Is Direct Mail Dead? Not with Lumpy Mail
With the rise of email, blogging, newsletters and social media accounts all becoming the new standard way to keep in touch with your clients, we asked ourselves “Is direct mail really dead?” By direct mail, we mean traditional mail, you know the type of mail you put a stamp on, and go put it in them rarely used red things at the end of your street!
The answer… definitely not!
Direct mail, most certainly has its place, and now more than ever we can utilise it. Why? Because with everyone going online, the opportunity to stand out with a direct mail piece become much more achievable.
The issue is, the standard sale letter, just isn’t going to do it anymore. It is boring, unoriginal, and requires bulk sending and frequency to get somebody’s attention. The reason marketing took off online, was that it could iron out the inefficiencies that offline marketing couldn’t.
So what’s the solution… lumpy mail!
Lumpy Mail is when you send something bulky or eye catching through the post, so when the mail is delivered in the morning amongst all the white and manilla envelopes, yours stands out instantly.
There are loads of things that have been sent through the post this way, from coconuts to pumpkins, from cardboard tubes to giftwrapped boxes. If you can send something that is relevant, or funny, or that makes sense with your sales message too all the better.
Obviously this isn’t going to be as cheap as sending a letter, so you need to think about it in terms of return on investment. If you send a letter out to 100 people, you’ll be lucky if more than 10 pay attention and really lucky if more than 1 acts upon it. If you send 20 coconuts however, so can bet all 20 will pay attention, and from them we bet at least half respond to you, and you’ll be remembered.
Obviously the ROI depends very much on the sales message, and what you are trying to sell. So don’t send to random people like you may send a sales message, you need to be able to target.
For this reason it is a good idea if there is a particular company you want to make a link with. Most people will email them, or send a letter. But instead send them some lumpy mail, and follow up with a phone call in a couple days. You’ll find this is a much more effective way to get somebody’s attention.
ACTION: Think about some items you can buy for relatively cheap that you can send through the post for your next direct mail campaign.
Note: If you are a member of atomic – check out the Fast Track on Lumpy Mail that takes you through the exact steps you need to be taking to plan a successful Lumpy Mail Campaign.