There is no doubt that the Internet has become a significant factor in everyday life and in the business world, and e-mail, social media, Cloud storage services, websites, and more have transformed communication as we know it. This allows businesses and people to communicate around the world with great speed, and share anything from text to images to videos. But despite all this, paper mail is still a common form of communication, and while it faces competition from e-mail and the Internet, it has been determined that paper mail still has value and purpose today, even appeal, and direct mail lists, a direct mail campaign, and commercial printing are all still helpful for businesses and other organizations today. In fact, in some ways, paper mail such as from direct mail lists preferred to electronic media, and this gives in house printing and digital printing services plenty of work to do. Even with the Internet around, direct mail lists can serve many people.

Paper over Internet

There are actually some valid reasons to be on direct mail lists or get print services for launching a campaign. The Internet is powerful, but there are some distinct drawbacks to it that paper mail tends to avoid. For one thing, the Internet allows businesses to track online traffic and the habits of each Internet user, allowing marketers to create targeted ads that many customers may find irritating, and pop-ups, ads on videos, and more can often be tiresome for Internet users to deal with. What is more, there is always the threat of cyber crime and similar activities. It is well known that many shady e-mails are sent as traps, and these e-mails have Internet links or attachments that can send a virus into a person’s computer to steal bank or credit card information or more, or even coerce someone. Computer viruses can even be caught just by visiting certain websites or downloading various items, and many people may be tired of having to carefully navigate the Internet to avoid them. It can feel like a minefield at times.

Paper mail, such as direct mail lists, avoids all that. No one will ever catch a computer virus or spybots from a piece of paper, and paper marketing does not involve tracking how customers behave. What is more, e-mail can be overwhelming; many people receive countless e-mails per day, and all those e-mails can be difficult to sort and respond to in a timely manner. It is not a rare phenomena for a person to frazzled by all their e-mails and feel hopelessly lost with their e-mail inbox. Many e-mails that people receive are not even desired, such as coupons or updates from customer deals that they no longer want, or subscriptions that they lost interest in but forgot to remove themselves from. Paper mail is not as prolific, and while junk paper mail does exist, it is likely that a person will not receive as much junk paper mail as e-mails. And finally, direct mail lists and other paper mail services work well for those who do not have a computer or a solid Internet connection, so they do not have to be cut off from all communication. For those who simply don’t understand the Internet and computers, paper mail can be a relief.

The Mental Effect of Paper

It may surprise some to hear that paper mail has some positive impacts on how people and customers see their mail. Direct paper mail can be very useful and often helpful, and even younger adults feel this way. Despite growing up with the Internet, those of the Millennial generation, those born 1982-1995, nearly 90% of people in that age range say that direct mail advertising is reliable. Vouchers and other documents can also be easier to remember if they are tangible, and this may appeal to the human body’s senses, such as touching the paper. It has been found that 66% of people are more likely to remember a voucher if it is in paper form and they can touch it. Paper mail can be easier to remember and keep track of, since it can be handled with the fingers and seen with the eyes, and papers can easily be sorted into folders.