The death of direct mail has been greatly exaggerated. Just as TV didn’t make radio or motion pictures obsolete, the Internet has not caused traditional media to fade into the sunset. A recent study by the Direct Mail Marketing Association found that nearly 70 percent of consumers prefer to receive announcements and information on new products from companies they are familiar with via conventional mail, versus less than 20 percent who prefer email notification.

One reason for direct mail’s resilience is that government regulations, email filtering technologies, and consumer advocates are making some other marketing channels increasingly more difficult to use. Also working in its favor is direct mail’s time-tested ability to generate leads, orders, and revenue at a cost that fits even a small marketing budget.

But not all direct mail promotions hit the mark. Some of the most common mistakes include:

1. Using a bad mailing list. You wouldn’t mail an offer for gourmet steaks to a list of vegetarians, right? But you’d be surprised how many marketers commit equivalent sins.

2. Not having an irresistible direct mail offer. For a company sending a mailing on its grass seed to homeowners, “Send for our Sales Brochure” is hardly a tempting offer. “Send for Our FREE Booklet, 7 Steps to a Greener Lawn” is likely to pull more inquiries.

3. Not testing. How do you know whether the outer envelope for your direct mail piece promoting your new energy-saving room air conditioner should say “saves energy” or “keeps you cool all summer”? You don’t — unless you test the two messages in an A/B split.

4. Not having a sales letter in your mailing. Never mail a brochure in an envelope without an accompanying sales letter. Remember, the brochure tells, but the letter sells.

To help companies of every size improve the success rates of their direct mail campaigns — no matter the format — FuelNet has just released a new Smart Paper, The 5 Best Direct Mail Marketing Ideas of 2008. The free paper explains how to boost the effectiveness of a direct mail marketing offer without breaking your budget. To download your free copy, please click here.

Permalink: http://www.fuelnet.com/?p=494