Direct Mail Pitfalls and Benefits

You might be wondering if direct mail marketing is the way to go in the electronic age. Do people actually read any ad mail these days? Is it worth the cost? Should you just focus on internet advertising? While direct mail does have some drawbacks, there are reasons big companies continue to send out marketing mail.

Benefit 1: Long Reach
You can send out thousands of postcard printing or brochures to sell your products for you. Also, direct mail goes out to consumers; you do not have to wait for them to look you up in a phonebook or online.

Benefit 2: Expressive Medium
With direct mail, you can create a style unique to your business. Developing your image or brand helps customers connect with your company.

Benefit 3: Streamlined Process
If you want to do a postcard printing campaign, all you have to do is find a postcard printing company online that offers full service; some have in house designers and even an address and mailing service.

Benefit 4: Customizable Audience
You can work with a list broker or mailing service to come up with a mailing list that fits your needs. Just profile your best customer, and the mailing service can sell you a list of addresses that fit the description. That way you do not waste money sending brochure or postcards to people who are not interested.

Benefit 5: Measurable Results
It is easy to track the results of direct mail campaigns, especially if you mail out coupons. You can just save all the coupons or record discount codes to find out how much business is generated by the direct mail campaign.

Benefit 6: Cost
Direct mail is not as expensive as some mediums like billboards and TV commercials. And with postcard printing, your cost may be even less than the cost of regular mail, if your postcards are 4"x6" in size.

Pitfall 1: Waste
A lot of marketing mail gets thrown in the trash. This is especially the case if your materials are not designed properly.

Pitfall 2: Competition
Your print materials have to compete with a lot of other mail for attention.

Pitfall 3: Cost
The cost of a direct mail campaign can be expensive when you add up the cost of printing and postage, especially when compared to free mediums such as email campaigns.

Eliminated direct mail from your marketing efforts is a big mistake that you can't afford to make, as you can see when comparing the benefits and the pitfalls. But this doesn't mean you need to avoid online marketing as well. In fact, combining different forms of advertising, both online and offline, is what will get you the best results for your marketing efforts. 
  

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