USPS® reports that direct mail has an effect on millennial voters.

With the 2016 elections coming up, be prepared for lots of reading materials in your mailbox, same as every four years. But while this has been the norm for those earlier generations, the Millenials are finally moving out of their parent’s house and living on their own. They have to begin checking the mail everyday and now there is a brand new set of eyes on political direct mail pieces…but are they really making an impact on the digitally connected millennial generation? According to the USPS, yes!

The USPS has conducted a joint survey that has found that this new class of voters “pay close attention to political mail and in fact favor it over other forms of political advertising.” It also found that millennials are more involved in politics and very engaged with the direct mail that they received, even more than non-millennials. In fact, 40% thoroughly read political mail and an even bigger 78% discuss it with others.

Finally, about 80% of millennials prefer political ads through the mail rather than online. They feel as if it is a more authentic and direct connection to the political candidates.

So what can we gather from this?

For starters, that it would appear that millenials still very much sort through and read their mail on a daily basis. About 36% of those under 30 years of age are eager to check their mail everyday. Not only do they sort them, they even open them immediately just as much as non-millenials. It would stand to reason that this applies to all direct mail pieces as well. If millennials are open to mail pieces with a message, they might just be open to your particular message.

Many of the same tactics used in political mail can be applied to consumer-related direct mail. It’s all about reaching that age by using authenticity and directness.

Now that we know millennials are a good audience, below are some tips for trying to reach them with your direct mail

• Make it authentic
  • Right away, millennials can assess when you’re trying too hard to connect with them. Just have a relevant message that they want to hear and if you present it in a way that’s on their level, they will be more responsive. Keep things simple and loose and they’ll come to you.
• Make it easily accessible
  • If millennials can’t easily access something you’re trying to push, then it is not worth the hassle. And as always, make it easy for someone to reach out to you. If you’re accessible to responses, chances are you will get more responses.
• Use technology
  • At their heart, millennials are digital natives and will always fall back on those resources. Make sure your direct mail campaign connects to online sources in which the younger generation can easily find information, share that info, place orders…etc. Finally, it is also worth noting that Augmented Reality is a great way to integrate technology and direct mail.
• Make it visually appealing
  • Millennials tend to be visual learners, so it might just be worth that extra penny to make something look cool to catch their eye. It could be the difference between a sale or the trash.