The Ultimate Direct Mail Marketing Guide

As more businesses opt to invest in direct mail marketing, it is crucial to plan your campaign effectively to ensure its success. Knowing how to set up a direct mail campaign and where to start can be challenging, given the numerous options available. To help you prepare, Posthub has created a simple physical mail marketing checklist to support the planning process.

What to Consider When Planning a Direct Mail Campaign

What is my Marketing Objective?

When planning a postal campaign, it is essential to determine precisely what you want to achieve. For example, is the direct mail marketing campaign objective to:

• Create more prospective sales or leads for the business?
• Create a direct sales opportunity where the recipient can purchase an item immediately after receipt?
• Improve brand awareness or maintain existing customer relationships?

The intention of your campaign will massively influence how you run it, from the design you select to the timeline.

Will my Mail be Unaddressed or Addressed?

• Unaddressed Mail:

Doordrop media provides an opportunity to deliver items to unaddressed locations. This can allow more creative freedom than addressed mail, as the item does not need to carry an address. Audience demographics and specific geographical areas are used for targeting, so no personal data is required for the campaign or the mailing item.

• Addressed Mail:

Addressed postal items are typically referred to as direct mail, direct mailers or a mailshot. Campaign recipients are individuals who meet specific audience criteria, which can be based on demographics, geography, or customer data. As addressed in the mail, it is a data-driven media channel; therefore, the secure, responsible, and accurate use of data is fundamental to success.

• Partially Addressed Mail:

Partially addressed mail offers a GDPR-compliant way of reaching specific audiences and homes. Items are targeted using demographic and specific geographic information, but do not require the recipient's personal details, such as their name.

Partially addressed mail is a hybrid of unaddressed door-drop media and traditional direct mail.

Who is my Target Audience?

Your direct mail marketing efforts must connect with your target audience, which is defined by your campaign objectives. Any data records used to build your target audience must be clean and up-to-date, complying with the Data Protection Act 2018.

If you don't have data for your campaign, consider purchasing or renting a mailing list or collaborating with a planning and insights specialist to create a delivery schedule that is most relevant to your geo-demographic needs.

What is my Budget?

How much money is available for this direct mail campaign, and what are your expectations for the return on investment? These questions are key to determining the number of people the campaign can reach and the overall cost to your business. The mailing cost may be influenced by:

• The creative (size, format and weight of the item)
• Creating the target audience and delivery schedule (mailing data or audience insights)
• The volume of items to be delivered
• How the item is to be delivered (addressed, unaddressed or partially addressed)
• How quickly do the items need to reach the intended addresses
• The estimated campaign response rate

By examining these factors, you can estimate the cost per response, providing insight into the overall investment required for the direct mail campaign. Estimates should be realistic, with benchmarks for both best- and worst-case scenarios. 

What Design Should I Use?

The direct mail creative could be your first point of contact with your audience. With a physical printed media channel, you can bring about the intended interaction with your brand. Physical mail marketing will be more effective if the recipient can quickly see:

• Who has sent it
• What the message is
• How they can respond (the call to action)
• What is in it for them (the benefit)

Be mindful of your target audience and ensure the message is written to connect with them effectively. This will allow the overall message to be tailored to their specific needs, using personalised language and tone of voice while creating the proper connection and impact.  

Check out some of these creative direct mail ideas for inspiration, or explore different formats such as postcards and sensory direct mailers. 

When Should I Send My Direct Mail?

When is the direct mail campaign to be delivered? Is this a standalone campaign or part of wider marketing communication? For example, your direct mail campaign could be sent out a week after any broader awareness campaigns to reinforce your message.

Consider your target audience and avoid sending the direct mailer to reach them, as they may not respond. For example, targeting families might mean avoiding specific holiday periods when your audience is likely to be away from home.

What Delivery Partner Should I Choose?

By following the points above, you should have created a strong physical mail marketing campaign. Now, research your chosen delivery partner to understand who they already work with and their credentials around mail security. Understand the postal delivery process and any partners they may use for final-mile delivery to all scheduled homes.

How Will I Measure Campaign Success?

To understand the effectiveness of your direct mail campaign, link the responses back to the original mailing schedule. This includes positive reactions, opt-out returns, returns to sender and any other reasons for individuals to go uncontacted in the future. This process will enable you to not only assess the campaign's overall return on investment but also keep your data clean for future campaigns.

How Can Posthub Help with Physical Mail Marketing?

Posthub is the leading expert in mail delivery and management, offering consultative support throughout the direct mail campaign planning process. With extensive knowledge and experience, Posthub is well-positioned to provide cost-effective postal services to support all your direct marketing needs and cater to various ​​​​​industries.