferences, your campaign’s performance, and what you can do to improve. Consider partnering with a marketing firm that offers secure and clean data, like Darwill.
11. Ignoring your mailing list – The most important piece of your direct mail process is your mailing list. A common mistake businesses make is not choosing the right people to send their mailing to. Keep in mind that your direct mail pieces won’t get much traction if you send them to customers that don’t need the product or service your selling. Your mailing list is another aspect of your marketing campaign that should be thoroughly tested.
12. Little to no follow-up – You’ve sent your direct mail pieces out – now what? If you’re not making an effort to follow up with your customers after you’ve gone to the trouble of writing the copy, designing the marketing piece, and mailing it out, then you could slowly see your conversion rates dropping. Remember that following up with your customers is as important as reaching out to them in the first place.
13. No digital integration – Marketing campaigns that integrate direct mail with one or more digital media platform experience a 118% lift in responses (Compu-Mail). Most consumers require multiple touch points to reach them before they pick up a phone or visit your facility. Don’t ignore the benefits direct mail offers. Consider integrating your direct mail piece with targeted emails, social media posts, or a unique landing page your customers can visit. 

Navigating the world of direct mail marketing can be difficult. If you’re looking for an experienced marketing partner, contact us today.