#6 - Direct Mail doesn’t work!!

You have a really well done printed piece. Attractive, with a good sales pitch. And not too wordy.

You give your mailer the mailing list or have them furnish one. They use the list, only doing the minimum required Postal certifications.

You’re excited, waiting for a really big response!!

And all you hear are “crickets”!

Your mailing doesn’t produce the results you were expecting.

You say, “Direct Mail doesn’t work!!”

Why? What happened?

Did you spend as much time putting your mailing list together as you did designing the printed piece? Did you carefully target the mailing list to folks that would be interested in what you have to say or offer?

I bet not.

Putting together a mailing list without using great care is like starting a car with no oil in the engine. Everything goes terrific for about 15 seconds! Everyone is excited!! Then a sudden loud BOOM!!! And then SILENCE!!!!

The mailing list is the “oil” that makes the Direct Mail engine run.

And the better the oil, the better it runs.

How do you know who to target?

You have to know your audience and what will influence them to respond. Compile a list of what makes up your typical customer or contact.

Not having a well prepared mailing list, whether it’s yours or furnished by the mailer, is equivalent to mailing a piece that is very poorly designed and printed, along with an ineffective message.

Even poorly printed, the right message to the right mailing list can get decent results.

The best scenario is to have a well designed printed piece targeted to a well prepared mailing list. Both pieces of the puzzle need the proper attention to make them work together to produce the results you expect.

Next time you receive Direct Mail, examine the pieces. The pieces that draw a reaction or have an offer of interest to you are the ones to study. Try to figure out what it was that made it stand out to you.

I’d bet the message or offer was something that drew you in.

And the mailer had good reason to believe you’d be interested.

Those are the pieces you want to imitate.

Sure, the nice graphics and beautiful printing helped. But all that would mean very little if the piece was directed to the wrong individual.

What made it “jump” was the combination of the right message to the right person.

The mailer took the time to know who you are and what might interest you.

Commercial Printing & Mailing can help you put together an Effective Mail Advertisement.

We have access to all kinds of mailing lists with hundreds of demographics to give you the opportunity to select those individuals with the best probability of responding.

You just need to know and understand your audience.

And that is how you make Direct Mail work!