Elements of a Direct Mail Marketing Campaign: The Mail List

Elements of a Direct Mail Marketing Campaign

The basic elements of a direct mail marketing campaign are simple: a mail list; a mail piece; and a schedule. Each element influences the response rate (and therefore the effectiveness) of the campaign.

The Mail List

Of all the elements, the most influential is the mail list. It has been estimated that the mail list accounts for 60% of the overall response rate. Design a beautiful mail piece and include an irresistible offer but mail to the wrong audience and the response rate will be disappointing.

Today target audiences expect a direct mail piece to be relevant to their needs or interests. Personalization- such as including information about the prospect on the mail piece, tailoring the presentation of information, or including an appropriate message- are ways to demonstrate relevancy. Highly targeting personaliztion requires additional information (such as buying patterns and demographic profiling) that turns a mailing list into a database.

Any mail list- whether containing only name and address or enriched with transaction and demographic data- must be 100% accurate to be effective. This means spelling names correctly, keeping addresses current, and ensuring that demographics like age and gender are accurate. We can help you by giving you address corrections we receive from the USPS prior to mailing, but you will have to take the time to update your mailing list.

In our next Blog, we will look at the second element: The Mail Piece.