6-Part List-Building Series: Using Direct Mail

If you thought direct mail was dead, think again. It is still a powerful marketing tool, especially when paired with an email campaign, and can help you gain more valuable customers. So, in this week’s installment of our 6-Part List-Building Series, we put together five tips for using direct mail to build your email list:

Entice them with an offer.

Everyone likes getting a free gift, right? Send out direct mailings with an enticing offer that comes only with a subscription to your email list.

But wait…that offer needs to be really good. Think about it. You’re asking recipients to take out their computer, type in the url to a landing page and fill out a form to subscribe. That’s a lot of effort by today’s standards. So make sure you’re offering something worth their time. Ideally, the gift should be digital because they are free to duplicate. So it won’t cost you any more to give it away to 1,000 people versus just one, unlike a tangible gift or coupon.

Try to think of an offer that is helpful to your customer base and that people will want to use often or share with others. This positions your business as valuable to consumers before they even make a purchase.

Pro tip: Promote the value of the email subscription first and then the free offer. Quality is more important than quantity and you want subscribers who will actually do business with you going forward, not just the ones who will take the freebie and disappear.

Customize the message.

It’s tempting to create one mailer and then send it out to your entire database. But it’s smarter to customize the message. Segment your lists based on interests, the stage a consumer is at in the buying process, demographics, etc. Your direct mail campaign will be more effective in terms of results and costs if you market through segmentation.

Send a postcard.

Postcards are more cost-effective than letters or larger mailers. They’re also more eye-catching because you don’t have to open them to see the message. Send out a postcard with a simple, but enticing design and one call-to-action. Provide the details of your lead magnet by directing them to a landing page created especially for the direct mail campaign.

Promote products and other valuable content.

Use direct mailers to educate your consumer base about your industry, business and the products you offer. Encourage recipients to check out your website, social media and blog. You want to be seen as an expert in your field and a valuable resource if or when they need your services.

Promote your videos.

Informational, promotional and how-to videos are becoming more and more popular compared to learning new information via reading. If you’re already producing videos that people will want to watch, promote them through direct mail campaigns and then encourage your potential customers to enter in their email and opt in to more videos.

When used wisely, direct mail campaigns are a powerful tool for building email lists and will help you attract valuable subscribers who want to hear from you.