Direct mailers and a direct mail campaign are some of the best ways to connect with your customers and potential consumers. Almost 80% of people say that when they get direct mailers they open them immediately, and 40% made a purchase in the last three months because they were motivated by direct mail marketing. Not only that, but more than half of consumers believe that marketing from direct mailers is the most trustworthy, presumably because they feel the time and effort spent on printing and personalized marketing are worth something. You can also count on nearly half of customers keeping their direct mail for reference in the future. Direct mailers are useful and fulfill a lot of marketing needs: but only if they’re done right. Here are a few things to do, and some things to avoid, in your direct mail marketing strategy.

• Carefully define your audience, and don’t forget to follow up. A defined audience will result in better targeted direct mailers and more responses, so take time to do this right. It’s never smart to just spray down a street or zip code with your stuff: instead, find and target the sort of people who will be interested in your product or services. But you also need to be careful to include tracking metrics like coupon codes to make sure you re-engage with those customers who responded to your direct mailers. If they responded once, chances are they’ll respond again when the right offer comes along.
• Carefully craft your campaign, and don’t forget to proofread. Identifying your target audience isn’t enough. You also need to make sure you’ve tailored a campaign that they’ll respond to. This means you have to be ready to lose money if necessary, but it can be worth it if you hook a number of new customers and keep their loyalty. The goal of marketing is to get new customers, and once customers have tried a quality product or service and gotten good customer service with it, they’re much more likely to keep coming back, even if they’re spending more.

  Getting those new customers, however, depends in part on the little things: like proofreading. When people open direct mailers and see a terrible font choice, a poor print quality, glaring typos, or misaligned printing, they throw them out. Get the office grammar geek to proofread everything, and if you want to make sure it’s done right, pay them for their extra time. If you’re not going with a professional graphic designer, you’ll need to check and double check that what you designed on your printer looks right when it comes out.

• Include a strong call to action, and don’t forget to drive traffic to your website or social media account. No matter what form of advertising you use, a great call to action is crucial to make the sale. Your direct mailers need to be more than just something funny and interesting: they need to tell the consumer what you want them to do. The call to action doesn’t even have to be a buy. It can be as simple as getting them to make a phone call, check out a website, or follow a social media account.

  Speaking of social media, don’t forget to make your direct mailers a way of driving online traffic. While it’s true that direct mailing is effective, it’s also true that there are some in the population who prefer digital communication and advertising. That segment of the population is only going to grow with time, so be sure that you add a way to encourage people to connect with you online. It could be a QR code to unlock something, see a cool video, or get a free gift. It could be for entry into a giveaway program or to see what your charitable giving and sponsorship is like. Whatever it is, just make sure that it’s there and that it’s clear.

Direct mailers can connect you with your customers and potential customers in a real and effective way. Don’t neglect this important marketing strategy: and don’t forget to do it right.