People may want to believe that unicorns, Sasquatch and Elvis are still wandering about. We choose not to disprove these legendary conspiracy theories but here are a few myths we would actually like to debunk.
1. Direct mail is dead.
Many marketers have high hopes for printed direct mail. Mail affords marketers greater reach, allows more information to be communicated than most online advertising efforts and gives buyers the opportunity to respond to a call to action in the way that they want, on their own time.
2. Direct mail is expensive.
Yes and no. It may cost more to send out a direct mail piece than an email, but studies show direct mail gets a better response rate. Consumers feel they get too many emails and have a better recall of a brand with a physical piece of mail.
3. It's junk mail.
OK, let's say a direct mail piece will end up in the trash. But you have to touch it to read it before you decide. Like that pesky drunk uncle that shows up to your house on holidays. Loud but memorable. An email is much easier to trash. Email studies have shown that 90 percent of people ages 25 to 34 find direct mail is reliable and that 87 percent like receiving it.
4. Only my grandma likes it.
Is it old fashioned if it still works? More than 40 percent of recipients read or scan direct mail pieces: That means that nearly HALF of your target audience is actually stopping, for a few seconds, to read your message. If you’ve designed it properly with a strong and relevant offer/call-to-action, you might achieve a 1 percent, 2 percent or even 14 percent response rate. Digital ads, in comparison, are lucky if they get a 0.14 percent ad click-through rate — and then, once they get to the landing page, you’ll be lucky if you convert 2.35 percent.5. No one reads direct mail.
They do and it's easy to prove if you include a call to action. Postcards get a good 4.25 percent response rate. There are less direct mail pieces targeted to homes or businesses compared to the many thousands of on-screen messages we receive 24/7. Research studies have found that 85 percent of consumers sort through and read selected pieces of mail every day, according to Mail Print.
6. It’s hard to do.
It’s easy with AMPlified mail's intuitive editing tool. One popular way to do direct mail advertising is by running a postcard campaign. In a few clicks you can design, print and deliver your business postcards directly to mailboxes in targeted areas. Learn how you can generate new customers and lower your acquisition costs with AMPlified Mail.