Learn how to create effective and engaging direct mailers that drive customer action with these tips and best practices.
Direct mail marketing is not dead. In fact, it’s alive and thriving in the digital age. According to a recent report by CompareCamp, direct mail has a higher response rate than email, social media, and online display ads. Direct mail also influences 83% of purchases and 42% of high-consideration purchases.
But how do you create direct mailers that stand out from the clutter and capture your audience’s attention? How do you persuade them to take action and become loyal customers?
In this article, we’ll share some tips and best practices on how to craft engaging direct mailing services that drive customer action.
Know Your Audience
The first step to creating effective direct mailers is to know your audience. Who are they? What are their needs, wants, challenges, and goals? How do they prefer to communicate and receive information? What are their buying behaviors and preferences?
Knowing your audience will help you tailor your message, offer, design, and call to action to their specific interests and needs. It will also help you choose the best direct mailing services for your campaign, such as design, printing, mailing list, and postage.
One way to know your audience is to create buyer personas. Buyer personas are fictional representations of your ideal customers based on real data and research. They help you understand your customers better and empathize with them.
To create buyer personas, you can use various sources of information, such as:
- Your existing customer data
- Your website analytics
- Your social media insights
- Your customer feedback surveys
- Your market research reports
- Your competitor analysis
You can also interview your current customers or prospects to get more insights into their motivations, pain points, expectations, and objections.
Once you have enough information, you can create buyer personas that include:
- Demographic details (age, gender, location, income, education, etc.)
- Psychographic details (personality, values, attitudes, lifestyle, etc.)
- Behavioral details (buying patterns, spending habits, media consumption, etc.)
- Goals and challenges (what they want to achieve and what prevents them from doing so)
- Pain points and objections (what frustrates them or stops them from buying from you)
- Preferred communication channels (how they like to receive information and interact with brands)
Write a Compelling Message
The next step to creating effective direct mailers is to write a compelling message that resonates with your audience and persuades them to take action. Your message should:
- Address your audience’s pain points and challenges
- Highlight your unique value proposition and benefits
- Create a sense of urgency and scarcity
- Include a clear and specific call to action
How to write a compelling message for your direct mailers?
Here are some tips on how to write a compelling message for your direct mailers:
- Use a catchy headline that grabs your audience’s attention and sparks their curiosity
- Use subheadings and bullet points to break up your text and make it easy to scan
- Use simple and conversational language that speaks directly to your audience
- Use emotional triggers that appeal to your audience’s desires, fears, or frustrations
- Use social proof such as testimonials, reviews, ratings, or awards to build trust and credibility
- Use incentives such as discounts, free trials, samples, or gifts to entice your audience to act
- Use a strong and clear call to action that tells your audience exactly what you want them to do next
Design an Eye-Catching Layout
The final step to creating effective direct mailers is to design an eye-catching layout that enhances your message and attracts your audience’s attention. Your layout should:
- Be consistent with your brand identity and style guide
- Use colors, fonts, images, and graphics that match your message and tone
- Use white space, contrast, alignment, and hierarchy to create balance and harmony
- Use clear and legible text that is easy to read and understand
How to design an eye-catching layout for your direct mailers?
Here are some tips on how to design an eye-catching layout for your direct mailers:
- Use a standard size and shape that fits your budget and mailing requirements
- Use high-quality paper and printing materials that reflect your brand quality
- Use a single or double-sided format depending on the amount of information you want to convey
- Use a simple and clean design that doesn’t distract from your message
- Use a focal point that draws your audience’s attention to the most important element of your mailer
- Use a callout box or a sticker to highlight your offer or incentive
- Use a QR code or a URL to direct your audience to your website or landing page
