Direct Marketing
A few campaign essentials
With careful planning and a healthy dose of prudence, a direct mail campaign can send your profits soaring. As a follow-up to our 20 Free Tips on writing a decent sales letter, here’s where we bust some direct mail myths, helping you improve your campaigns or start you on a lucrative new marketing stream.
The biggest myth of all is that direct mail doesn’t work. Of course it works! That’s why Viking Direct and other major players keep it up year after year! Yes, most of us chuck mailshots in the bin, but then "most" isn't everyone.
A small percentage of people will open it. A smaller percentage will read it. And a tiny percentage (1-2%) will even pick up the phone and respond.
Unless you're popping a free diamond-encrusted Ferrari into the envelope, that sort of uptake should make your whole campaign worthwhile!
Of course, no-one can ever predict the response rate until you suck it and see. Testing is by far the most important aspect of the DM craft, because once you test a mailing on a small scale, you can predict the response rate with reasonable confidence.