Getting a Better Response from Direct Mail

By Carol Wright

Most Internet marketers seem to believe their only option for contacting potential new customers is via the Internet. By not putting other avenues of communication to good use, you could be missing out on valuable opportunities. Direct mail is a truly excellent way to reach people who otherwise wouldn’t have found you online, especially within your local area. How can you use, say, direct mail, to help improve your business and bring more dollars into your bank account? The tips below will offer ways to get started.

In much the same way as you would with email marketing or even with a sales page, your direct mail still needs to contain a call to action. You can still use direct mail as a way to introduce your business or even to advertise a special deal on a product or service. Yet, if you don’t add a call to action, your message may end up in the garbage, unread. Your direct mail message needs to include a way to get people to act on it, whether that’s buying a product, contacting you, visiting your site, or signing up for your mailing list. You need to be positive that you purpose is stated clearly.

When it comes to direct mail you are always testing. There aren’t any real rules for writing compelling direct mails that actually get people to read them. These things tend to change frequently. Still you need to come up with a way to track the responses from your direct mail so that you know which techniques have worked the best. If you work on creating a few different versions of your message and then track the results coming in, you’ll see which ones make people act. Monitor all of your responses carefully, as they can be great for creating more positive mailings next time.

Always have a plan for following up after you’ve sent a piece of direct mail. If you have the phone numbers, a phone call might be the perfect solution though follow up can be done with a secondary mailing. It’s another way of showing that you really are dedicated to providing the best possible service. Obviously this is easier to do when you are sending your direct mail out in small batches at a time. This is well worth the effort – any way you look at it.

You don’t have to have a long “spiel” prepared just let the customer know you sent them something in the mail and ask their opinion. It’s little things like this that convert someone thinking about doing business with you into a paying customer.

As you can see, increasing your efficacy with direct-mail campaigns can be done in many ways. In fact, there is so much you can do that it shouldn’t take long for you to be getting the same success from direct mail that you get from email marketing. By using the tips in this article, you will be able to get this going in no time at all.