There’s no such thing as junk mail

This is a bold statement, but junk mail is not a label I would give to bulk mailings be they printed or emailed. To me the term should be more like misdirected mail or poorly targeted mail.

Back in 2011, 21.9 million UK adults took action thanks to Direct  Mail they received. Don’t be surprised by that figure – Direct Mail is still
making a difference to marketers and customers alike, with an impressive 48% of the UK population responding to a Direct Mail piece they received in the past
12 months. In fact, the stats for including direct mail to the marketing mix are quite compounding –

• Of the 21.9 million UK adults to respond to Direct Mail, 6.2
  million went online to order something, and 7.3m went to a store to order
  something in person
• 8.3 million of those who received a mail piece kept it to
  view again in the future
• 9 out of 10 people open Direct Mail (FastMAP).
• 49% of adults are more likely to open Direct Mail if they
  are intrigued by the package (British Market Research Bureau, 2010).
• 75% of customers like receiving special offers and vouchers
  via Direct Mail (British Market Research Bureau, 2010).
• Direct Mail response rates stand at 3.42% (Direct Marketing
  Association).
• The opening rate for Direct Mail sent to prospects stands at
  91%, making it the best way to bring on board new customers (Billets Media
  Monitoring).
• 95% of mail from stores, 95% of mail from gambling companies
  and 99% of mail from department stores is opened or responded to (Billets Media
  Monitoring).
• 17.7m people ordered after receiving a mail order catalogue
  in the past 12 months (Royal Mail Consumer Panel, 2010).
• Return on Investment and Costs
• Catalogues have the lowest cost per lead of all Direct Mail,
  followed by inserts (Direct Marketing Agency).
• 34% of business to consumer marketers consider Direct Mail
  to provide the best return on investment, making it the best method of marketing
  in their view (Target Marketing).
• 29% of marketers are increasing their Direct Mail budgets in
  2012, and 49% will keep their budgets the same (Target Marketing).
• The ROI of Direct Mail has increased year-on-year for the
  last decade, standing at £3.20 in the last OMD Brand Science report.

– Source. Central Mailing Services.

But how do you utilise your direct mail campaigns to give them the best chance of success?

1. Have something to say
2. Show the recipient you understand their business and their challenges
3. Keep your message simple
4. Be relevant – stick to 1 message
5. Put it all on 1 page if possible
6. Sign it yourself – personalisation is still an advantage
7. Hand write the envelopes
8. Don’t be afraid to test – maybe do a pilot campaign to start with
9. Follow up
10. Double check spelling and grammar
11. Be interesting and maybe even provocative to gain attention

In direct mail campaigns, always include some sort of response both for the intrinsic value and also to aid the follow up and make sure that you are able to handle responses.