Direct mail services are something that every business should consider. Whether you specialize in plumbing, HVAC, electric, carpet cleaning or some other home service, sending out physical postcards to your target audience is a very underrated form of marketing.
In this article, we’ll discuss the importance of direct mailers and how you get started on sending some to your customers.
Why Direct Mail Postcards Still Matter
In this increasingly digital and paperless world, the idea of sending out physical mail to so many people seems silly. Mistakenly viewing direct mails as obsolete, many home service companies opt for sending automated emails over automated direct mail.
The reality is, Mailchimp found that the average open rate for email was about 21%. While this open rate is impressive, especially considering how low-cost email marketing can be, it’s been found that 42% of people read or scan direct mail, giving you a higher reach.
Direct mail takes a bit more effort and tends to feel more personal, which appeals to most customers.
Direct Mail Postcard Tips
If you’re completely new to the idea of sending out marketing postcards, don’t worry. We have the tips you need to make your direct mail marketing campaign a major success.
Here are seven tips for creating direct mail postcards that bring in new customers.
1. Don’t Overthink the Design
Many businesses end up spending a lot of time and money trying to design the flashiest postcard design possible. The good news is this isn’t at all necessary.
Your postcards should look appealing and professional. However, your focus should be on the content and sending the postcards out to the right people. The way they look definitely matters, but the time, money, and energy it takes to create something super over-the-top probably won’t be worth it.
2. Use a Quality Printer
You can pull off a cheap direct mail campaign, but there are some aspects you shouldn’t cut corners on. Print quality should be one of your top priorities.
We recommend using a printer that offers a quality guarantee of some sort. This could take the form of a complimentary reprint if you find printing defects in your postcards. Otherwise, you could be paying big for postcards that make your business appear unprofessional or amateur.
3. Do a Thorough Proofread
As with any other type of written content, always take the time to proofread. You should be looking for spelling and grammar mistakes, formatting issues, run-on sentences and anything else that would make your postcards difficult to read.
It may be wise to have a colleague look over the content as well to make sure nothing is overlooked. Worried about what sort of tone your message gives? Try reading it out loud or asking a colleague to read it out loud to get a better idea of both the tone and flow.
4. Define Your Audience
One of the best ways to save money on a direct mail campaign is to target the right audience. There are many ways to define your target audience if you don’t already have that data. You can look at your website and social media analytics, analyze your competitors, study your customer base, or use Google Analytics.
Of course, you don’t always need this sort of data to know who not to target. If you’re a home services company, for example, you may want to target homeowners rather than tenants. It’s all about who you think you’re most likely to get a response from.
5. Drive Traffic Online
Though we’ve spoken at length about how underrated direct mail marketing is, digital marketing is still dominant. Thankfully, you can get the best of both worlds by directing the recipients of your mail to your website and/or social media pages.
One of the easiest ways to drive traffic to your online front with your postcards is to include your business’s social media handles. You can also incentivize recipients with QR codes or coupon codes that can only be activated on your website.
6. End With a Call to Action
Always end your postcard with a call to action, just as you would with any blog or social media post. Your call to action could be offering a sale or discount, promoting a contest or anything else that will excite readers about your business. Please note, your call to action should almost always be compelling and punchy, not wordy or complex.
7. Track Your Results
To get the best ROI for your direct mail marketing campaign, you need to have ways of tracking your success. If you included unique coupon codes in your postcards, you could keep track of how many were used in comparison to how many were sent out. If you used postcards to highlight a particular service, simply compare sales numbers on these services before and after the campaign.
Wrapping Up
With the right approach, this campaign can increase brand awareness and drive revenue for your business. We hope this information empowers you to create a direct mail marketing campaign that attracts a wider audience for your home services company.
KEEP READING: Boosting Your Direct Mail Response Rates
The post 7 Tips for Direct Mail Postcards That Bring in New Customers appeared first on Customer Lobby.
