A Formula for a Direct Mail Campaign

What do a sturdy house, a successful business and a direct mail campaign have in common? A good foundation.

Marketers and businesses developing their marketing strategies are trying to reach the same goal: a strong ROI. So, where should you start? Try this simple formula for building a complete direct mail campaign.

It’s called 40/40/20, where the makeup of your campaign can be built from three basic elements:

•         The Mailing List and Data, 40%
•         The Offer, 40%
•         Creative Design, 20%

The Mailing List and Data, 40%

This is a vital first step. Your targeted mailing list gives you advanced control over your mailing campaign. By using the latest demographic and geographic data to develop hyper-targeted mailing lists, you can determine exactly who your campaign is delivered to.

The Offer, 40%

While you are building your ideal mailing list, make sure you are solidifying and fine-tuning your offer. This can be a tricky part of the process because you want your offer to be beneficial to both the consumer and to your business. Address factors such as the motivation of the recipient, payment and terms, and response options. Read our article on The Offer for more suggestions!

Creative and Everything Else, 20%

The importance of the visual design cannot be an understatement. Keep in mind that the average consumer will spend 2-5 seconds looking at your mail piece before an initial reaction and action is made. By creating a compelling design that is unique, branded and clearly evokes how you want them to think, feel, react and act, you can bump that time frame up from 2-5 seconds to perhaps 8-10 seconds. Other design factors involved are the type of mailer, image selection and the unique offerings from the United States Postal Service.

Crafting a direct mail campaign takes focus, drive and 360-degree view of your product or service. Giving yourself parameters and a step-by-step process or formula like this one can help you address the necessary components of a direct mail marketing campaign.