Direct marketing mail, also called direct mail, bulk mail, advertisement mail, bulk shot or postcard mail, cheap post or postbox shot, and envelope stuffing are the delivery of marketing material through personal mailing devices to recipients of commercial mail. This mail often contains offers, information, products and/or services for sale to the recipient. Direct mail distributors can help a company to design and produce an effective marketing campaign using this medium of delivering messages directly to consumers.
Direct marketing (demystifying the relationship between consumers and businesses) involves creating and maintaining accurate and up-to-date consumer mailing lists. This includes building effective contact lists such as postcards, catalogs, newsletters and mailing lists. These lists are used in conjunction with direct mail campaigns to improve response rates, generate sales leads and increase revenue. Direct marketers work to reach their target audience at the appropriate time by sending personalized information to the specific person who would be most interested in the product or service.
An effective direct mail campaign should include appropriate information that will help the recipient to locate the product or service. For instance, if someone is interested in a particular type of exercise, the marketing message should provide information specific to that type of exercise. The same goes for a person who may be interested in learning more about receiving a loan for debt consolidation. Each piece of information provided should add to the recipient’s desire to find out more and take action.
To create these marketing pieces, a company should collect email addresses from prospective clients, contact suppliers, and gather demographic information about the recipient. One way to do this is by creating a simple form on the front page of a marketing catalog. The form asks basic questions about the person’s age, gender, hobbies, income and marital status. When a potential client fills out the form, it sends the company back a comprehensive list of the types of offers they may be interested in. After sending this list to suppliers and other companies, catalogs and postcards can be mailed out to each recipient.
In addition to collecting names of possible clients, a good direct mail company should also collect additional information about the recipient. A good example is providing a coupon for a customer’s first purchase. These coupons can be sent in an envelope that is highly personalized with the recipient’s name printed in silver. Digital marketing experts suggest that any envelopes containing envelopes that are printed in silver should include the printing company’s website URL as well as the coupon.
There are many other ways to distribute the marketing materials created by a company. A popular method is through mailing lists. Lists can be compiled from previous direct mails that are still in the recipient’s inbox and can be sent to targeted groups. Many marketers prefer compiling lists from various websites that allow them to receive various kinds of email lists. This strategy allows marketers to effectively target their efforts and to ensure that they are reaching their target audience.