How to Create an Effective Direct Mail Marketing Campaign

Identify Your Target Audience

One of the first steps to creating a successful campaign is to know whom you're targeting and understand their motivations and values. Your customers may have different reasons for preferring your product or service over another.

So you need to identify whom you're trying to reach with your direct mail campaign. When determining your target audience, referring to your marketing persona is helpful.

A marketing persona is an amalgamation of information about your customer. It helps inform your marketing strategy.

Your marketing persona should include information like:

• Their demographics
• Psychographics (values, attitudes, interests)
• Where they are in the sales cycle

By understanding who you're marketing to, you can tailor your campaign to speak directly to those customers. And get them excited about your product or service.

Define Your Campaign Objective

Your campaign objective is the end goal of your direct mail marketing campaign. It's why you're sending a direct mail piece to your customers in the first place.

Before you even begin to develop your direct mail marketing campaign, you should be very clear on what your campaign objective is. Your campaign objective may differ depending on the type of direct mail you're sending, but there are some common objectives that most direct mail campaigns are trying to achieve.

Build brand awareness: If your brand awareness is low, customers won't know who you are, let alone be interested in your product.

Building brand awareness is a great way to get new customers interested in your product without selling it to them directly.

Inform customers: If your customers already know who you are, but are maybe interested in finding out more about your product or services, then your direct mail campaign should focus on informing customers.

Drive conversions: Direct mail can be used to drive conversions directly, but it's often easier to achieve that with digital channels.

Create a Mailing List

A mailing list is an essential part of every direct mail marketing campaign. It's a record of everyone you will send your direct mail to.

If you already have a list of potential customers, you should add them to your mailing list so that you can send them future direct mail campaigns; this will increase the longevity of your direct mail marketing efforts. If you don't yet have a mailing list, now is the time to start building one.

You can start with a basic email sign-up form on your website or purchase a list of potential customers from a third-party list broker.

Decide on Your Ad Copy

Your ad copy is the copy that appears on the outside of your direct mail piece. It's what customers will read first when they receive your mailing, and it will set the tone for the rest of the content inside your mailing.

Your ad copy should be clear, concise, and engaging. Your direct mail marketing campaign will be much more effective if you can inspire customers to take action.

If your ad copy is boring or uninteresting, customers will likely just throw your mailing away without further thought. Depending on your campaign objective, your ad copy will also differ; however, there are some general rules of thumb to remember when writing your ad copy.

Be clear:  Your customers should be able to understand your ad copy immediately. Avoid overly complex language and metaphors.

Be concise: Your ad copy should be short—no more than a few sentences. - Be engaging - Your ad copy should pique your customer's interest, and they should want to read more.

Select the Types of Media You'll Use

Depending on the type of direct mail marketing campaign you're running and the campaign objectives, you may want to use a single type of media, or you may want to use multiple types of media. If you're sending a single-type direct mail campaign, you'll want to select the media that best fits your campaign objectives.

If you're sending a multi-media campaign, you'll want to select the media that will best complement each other. For example, if your campaign objective is to inform customers of a new product or service, and you're sending a single-type direct mail campaign, paper would be a great choice because it's easy to read.

If you're sending a multi-media campaign combining paper and digital, you would want to select media that complement each other.

For example, if you're sending an email and a paper mailer, your email could encourage customers to click a link to receive more information, and the paper mailer could include that information.

Create Your Ad(s)

The ad is an essential part of your direct mail marketing campaign. You can send the most beautifully designed, perfectly crafted piece of direct mail in the world.

But it won't do much good if your customers can't understand what it's trying to say. Your ad copy is an essential part of your direct mail marketing campaign.

Your ad copy should be clear, concise, and engaging. It should pique your customer's interest, and they should want to read more.