Direct Mail Marketing FAQ

What kind of response is normal for direct mail?

The response on a direct mail campaign varies greatly depending on a number of factors like supply, demand, mail piece medium, your offer, your comptetitve advantage, repition, brand recognition, the list, timing, and your industry. If you google it, you may find a number ranging from 3-5% but that would be an avarage accross all mail. However, you would never except the same response rate with pizza coupons as you would if you sell insurance, home mortgages, or even home improvement services.

Does a postcard or a letter direct mail campaign get a better response?

This really depends mostly on your industry. Industries that require more trust and credibility like mortgage, law firms, or finnancial services, usually do better with letter mailings since they come off more profresional. However, this does not mean that a postcard will not work for these industries. Postcards are nice because they do not need to be opened in order to deliver the message, offer, or achieve brand impact.

How long will it take for my mailing to be delivered?

Standard postage mailings usually take 2-14 days for delivery depending on location of the recpients. First class mail is usually 2-5 days nationwide. Keep in mind these are averages that really depend on the USPS. Holidays and the political season slow down the mail stream.

How much do direct mail marketing services cost?

Cost for mailings depend on a variety of factors, but mainly the quantity, the mail piece, and your list which drives the postage. With any printing there are massive economies of scale. Your cost per peice at low quantities like, 500, may be $1 per piece. Then that same campaign mailed to 50,000 addresses may be only 50 cents. Regarding, the mail piece, a color postcard will be cheaper than a 4 page color letter. Regarding postage, first class mail could run 25 cents a piece more than standard postage. Most mailings we process for clients average out to be 35-65 cents per piece, all inclusive.

Does door direct mail work?

Yes. It is only junk mail if you dont want it. If you mail to people who need what you sell, and you have a good offer, than they will respond. Almost 9 Billion dollars a year is spent on direct mail. Business owners are smart. If your mail campaign is not working, dont blame the industry, go back to the drawing board or give me a call and we can strategize together.

Do I need an offer on my mail piece?

Yes. Direct mail is a direct response type of marketing (typically), which means you need to give people something to respond to. People are expecting you to offer them something good, so don't waste their time by being cheap.

What are the most common mistakes advertisers make?

In my experience, the biggest mistakes are:

not tracking the results
not mailing the same mailing lists with enough frequency ("one and done" mailings)
not making a good offer
not knowing the value of the responses you do get. Businesses will often kill a campaign that is working because they don't have a good understanding of customer lifetime value.

What type of targeted mailing lists are available?

There is more information available on each of us than most of us realize or would be comfortable with. There are thousands of ways we can slice and dice consumer data in order to home in on exactly who you want to reach. We can also analyze a list of your customers and create a "blue print" and then go and find matches in your target geography. There are also business lists with many targeting options.

What are the advantages to direct mail advertising?

It's tangible so can have a lasting impact. I have seen client get phone calls from postcards we mailed for them 3,4,5 years past.

It's measurable: with a strong offer you can easily track how the customer heard about you
It's timely: plan your campaigns around certain dates, events to get a better response. Ever heard of "Black Friday"?
Proven ROI: I have seen research ranging from 30-40% on average
It's not saturated: For roughly every 36 emails you receive on average, you get 1 piece of mail in your mailbox.
Guaranteed visibiltiy: 90% of mail is opened compared to only 10-12 % average open rate for emails. Of course, if you mail a postcard your "open rate" goes up to 100%
You benefit from the "mail moment": Whether it is nostalgia or not, people love getting mail. It makes them feel seen and appreciated. Who doesn't like getting a letter from a friend? or getting a BOGO coupon to a new restaurant.
It's highly targeted: thanks to big data, you can reach just the people you want to reach and not waste any of your precious ad dollars
It can be personalized: Variable digital printing (VDP) can be used to customize EVERY single postcard of letter you mail to have the receipiants information on it. Think about it like mail merge on steriods.
It's trusted: since direct mail is a bit more expensive than email, people trust it. If you care enough to spend money on postage then you likely have something worth considering.

Do you offer outsourced mailing services?

Yes! Mail King USA offers end to end mailing services. We handle outsourcing mail services for many clients that no longer want to handle their mailings in house. Outsourcing mail services allows them to free up a lot of time, save money, get consistency, and improve their results. Read more about setting up outsourced mailing services here or request a direct mail quote for your mailings now.