Common Direct Mail Mistakes To Avoid

Direct Mail Mistakes You Must Avoid for Your Campaigns To Succeed June Blog 2

Your business can use many direct mail marketing strategies to increase response rates, drive more sales, and build new customer relationships. But just as there are many ways to build a successful campaign, there are just as many direct mail mistakes that can have the opposite effect. Continue reading this article to learn how to ensure increased direct mail leads, make more sales, and enhance your return on investment.

Common Mistakes That Negatively Impact Direct Mail Response Rates

With so many factors influencing the number of direct mail leads and response quality your campaign generates, you need to avoid the common blunders many businesses make. Direct mail mistakes range from postcard shape and size to not selecting the proper paper stock for your printing project.

So what are the common mistakes successful direct mail marketing strategies avoid?

NOT TARGETING YOUR AUDIENCE

Possibly the most common and harmful direct mail mistake businesses make is not sending their mailers to a targeted audience. You can’t expect an increase in direct mail leads or response rate if you’re sending offers or alerts about new services and products to people who aren’t interested in them.

Experienced direct mail specialists use targeted mailing lists to make sure existing customers and those within specific demographics that match your buyer personas receive your mailers. This increases the number of quality direct mail leads coming in, and it also dramatically lowers the amount of money you use towards postage and mailers going to prospects with virtually no chance of converting. Spending the same amount on candidates more likely to make a purchase increases your direct mail response rate and sales. With so much data available in the modern world, you should be able to develop detailed mailing lists.

NOT TAKING ADVANTAGE OF VARIOUS MARKETING CHANNELS

All too often, digital marketing and mail marketing campaigns are looked at as competitors. The truth is, incorporating digital elements into your direct mail marketing strategies, known as multichannel marketing, is a dynamic way to improve your overall marketing efforts.

If you’re looking to generate leads that convert on your website, you should make it easy for readers to get there. Mail pieces that include personalized URLs, QR codes that take readers to custom landing pages, and coupon codes that incorporate a target’s name play a key role in increasing response rates for direct mail.

Whether you operate a small business or a large retailer, a great way to use multichannel marketing to improve direct mail response rates is by sending out reminders to customers who have abandoned online shopping carts. A simple reminder and a discount offer may be all you need to turn that direct mail lead into a paid customer.

NOT USING PERSONALIZED MAIL

Personalized mail provides tremendous benefits, while impersonal and generic messaging is a huge direct mail mistake. Research shows that 58% of consumers prefer receiving mail with a personal touch. It also helps build a relationship with your direct mail leads. The easiest way to personalize your mailers is to add the recipient’s name. Beyond that, you can send special offers or friendly messages acknowledging their birthdays, anniversaries, or other special occasions to earn their trust and loyalty.

If you’re making too many direct mail mistakes and want the help of a trusted direct mail services provider, reach out to Presort Inc. today.

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BLAND DESIGNS AND COPY

Mailboxes are full of various pieces of mail. People instantly recognize monthly bills, their favorite retailer’s quarterly catalogs, and letters from friends and family. But sales-driving postcards and other mailers rely on creative design services to stand out in the crowd.

Everything from color schemes to copy size and placement affects the amount of direct mail leads your campaign gains from your efforts. Long-winded messages, color combinations that don’t pop, and copy that doesn’t inspire targets to act are all direct mail mistakes that decrease the number of targets that take the next step in the sales cycle.

Another way to attract more direct mail leads is to use the one word every consumer loves: free. If you’re offering a free estimate or product if they purchase another, make it obvious. Highlighting the value you provide to a consumer is pivotal in mail lead generation.

Creative team looking over designs on table

UNDEFINED CALLS TO ACTION

There’s no need to be coy in your messaging. In fact, uninspiring messaging is one of the most costly direct mail mistakes. To increase direct mail response rates, make your calls to action (CTA) clear and noticeable. Mail campaign CTAs that use larger font sizes that immediately catch a reader’s eye and tell them how to take the next step have a much higher average response rate, which leads to higher conversion rates.

NOT TESTING DIFFERENT DIRECT MAIL MARKETING STRATEGIES

Did your last campaign return the direct mail response rate you expected or even exceed it? If so, you might be content with using the same techniques for your next campaign. But that could be a big direct mail mistake.

Testing different messaging, color schemes, offers, calls to action, and various other direct mail marketing strategies against each other within a campaign defines what inspires your targets to become customers. Analyzing the data from your mailers enables you to increase your return on investment. That’s because you can more accurately pinpoint your targets, fine-tune your messaging, and use the most effective elements of past campaigns to guide your next one.

Avoid Costly Direct Mail Mistakes by Partnering With Presort Inc.

For over 30 years, Presort Inc. has helped clients increase direct mail response rates by using our experience and industry expertise to create sales-driving campaigns. Our in-house team of designers gives your mailers the look they need to stand out and the messaging required to inspire action.

If you want to avoid direct mail mistakes that cost you time, money, and effort, reach out to Presort Inc. today.

Direct Mail Mistakes You Must Avoid for Your Campaigns To Succeed

Common Mistakes That Negatively Impact Direct Mail Response Rates

NOT TARGETING YOUR AUDIENCE

NOT TAKING ADVANTAGE OF VARIOUS MARKETING CHANNELS

NOT USING PERSONALIZED MAIL

BLAND DESIGNS AND COPY

UNDEFINED CALLS TO ACTION

NOT TESTING DIFFERENT DIRECT MAIL MARKETING STRATEGIES

Avoid Costly Direct Mail Mistakes by Partnering With Presort Inc.

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How to Design a Postcard for Your Business

The Role of Direct Mail Data Analytics in a Successful Mailing Campaign

The Psychology Behind a Successful Direct Mail Campaign

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