Direct Mail Tips
Blog Category
USPS Promotions are Becoming More Important Than Ever
With a significant postage rate increase on the horizon, the postage discounts that can be earned from participating in USPS promotions have become increasingly important to many marketers. As an added bonus, these promotions encourage marketing techniques that can make the direct mail portion of multichannel campaigns more relevant and engaging for the recipients, driving higher response and greater return on marketing investment (ROMI). Here are some key details and dates for the more popular mailing promotions:
ANA Conference Reports on the Effectiveness of Direct Mail
Since the pandemic I’ve found myself enthusiastically leaving my house…to check my mailbox. I wouldn’t just glance at my mail, but really looked through and read my mail daily. Apparently I’m not the only one who did this. According to the USPS, 41% of consumers said due to the pandemic they were more excited to […]
The Johnson Box—What, Why, Where, and How
Before we dive into the value and inner workings of the Johnson Box, a little family history. The Johnson Box was invented by my great great great grandfather Eustice Aristotle Johnson, a pioneer in direct mail. This breakthrough in marketing occurred shortly after he created boxed cereal and sliced bread. I’m a little fuzzy on […]
Six Direct Mail Don’ts
The usual focus of my wildly entertaining blogs (hold your applause until the end, please) is ways to improve your direct mail—writing, strategic thinking, presentation, etc. In other words, what to do. This month’s topic is based on one of my father’s favorite phrases, dating back to my youth. At some point during an average […]
Earn a Postage Discount While Enhancing Your Marketing Campaign with Informed Delivery
In a little more than a month, the Postal Service’s Informed Delivery mailing promotion will give marketers the opportunity to earn a two percent postage discount while expanding the reach of their direct mail campaigns. Informed Delivery is a USPS product that seamlessly links your mailpiece to digital experiences. It works by sending subscribers an […]
Does Your Direct Mail Package Pass the Test? An Essential Checklist—Rules 7-9
We’ve come to the final three (of nine) questions that every direct mail producer should ask before, during, and after you create a direct mail package. Reminder: these questions come courtesy of Paul McQuillan, who turned his experience at a marketing seminar into a piece for Target Marketing. His article appeared a few years […]
An Essential Direct Mail Checklist. Does Your Direct Mail Check the Boxes?—Rules 4-6
Continuing our review of the nine questions that should guide every direct mail user— courtesy of Paul McQuillan and an unnamed marketing seminar speaker. Paul turned that seminar encounter into a helpful direct mail checklist and wrote a piece for Target Marketing a few years ago. Let’s move on to questions four through six. All […]
An Essential Direct Mail Checklist. Does Your Direct Mail Check the Boxes?
We’re always on the lookout for and appreciative of essential advice for direct mail producers. A tip of the hat, then, to Paul Mcquillan and an unnamed marketing seminar speaker, whose direct mail checklist I recently came across in a piece Paul wrote for Target Marketing.
How to Use Color in Direct Mail to Drive Results
You might have heard through the grapevine that Pantone’s 2020 color of the year is Classic Blue. I see a lot of blue in my job; there are several studies showing blue is America’s favorite color, and approximately one-third of brands use blue in their logos.
Why Nordstrom and J. Jill’s Direct Mail Mistake Cost Them Millions
A very unexpected article drew me out of my usual morning email-checking haze today. My supervisor Debora Haskel had forwarded me an “interesting read” from MindFire, highlighting a drop in sales for clothing retailer J. Jill. The headline read “Retailer J. Jill learned the Hard Way Why Direct Mail is Still Relevant,” and the smell of scandal perked me up more than the cup of coffee I was holding [...]
