Are all of your customers online? The Benefits of A Well Designed Piece of Snail Mail

Are your customers online?

Depending on your demographic, you might experience a higher conversion rate if you attempt the tried and true method of direct mail.

Despite what some experts are reporting, direct mail is still insanely effective at reaching those individuals that aren’t so tech savvy.

Even Bill Gates still gets mail. And why he’s rich enough to have someone review all that stuff for him, the truth is everyone in this country still has a physical mailbox of some kind.

Even cooler, is that in this digital age of marketing, when your inbox is flooded with spam, or emails that often go right to the trash, we still enjoy getting letters in the mail. Nothing says personal like a hand addressed envelope, and a thank you note from a close friend or client.

The smartest thing you can do as a marketer or small business owner, is to leverage that nostalgic feeling, and invest a little money in some paper and bulk postage.

I love writing sales copy.

The ability to sell someone just by using well structured text, is still the greatest accomplishment any marketer can hope for. In today’s advertisements, you often see a crazy overuse of images. While pictures are great, they fail to highlight the benefits associated with the purchase of your new product or service.

A solid story that touches on that ever so sensitive pain point, is what great sales copy is all about.

Direct mail gives you the ability to really define those benefits, and create something that feels personal.

But success in direct mail is all about presentation.

Should I mail a letter, postcard, coupon, or invitation?

With different shapes, sizes, colors, and textures it’s important to test everything you drop in the mailbox. Don’t leave anything to chance, and make sure to document your results in detail. The slightest change in font, headline, or post script could be the difference between an awesome sales piece, and a straight up dud!

Another cool option that is not available in email marketing, is the feeling of getting something extra.

You open that mailbox, and you grab an overstuffed envelope with extra postage. You know something is inside, but you don’t know what.

Maybe it’s a free sample of your new cleaning product, or a small box of your latest granola concoction. By getting a sample into the consumer’s hands, you are setting yourself up for success! They feel like they have been given a gift, and if you are familiar with the theory of reciprocity, you would know that a small gift is often returned with a purchase.

You don’t see too many freebies in the mailbox these days. It might be due to the increase in postage charges, but if you really narrow down your demographic to a few hundred, I would definitely give this option a try!

One last thing that’s awesome about a physical mailing, is the response times. It takes the recipient just a few seconds longer to either trash that mail, or inspect it a little deeper for some sort of value.

While email is trashed in just a click, paper mail can often get laid on counter tops for future visibility.

That extra glimpse could be all the time you need to solidify a sale.

So the next time you want to crank up that flashy email campaign, you might want to ask yourself again…

“Are my customers online?”

Even if they are, you might want to give snail mail a shot.

I think you’ll be surprised at the results!

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~Andy

photo credit: cindy47452 via photopin cc