Why You Should Consider
Adding Direct Mail
To Your Marketing Mix
Dear Business Builder,
Happy Friday! I’m happy to have you back. I want to take the opportunity to thank you, dear reader, for your kind comments, words of encouragement and suggestions. Knowing that you’re spending a small part of your Friday reading In the ‘Net Trenches makes it so worthwhile for me. If at any time you have a question or would like me to explore a particular internet marketing or direct mail topic, I hope you won’t hesitate to let me know at askjulie@makepeacetotalpackage.com.
I’ve been doing a bit of reminiscing this week.
Have you ever had one of those weeks where a combination of events just seem to call you back to a time and place gone by?
- An unexpected lunch invitation from a good friend (and previous co-worker) I hadn’t heard from in a while.
- A long conversation with another good friend (and previous co-worker) about how great it was to work together, how much we miss working with each other and just the sheer amazement that no matter where we end up, we manage to stay connected.
- A conversation with a vendor about a print ad I’d placed that took what felt like forever to hit … simply because it was print.
- And Michel Fortin’s 2008 hot trends where he predicted that many of the top marketers we’ve learned from on the web in recent years would either retire or spend the majority of their efforts marketing offline. Not to mention many brand new (and very green) people will start their very first online business. Bringing great opportunity for professionals versed in all aspects of direct response marketing.
All these things combined got me thinking about my professional life before the internet when direct mail was the hottest game in town. When the direct response industries’ biggest conferences were dominated by mailing list managers and print vendors, and e-mail service providers were relegated to the fringe.
What’s amazing is it wasn’t that long ago.
The Power of Direct Mail
Contrary to popular belief, direct mail is not dead … And in my opinion will be alive and well for many years to come. This is simply because the internet doesn’t have the ability to target your prospect the way you can with direct mail.
The success with direct response marketing comes from the ability to reach prospects that have bought exactly what you’re selling. And the closer that prospect receives your mail piece after making that first purchase with your competitor, the better your response from that list.
It may seem counter intuitive, and you might be thinking that makes no sense. If someone just bought a bottle of vitamins through the mail, why would they want another bottle? Isn’t one enough? No … not by a long shot.
Chances are that vitamin purchase wasn’t just a random, impulse purchase. The prospect read the direct mail promotion, and it clicked with them emotionally. Perhaps they decided then and there it was time to make an effort to restore their health. So for a limited time, they are emotionally vested and will be more likely to buy other vitamins or supplements, health newsletters and health books … anything to feed that goal of health restoration.
Consider your own buying patterns. How many times have you gone to the bookstore looking for a certain book only to leave with three or four and a few magazines to boot? All on the same topic! Perhaps it’s a self-help book on increasing your confidence or a how-to on creating a business plan. You get there, and the wealth of information is staggering. It’s like potato chips … you can’t have just one. To feed your need for information and your desire for change, you end up with a whole new library.
But what about that list?
Why would my biggest competitor rent me a list of his best customers? Contrary to popular belief, competition is good.
Ever notice how one lone antique store tucked into the corner of a suburban shopping plaza is usually deader than the original owners of the trinkets found inside? Yet, a group of antique stores all found within close vicinity are a bustling hive of activity. That’s the power of competition. The group of stores creates a destination attracting a certain type of person … antique buyers.
It’s very similar with direct mail. All of your competitors are out there marketing their products with one big goal in mind … to get new customers. And the more those new customers buy, the more likely they’ll buy again in the future.
Remember, your best list of prospects have shown a propensity to buy what you’re selling at some time in the past.
And, savvy direct marketers know that. So they welcome competition with open arms. And rent each other’s lists often.
The other reason a competitor is so open to renting you his list is simple economics … it’s another revenue stream. Oftentimes, list owners bring in more revenue from their list rental than from the sales of their products. That list rental income is factored into their ROI and thus helps direct mailers profitably expand their marketing efforts.
If you’ve been marketing your products or services successfully online, perhaps it’s time to explore going multi-channeled. Don’t stop what you’re doing online if it’s working, but add a direct mail component to the mix.
Homework assignment: Visit your local library and spend some time with the SRDS – Standard Rate and Data Services, List Source. This is the quintessential tool for direct mailers. Identify a few mailing lists of buyers or active customers that look like a good fit.
Because next week we’ll talk about exactly how you can easily and affordably add direct mail to your marketing mix.
Until next week,
Julie McManus
Editor, In the ‘Net Trenches
THE TOTAL PACKAGE
And Web Media Goddess
P.S. Are you in the ‘net trenches? Do you need help? Send
me an e-mail to AskJulie@MakepeaceTotalPackage.com and
I just might answer your question in an upcoming issue.
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Comment by Amy — January 18, 2008 @ 10:43 am
I am not sure how I feel about direct marketing for my niche market. I am focusing on families and have build a content rich website. I am featuring specific products, etc… but do not have a primary product to market in a direct mail situation. What are your feelings on direct marketing and the content based website?
Thank you!
Comment by giang — January 18, 2008 @ 10:56 am
Thank you for your offerring e-mail.I have read it , it is worth learning to earn lots of money for the best life.But I don\’t know how I can do following up it…and what is your product that you want me joining to sell online?
Best-Regard!
Giang.
Comment by Sarah King — January 18, 2008 @ 4:01 pm
Dear Julie Glad to see that, my accedently trying to unsubscribe from the Clayton makepeace form\’s din\’t work you guy\’s are the coolest, even if I never use any of this information witch I\’m sure I will someday. I love to read your artical\’s, and to check my e-mails each day for a new newsletter from the #1 team out there. I think these e-newletters are the bomb.
Comment by Geoff Dodd — January 21, 2008 @ 5:13 am
:grin Hi Babe,
Julie, I\’m surprised you didn\’t say collect more data on your Internet people then hit them with a multi-mix approach including a direct mail piece. IMC Derek G does this when mailing out paychecks….