5 Tips for a Successful Direct Mail Campaign

Don’t be fooled by consumers’ reliance on smartphones and the internet. Direct mail marketing campaigns can still make an impact on your bottom line. Companies have really doubled down when it comes to digital marketing, and rightfully so. We spend so much time plugged into our emails, social media profiles and just browsing the web. But because we are constantly bombarded with digital ads left and right, it’s easy to be blind to them. That’s why businesses shouldn’t discredit the power of a direct mail campaign. Snail mail is not going away anytime soon and that means it’s another way to reach your target audience. But it’s never wise to just start sending flyers to the members of your community. In order to put a successful direct mail campaign into market, you need a plan. Here are some tips to help you get the most out of your campaign. 1. Define Your Target Audience In a perfect world, you’d want everyone to want and need your product and services. But when you’re spending your time and money on marketing, defining your target audience is key. Don’t be afraid to get specific either. The more you know about these consumers, the better you can shape the messaging you use to reach them. Once you know who they are, you can move on to the next steps in creating your direct mail marketing campaign. 2. Get A List You know who you’re trying to reach and now it’s time to figure out how to reach them. Acquiring a list that is stacked with relevant and targeted recipients is crucial when it comes to the success of the campaign. Think of it like this. If you’re sending out direct response campaigns to anyone within spitting distance of your business, your response rate might be less than favorable. That’s because not everyone in your area may be in need of your product or services. But if you’re making sure your campaign gets into the right hands by sending the mail campaign to the right people, your return on investment will be much improved. 3. Create A Clear And Simple Message After your target audience receives your marketing collateral in the mail, what do you want them to do? Once you know your call-to-action, everything else will fall into place. Your message should be clear and simple to not distract from your call-to-action. The biggest mistake we’ve seen with direct mail campaigns is that businesses try to stuff as much information as they can into the postcard or catalog. The saying is “less is more” for a reason! Your campaign should simply answer the following questions: 1. Who are you? 2. What do you do? 3. Where are you? 4. Why are you contacting them? 5. How can you help? Basing your messaging around answering these simple questions will make your overall message clear and concise. Potential clients and consumers will know exactly what to do next. 4. Design a Compelling Piece When it finally comes time to design your mailer, start by choosing the medium. Is your audience going to be more excited about a catalog or a postcard? What kind of incentive will entice them to follow through with your call-to-action? What images or layout will help convey your overall message? These are just some of the things you need to consider when designing the collateral for your campaign. The most important thing to remember is to keep the design on brand. You want anyone who comes across your direct mail campaign to recognize your brand no matter where they see it. That means keeping the design consistent when it comes to your brick-and-mortar locations, website, emails and social presence. Brand continuity is a crucial component of any marketing campaign. 5. Track and Analyze Results The biggest mistake we’ve seen companies make when running a direct mail campaign is that they don’t track the results as efficiently as possible. Not gathering the right metrics not only hurts your current campaign but can also influence future campaigns. While ultimately, it all comes down to the return on investment, it’s important to analyze the results on a deeper level as well. Here are some ways you can track the effectiveness of a campaign: Include a coupon code that is unique to your mailer campaign that consumers can redeem on your website, via a phone call or in-store. Launch a special landing page that’s specific to the content and offer featured on your postcard that people can visit to learn more or redeem the offer. List a unique phone number so that you can track the calls that come in in regards to the offer or discount highlighted in your mailer. Create a contest that can be entered using information featured on the piece of mail you sent to your list, whether that’s directing them to a contest landing page, including a special access code, or encouraging them to stop into your location or store. With these tips, you should be able to create a direct mail campaign that speaks to the modern consumer. But a marketers job is never done. Once a campaign has been completed, it’s important to learn from the data you’ve collected. What worked? What didn’t work? Should you update your target audience? These are all questions we can help you answer if you partner with SHOUT! to deploy a direct mailer campaign. If you’re ready to find out more about our direct mail and mail fulfillment services, contact us today!
Winter Wedding Magic
Winter weddings have something about them that resembles the fairytale notion of winter magic – especially if you’re lucky enough to have a day adorned by a dusting of freshly fallen snow. However, while we have no control over what kind of weather arrives on our wedding day, we do have complete control over how the interior of our wedding party venue is decorated, and so it’s best to ensure that you get this part right! At SHOUT!, we’ve got some great tips on how you can use quality custom graphic design solutions to maximize the use of your wedding party space, making your winter wedding the most magical and memorable day of your life! Think of a theme, and bring it to life! You’ve probably been dreaming of your wedding day for most of your life, so we must ensure it’s exactly how you want it to be! By starting with a theme, we can begin to make suggestions for how to encapsulate the exact mood that you want, creating an experience that is unique to you and your special day. Whether it’s something simple like a winter wedding theme based on snowfall in the forest, or more obscure such as a movie or era themed wedding, our expert graphic designers can make custom wraps for walls, ceilings, and even vehicles that will bring your theme to life! Designer dance floors The dance floor is the center of the wedding party. It’s where you’ll have the first dance, and where the rest of the party will be until the early hours, so it’s certainly in need of some care and attention! At SHOUT!, we provide high-quality dance floor wraps that are scuff resistant so you and your guests can dance all night long without losing the magical effect that a custom printed dance floor provides. Our cutting-edge equipment means we can bring high definition graphics to the party, and we can accommodate dance floors of all shapes and sizes, so there’s no need to worry about our ability to get the job done to the high standards you expect! Lead the crowds with themed banners and posters If you make a considerable effort to accommodate a specific theme, it can be a little off-putting when signs and posters at the event detract from the theme that you envisioned. But don’t worry, at SHOUT!, we’ve got your back! During our consultation process, we can suggest and advise on fonts, designs, and color schemes for posters, banners, and other printed material that help direct and notify guests while simultaneously sticking to your desired theme! So, whether it’s banners that inform guests where they can find the bar, posters that show the running order of the day, or even themed menu cards placed on each table, we will ensure that all printed material seamlessly fits your vision of your perfect day. Winter weddings do have something magical about them. They make you feel like you’re living in a fairytale – and for that one special day, they can make you feel like a prince or princess. At SHOUT!, we have all the necessary tools and expertise to turn your dream day into a reality, so give us a call or visit our website to talk with one of our expert staff and let us help you realize your ideas for your perfect winter wedding!
Salvation Army – The City College of New York
Wedding event at Trump Hotel in Washington, DC. Special gold treatment is an upgraded material treatment but available to planners looking to do an enhanced presentation to an amazing event.
Floor Graphic – Wedding / Trump Hotel (Washington, DC)
Wedding event at Trump Hotel in Washington, DC. Special gold treatment is an upgraded material treatment but available to planners looking to do an enhanced presentation to an amazing event.
Floor Graphic – Wedding / American Museum of Natural History (New York)
SHOUT was approached to create a spectacular graphic presentation for a June Wedding within the Ocean Room of the American Museum of Natural History. With over 500+ attendees, the Bride and Groom desired having a focal point floor graphic covering the dance floor that would serve as the centerpiece of their big night.
What Coca-Cola’s “Share A Coke” Campaign Can Teach You About Print Impact
What really caught our attention in a recent article was how Coke used print to help create a successful campaign. The article showed the huge role print played – billboards and banners were used to help promote the campaign. But it was a very specific type of print advertisements, ones that used bold, high-quality and consistent graphics.
Turning the Ordinary in To Extra-Ordinary
You’ve seen them right? Or perhaps not! If you have, you were lucky enough to witness how an event was transformed into an extra-ordinary happening with a higher level of excitement, engagement and fun! And…all by including a highly creative, dynamic and unique dance floor graphic.
Most special events focus on everything but the obvious singular focal point of the room; the dance floor! Ordinarily the focus, time, money and attention are on spending extra money additional lighting, types of china, floral centerpieces, chair types, silverware, linens and so much more.
The Secret To Combining Print & Color Psychology to Boost Your Brand
Ever wonder how to boots your brand by evaluating color studies and psychology to drive greater printed sales collateral? Don’t underestimate the power of your brand colors – they should be a key part of any print piece. According to Social Media Today, “with 80% of visual information from logos coming from color alone, careful attention needs to be paid to the message that each choice is likely to convey to the viewer. “
How Businesses are Scaling one-to-one Relationships Using Print
Print usually equals mass-produced pieces of the same design in most marketing plans. But one of the top marketing gurus of today, Gary Vaynerchuk, will tell you you’re missing out on the big picture and the benefits of relationship buildings.