Direct Mail Marketing: An Affordable Way of Advertising

Of course, this means that list selection must be made carefully and with consideration of your targeted audience. Direct mail marketing services are widely available and mailing lists should be purchased directly from a reputable list vendor. Choose a list vendor who updates their mailing list regularly and scrubs the addresses against the (NCOA) National Change of Address list to correct or remove any addresses that are no longer deliverable addresses. Companies who offer direct mail marketing services will usually be able to offer their customer all of the necessary resources needed to complete an entire job including mailing list, and printing and mailing services, as well as consulting and graphic design.

Direct mail marketing services are a cost effective and are an economical option for small to medium sized companies who may not need to use more expensive types of advertising such as TV, newspaper or radio. You have a considerable amount of control over the cost of your printing and mailing project because you have many choices when creating your mailing piece. For example, you can mail postcards instead of letters, or you can mail a company brochure instead of a newsletter. Postage types and costs must also be considered as well as the volume of your mailing. Using a high quality targeted mailing list will increase your ROI considerably.

There are many different types of mail pieces that can be used by different types of companies. Personal letters can be mailed by industry professionals such as lawyers, doctors, mortgage and insurance companies to personally address matters of private nature. Postcards can be used for general sales promotions; avoid using postcards for private matters - this will produce lots of complaints and unhappy people. Real estate companies for example, may use postcard advertising to promote homes for sale or a restaurant may advertise dinner specials by using a graphical presentation. Using pictures on a postcard can attract the reader to be more interested in what you may be selling. Newsletter marketing is a softer sales approach. You can generate business by informing existing customers about new product or company information that is now available in their marketplace.

One of the biggest advantages of direct mail marketing versus other forms of advertising is the ability to address your potential customer directly by their individual name and to mention specific facts about them or their situation without invading their personal space or time. Targeted direct mail marketing can gain you an immediate positive status with the customer versus mass junk mail, TV or radio advertising.