What is direct mail marketing?

If you have ever received a piece of advertising mail without requesting it, you have experienced direct mail. Direct mail marketing is any type of physical advertising material a business sends through the mail with the goal of making a sale.

What makes direct mail marketing effective?

An effective direct mail campaign relies on multiple factors to interest potential customers in your product. According to a neuroscience study by Ipsos, direct mail campaigns work because they require less effort to understand than digital equivalents. For this reason, the design must be eye-catching and the copy easy to understand. The mailers should also be relevant to the interests or needs of your target market.

What types of mailers can be sent through direct mailing services?

You can choose from a variety of mailer formats. These are the most common:

• Standard 4 x 6 postcards
• Oversized postcards
• Brochures
• Booklets
• Flyers
• Letters
• Catalogs
• Dimensional mail (boxes, pop-up letters, tube, etc.)

What is a good response rate for direct mail?

As with most marketing efforts, an effective direct mail campaign is one that gets consumers through the door. While each campaign is unique to the business running it, the Direct Marketing Association found in recent years that direct mail has a 4.4% response rate versus email’s 0.12%.

What is Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM)?

Every Door Direct Mail is a direct mail service that allows you to send mailers to a specific mail route or area. Rather than relying on mailing lists that target certain demographics, EDDM is an indiscriminate method designed to reach as many residents as possible within a specific geographic area.

What is the difference between EDDM and direct mail?

Direct mailing differs from EDDM in that you are paying to choose who gets your mailer at a granular level. This allows you to cater to certain demographics through targeted mailing lists. EDDM, on the other hand, targets homes in a specific area, regardless of demographics. For this reason, EDDM is generally cheaper than direct mail advertising.

What mailing restrictions are involved?

With traditional direct mail, there are no size restrictions on the items you send. If you opt for EDDM, however, you need to follow some guidelines when designing your mailers:

• Each mailer must be larger than 11.5 x 6.125 inches or more than a quarter-inch thick.
• Mailers cannot be bigger than 15 x 12 inches or three-quarters of an inch thick.
• Mailers must be rectangular, with four square corners or finished corners with a radius of one-eighth an inch or less.
• While the orientation of the address doesn’t matter, it must be located in the top half of the mailer.

Words by
Sean Peek