Target Your Approach with a Direct Mail Plan

Too many times, with no direct mail plan to guide them, new business owners send out stacks of letters or postcards. They waste time and money sending letters to people who have no interest in their product or service. Direct mail can be cost effective, but not when hundreds or thousands of letters are sent randomly.

The following outline for a direct mail plan can help you take a more focused approach.

Develop Your Direct Mail Plan

Take some time to write down your responses to these questions:

• Who is my target audience? What unique benefits does my company offer them? What message should I use to convey these benefits to them? You should know the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) your company offers your audience. I cover determining your target audience and USP in the marketing plan section of this site
• What do I want to accomplish? Do I want to inform? To introduce my company or product? To attract new customers or increase sales to existing clients? To convince the customer to act. . .come to my business. . .to call me. . .to buy from me now or in the future?
• What is my budget for this mailing?
• How will I measure success of this mail campaign? Will I measure by new customers, products sold or phone calls received?

Plan Your Content

You've set the foundation for your direct mail plan by answering the questions above. Use that information as a springboard and write a content outline with the following:

• The product or service you want to tell the reader about. Limit this to no more than three related products. Two is better. One is best. Keep your mailing focused.
• The benefits you offer the customer. Don't list features; list benefits. As an example, don't say "Our services cost less." Say "You'll save money when you choose our XYZ product."
• Contact information such as phone number, email and web site. Office locations. Hours of operation if applicable.
• The special offer or call to action you will use to motivate the reader to respond.
• Any graphics or photos you envision. Try to focus on one main photo or graphic that ties in with your message and catches the reader's eye.

You may not use all of this information, but it helps to have it before you start designing.

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Think About Your Design

As part of your direct mail plan, think about your design. Take time to decide what you want. You may need the guidance of a printer, mail house or graphic designer, but you know your business and customers better than anyone.

• Decide if a printed piece or an email will be most suitable for your mailing. Typically, using both is a good idea. You may hit different people. Or you may hit the same person twice, simply strengthening your message.
• If you decide to send a letter, take a look at the sales letters page of this site. If you're opting for email, read the business email and E-newsletter pages. If you're using a postcard or flyer or brochure mailer, read on.

• Think about size and type of mailer. Do you want to send a flyer or a postcard? Postcards are very effective, because they don't have to be opened. According to the United States Postal Service(USPS), 94% of postcards are read, compared to 14% of letters. Postcards are easy to read and can catch attention quickly with a bright picture or interesting headline.

• Look through the many direct mail templates available online. Microsoft Office Online and Xerox Small and Medium Business provide a few free postcard templates. Even if you don't use the templates, they may give you design ideas.
  

  VistaPrint has a huge library of postcards. Their templates can give you many ideas. Plus, you can use their templates to design or upload your own design to their site. They'll print and mail directly to you.

• Look at direct mail pieces you've received. What caught your attention? You can't copy exactly, but you can use mailings from other companies for inspiration. Start a file of direct mail pieces that you like and refer to it when developing your direct mail plan.
• Think outside of the box, the mailbox that is. Some newspapers with direct mail services offer door hangers. They'll print them and hang them on doors for less than the cost of sending something by mail. It's a different approach that's worth checking into.

Now that you have your direct mail plan, you're ready for the fun part. . . designing your direct mail.