When making marketing decisions, business owners will often look at direct mail and email as two totally separate things.  However, direct mail can be a valuable partner to email campaigns because direct mail can remind people about an email offer they've recently received or prepare them for an email campaign that's coming.

Using both direct mail and email can be more effective than using either one alone, because emails are easily ignored and easily deleted. We know that if often takes several "touches" before a prospect will respond to an offer, so try using direct mail and email together to watch your responses increase.

Here are some tips for making the most of your direct mail:

1. Don’t do a hard sell. Rather, offer a solution to your prospect’s problems. This is really crucial. Customers don't want to hear what you "do" or provide, they want to hear how you're going to solve their problems and make their lives better in some way.

2. Shorten your headlines and messages. Get your message across with just a few words. Work with a writer or seek advice from eCom babes Cortney Fletcher who has experience with email marketing.

3. Match your email template to your direct mail piece by using the same colors, font, images and message.  Consistency is vitally important for brand recognition.

4. Personalize the communication as much as possible through variable printing, imagery, content and offers that are tailored toward the individual to gain a higher response.

5. Highlight benefits. Give less focus to features and more to benefits. Again, prospects want to know what's in it for them.

6. Include an offer and call to action if your focus is on direct response. Some mailers can be purely focused on brand building, but are you missing out if you don't include a call to action?

7. Don't forget your social media pages. Be sure to include links to your social media accounts like Facebook in your emails, and remind prospects that you are on social media in your direct mail pieces. Include the URL of your Facebook page, for instance, next to the Facebook icon.

8. Test different offers, incentives, and calls to action in both your emails and direct mail campaigns.  Try an email without a direct mail component and vice versa, and then compare with a campaign that includes both.

If you're unsure how to pair email and direct mail together, give us a call. We can help you with strategies for both!