Different Types of Direct Mail to Help You Generate Leads

Direct mail continues to be among the most effective marketing strategies for businesses. But, you have to draft strategies that fit well with your business objectives.

There are many uses of direct mail advertising including connecting with new prospects and retaining existing customers. It is one of the best ways to approach someone and increase your leads.

You can pair direct mail with modern technology for better targeting and increase your return on investment.

Both B2B and B2C companies can use direct mail marketing campaigns to increase sales. PostGrid’s account-based marketing solutions can help you print and mail items directly to decision-makers.

What are the Two Major Direct Mail Advertising Types?

Postcards and letters are most commonly used but you also have other options. There are many different types of direct mail items that you can use to connect with your target audience. All of them have different features and can be used for different purposes.

It is important that you select marketing items that justify your messaging and appeal to the recipients. While direct mail postcards are effective in communicating short messages, letters are used to explain something in more detail.

In this article, we will discuss the various types of direct mail advertising collateral and also suggest which one can suit your business. But first, let us talk more about direct mail marketing and how you can increase your response rates.

Elements of Direct Mail Marketing

Your marketing campaigns depend on a lot of factors to succeed, like your design, copy, and offers. These things also affect your mailing costs significantly.

The first thing to focus on is your mail design. Choose an eye-catching and attention-grabbing template. Pay attention to the colours, placement of words, and quality.

In addition, take care to only use targeted mailing lists. The types of direct mail lists you choose dictate whether your campaign will be successful or not. You can either rent mailing lists

The next important element is the call to action. Use CTAs that are easy to complete and work great in combination with a special offer. Most of all, select the right type of direct mail collateral that can help the above-mentioned elements do their job.

What Types of Direct Mail Are the Most Effective?

If you tailor your messaging and choose the right audience, you can guarantee better engagement rates. We have shortlisted some of the most effective direct mail formats to further help you increase conversions.

Postcards

Postcards are among the most cost-effective types of direct mail. As the name goes, they are small cards that are sent to people via post. Royal Mail delivers billions of mail items every year that chiefly consists of postcards and letters.

Earlier, postcards were used by people as a way to connect with their loved ones. The number of mailed postcards is the highest from the day of Thanksgiving up to New Year’s. Apparently, they are a great way to deliver your greetings and stay connected with others.

Marketing postcards work the same way, but with the prime motive to increase conversions. Though postcards are not meant to ask people to buy from you, they lead the way to it. You can incorporate postcard marketing into your social media and email marketing campaigns for better results.

What are the benefits of using postcards?

Out of all the types of direct mail, postcards garner the most open rates. This is because they can be mailed without envelopes and all the recipients need to do is flip them over.

Also, postcards are highly appealing and a lot of people find them useful. They act as a quick and easy way to talk about your brand and communicate your offers to potential customers.

Postcards generate a response rate of 4.25% which is pretty good as compared to other marketing channels and types of direct mail pieces.

Use Cases of Postcard Marketing

All large, medium and small businesses can use postcard marketing as part of their marketing campaigns. You can use postcards to promote sales, increase brand visibility, showcase your brand offerings, and make announcements.

A lot of marketers also use postcards to introduce loyalty programs for old customers. It is an excellent tactic to win back your old customers and ask them to buy from you again.

Postcards can also help you create hype about new products and services. You can invite prospects and customers to product launches through postcard marketing or add a small welcome-back discount and talk about how much you appreciate your customers. PostGrid’s postcard API can help you create, print, and mail personalised postcards effortlessly.

Postcard Sizes

They are typically small but are available in many different sizes. Oversized postcards have been around for a while and perform great, although they can increase your costs.

The most popular postcard sizes are:

3.25” x 5”
4¼” x 6”
9” x 6”
9” x 11”
11” x 6”

Small postcards can help you save money, but oversized postcards enable you to stand out from the crowd. However, use oversized postcards only when the size suits your messaging. Otherwise, you can stick to small and medium-sized postcards with an attention-grabbing design.

Also Read: How to Automate Postcard Marketing?

Letters

Before deciding that postcards are the best type of direct mail, consider marketing letters. They have more space and give an elegant touch to your message.

Direct mail marketing letters are enclosed in envelopes that make them more confidential and professional. You can target customers and prospects by sending well-written letters that can offer helpful solutions for their needs.

Add more details about your brand and the products or services you offer. Letters give an opportunity to converse with someone and convince them to complete the CTA.

Their layout is plain and simple, but you can focus on the finer details such as the paper quality and envelope design. Take care to craft an excellent copy that the recipients find worth reading.

You can include an order form or reply card along with your letters. They motivate recipients to reply to your letters more promptly.

Letters are more often used in B2B marketing wherein you need to contact professional clients. Some letters are precise and short, whereas some are friendly and long. You can pick from the different types of direct mail letters that best appeal to your clients.

Again, PostGrid can help you print and mail letters with ease and convenience. You also have the option to use letters with oversized envelopes that are more attention-grabbing.

Also Read: Benefits of Outsourcing Transactional Printing

Newsletters

The different types of direct mail advertising items serve different purposes. Hence, you should always consider your requirements before choosing among them.

The type of mail you choose makes a big difference, especially for small businesses who wish to spend their budget wisely.

Another cost-effective direct mail item is a newsletter. It is very effective to keep in touch with your existing subscribers, supporters, investors, and customers.

Newsletters can consist of a vast amount of content ranging from your latest achievements to the new products you have been working on. You can add customer testimonials and real-life stories to relate to people and keep them connected to your business.

Direct Mail Packages

Direct mail packages are a combination of two or more types of advertising direct mail items. They are used to increase the impact of your direct mail campaigns and drive more engagement.

You can combine letters and postcards, or use either of them with personalised gifts. People are delighted to get more than one thing in a mail package. Hence, sending all-in-one packages can help you grab the limelight.

Direct mail packages can be an expensive marketing tool, so send them only to your top accounts or long-term customers.

Such packages give different ways to talk about your offerings and also offer variety in design. But, make sure to keep your messaging, offers, and CTA consistent.

Wrapping Up

It is hard to determine the best type of direct marketing methods before first trying them out. Marketers should test different types of direct mail to see what works best for their company.

You can divide your target market into two or more different segments and mail different marketing items to each segment. Don’t forget to add QR codes, pURLs, or other trackable features to help you capture responses.

PostGrid’s direct mail API can help you design, print, and send your items to any part of the world. It can also help you with tracking mail, measuring campaign results, and preparing reports for future reference.