Direct mail marketing can be an extremely powerful marketing channel for today's marketers, as it provides a straightforward and targeted approach to engaging and persuading potential customers. Download your free best practices guide on direct mail marketing and learn how to make the most of your direct mail marketing campaigns.

1. DIRECT MAIL
BEST PRACTICES GUIDE:
DIRECT MAIL MARKETING

2. BEST PRACTICES GUIDE:
Top 10 Best Practices for Direct Mail Marketing
Direct mail marketing is an economical and effective way to communicate key messages to customers.
Is your company getting the most out of its direct mail marketing campaigns? Here are 10 best
practices to guide you to a successful campaign.
Direct mail marketing can be an extremely powerful marketing channel for today’s marketers. Many
marketers invest in direct mail marketing as part of their overall marketing mix because it provides a
straightforward and targeted approach to engaging with, persuading, and driving potential customers
to action. It’s also proven to be an effective marketing method. The Direct Marketing Association
reports that direct mail response rates are four times greater than email, and according to the Cable &
Telecommunications Association, 70 percent of American consumers prefer to receive advertisements
and promotions by mail.
Though direct mail marketing can be a 3) Make your copy readable
formidable marketing method, here at You only have a few moments to capture your
10 best practices you should follow to audiences’ attention, so deliver your message in a
ensure you’re getting the most out of way that’s easy to consume. Use bullet points or
your campaigns. callouts to highlight the key benefits of your offer,
and accompany it with engaging copy that will pull
1) Target your audience
the reader in.
Direct mail marketing is most effective when you
deliver the right message to the right audience at 4) Be cognizant of USPS standards
the right time. You’ll increase the response to your Be aware of certain mail standards so you don’t
campaign by ensuring your messages are relevant end up paying more than you expected. Direct mail
to your audience. Use customer intelligence such must fit within certain sizes to meet standard mail
as demographic and geographic information, as regulations. Letter-sized mail must be between
well as customer profiling and filtering to create 3.5 inches by 5 inches and 6.125 inches by 11.5
targeted lists for your campaigns. inches. Additionally, to avoid extra costs, your
first-class mail should weigh no more than 1 ounce.
2) Keep your customer data clean
For standard mail, you’re allowed up to 3.3 ounces
The quickest way to go from direct mail to junk per piece.
mail is with a misspelled name or incorrect address.
The U.S. Census reports that more than 43 million 4) Personalize your message
Americans move each year. Make sure your address Since you’re working with a targeted audience,
lists are kept up to date by running your lists through direct mail marketing provides a great opportunity
the USPS National Change of Address database, to personalize your message. However, keep in mind
which houses more than 16 million permanent that the more components
change-of-address records, at least twice a year. In you personalize, the more
order to use the service, you need to purchase a you need to monitor 70 p
license from USPS. Another option is to work with
o erce
data matching accuracy.
f Am n
t
cons erican
your mailing house, which will handle processing
the data files and prepare the mail to be entered
pref um
into the postal system. In addition, if you work adver er to ers
tisem receive
prom ents an
with a mailing house that has an in-house postal
employee who can weigh and certify mailings, they ot d
can help quicken the process. by m ions
ail.

3. ny
mpa
ou r co most
Is y ng the irect
i
gett f its d ing
5) Optimize your call to action 9) Seed your list
o t
The purpose of a direct mail marketing campaign is Add your name and the names out l marke ?
to drive recipients to take a specific action. Your call of your colleagues to the mai paigns
to action should be clear, simple, and make it easy mailing list. This will enable you cam
to respond. It may seem obvious, but oftentimes to know when your recipients
direct mail pieces are designed to be eye-catching received your mailing and how
rather than action-driving. the final mailing appears.
6) Select the optimal format 10) Track your success
There are a variety of formats you can use to deliver As with any campaign, it’s important to track its
a direct mail marketing campaign. However it’s success. Create unique identifiers in your call to
important to decide which medium is best suited action to enable tracking. For example, create a
for the message you want to deliver. Sales letters landing page for your campaign with a unique URL
and self-mailers can be a cost-effective way to build that you can include as your call to action. This will
brand awareness for your products or services. allow you to track how many recipients are taking
Postcards are also a great way to deliver a single action from your piece.
message while overcoming the obstacle of having
recipients open it. If you have a large amount of
information to share, a CD mailer also can be a
useful direct mail marketing tool.
D
res irec
are pons t ma
7) Create a compelling design
f e il
gre our rate
The design of your direct mail piece needs to draw
attention long enough for recipients to see the ate tim s
value your offer provides them. Be creative, and em r th es
ail an
think beyond just traditional design. Use format, !
print substrate, print techniques, and colors to help
build an arresting design that won’t go unnoticed
when it lands on someone’s desk.
8) Don’t be late
Any campaign can suffer if timing is off, especially
if you’re limited to a specific time frame for your
mailing. Make sure you send your campaign out
with enough time for recipients to take action by
the deadline date.
By following these best practices, you should be able to avoid some of the common pitfalls of direct mail
marketing and develop an impactful campaign. As with any project, practice makes perfect. Don’t be
afraid to try something new with your campaign. Learn from your mistakes, employ proven best practices,
and rely on your mailing house to provide knowledge and guidance on your campaigns.
For more information, please email chodge@inwk.com or visit bit.ly/inwkdirect

4. About InnerWorkingsETING
InnerWorkings is the leading provider of
global marketing supply chain solutions.
We combine innovative technology, an extensive
supplier network, and deep domain expertise to
help companies strategically manage their print,
promotional, and packaging solutions.
We service customers across multiple industries,
including financial services, retail, non-profits, health-
care, food and beverage, education, transportation
and utilities. With headquarters in Chicago and major
operations in Chile and the United Kingdom, Inner-
Workings employs approximately 1,100 people and
operates in more than 44 offices around the world.
For more information, please visit bit.ly/inwksmb.
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