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Direct Mail Marketing
What is Direct Mail Marketing?
Direct Mail is a term we’ll use for different types of direct mail marketing products that AdsValue chooses to provide, namely newspaper Sticky Notes, Postcards / KeeperMail, and Inserts (Flyers).
Marketing encompasses disciplines such as market research, advertising, promotion, distribution, merchandising, planning, publicity, R & D, and sales. It is also determining what the consumer wants, what they are willing to pay, how much they might buy, the competitive landscape, etc.
AdsValue knows that effective direct mail marketing includes a plan, a process, testing, and persistence. There is no perfect media for your direct mail campaigns, and we can help you discover what is best for your direct mail campaign needs.
Some factors that can influence direct marketing success are:
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desirability of, and the need for the product or service
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market profiling and targeting – size, location, demographics
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mailing list quality – in-house or purchased, maintained?
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budget and management mindset
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poor marketing materials – wrong phone #, offensive, unattractive, not engaging
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direct mail copywriter abilities and amount of ad copy testing
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visibility / placement of marketing materials (car parts don’t sell in the food section)
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reputation / experience of the company providing the direct mail marketing service
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lack of clear objectives, a direct mail campaign plan
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competitive offerings at the same time
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focused effort, follow through, and tracking
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adequate testing, measurement and implementing improvements
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Is Direct Mail Marketing Still Effective? The Answer is. . . . .
. . . .just not that simple. That answer has to be taken in context of many factors. Certain direct mail marketing is only about one-third as effective in a head-to-head competition with newspapers. Don’t get us wrong – we desire our products to complement newspapers. Most reports show newspapers as the leader in advertising, but let’s get additional perspective:
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About one-half of the people don’t get a newspaper and about 10% don’t look at the ads regularly or at all. This means that well over 50% of the population isn’t reached by newspaper advertising, and that is a very large market for your direct mail campaigns.
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Reports show that about 90% of readers look at the ads. Great! If an average newspaper is 100 pages, and you spend 25 minutes a day reading the paper, then you could spend about 15 seconds per page. If you spent 15 minutes READING news, comics, editorials, etc, then you have 10 minutes to review all other content. If there were six ads per page, you’ll have 10 minutes to view 600 ads plus turning pages. That means each ad MIGHT BE VIEWED for about ONE SECOND. If the kids need something, the dog comes begging, or you sleep in, figure out how many ads even get seen. Big circulation numbers help but how many times is your ad really seen?
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Visibility is most important. Combining cost-effective circulation with the best visibility would be a dream come true – like the front page of the newspaper, a postcard or flyer.
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Direct mail is familiar, as is the newspaper. Direct mail gets looked at, despite all the grumbling about receiving it. People know what to expect and are comfortable with the consistent format and ease of use.
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Inserts (flyers) are very effective. Reports show that most newspaper readers look through the inserts even if they may spend less time elsewhere. Everyone is looking for a bargain.
Compare your direct mail marketing campaign to AdsValue direct mail products (Sticky Notes, Postcards, Inserts,). These products were selected to provide exceptional visibility and complement your existing direct mail marketing efforts, not compete with them. Direct mail gets your product or service noticed. Yes – direct mail marketing is, and will always be effective when implemented properly for the right objective.
Selecting Media to Reach Your Target Market
The objective of any relationship marketing effort should ultimately be an activity that brings your business closer to promoting and maintaining an exceptional customer relationship and experience.
Any media will work to some degree to reach some of your market some of the time, however at what price? Repetition of a relevant message is important to positioning your company in the prospect’s mind so when they are ready to transact business; they arrive at your doorstep and not your competitor’s. Your Problem: repetition costs money; so how can you market efficiently?
Consider these basic types of Target Markets (audiences) and general descriptions:
General
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Mass market exposure (minimal focus) where “anyone” might see your campaign
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Uses – keeping your name out there, attract new customers, new markets
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Market over airwaves, or large subscription lists / retail sales, bulk email lists, etc.
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Examples such as a newspaper (Wall Street Journal, USA Today), or radio (general radio station), television
Focused
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More focused sectors of a marketplace, however not as specific as Targeted
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Uses – occasional / previous customers - new product introduction, sale, coupons, store grand re-opening, move to new office,
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Market using mailing lists, focused email lists, magazines, etc.
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Examples such as readers (Readers Digest, US News & World Report), or sports (Sports Illustrated, Sporting News), or travel (Travel & Leisure, National Geographic Adventure)
Targeted
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Persons with specific interests and needs
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Uses – active customers – newsletter, new policy, preferred sale, and focused uses
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Market through specialized magazines, trade publications, targeted mail and email lists, in-house mail and email lists
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Examples such as persons interested in photography (Photography, Shutterbug) or fashion (Vogue, Elle), or sporting (Boating, Ski, Fly Fisherman)
As you market to each group the costs can rise dramatically to engage a prospect, meaning the acquisition cost for each new customer probably will increase.
So we need to select the best media to the more / most targeted audience that our budget will permit to maximize visibility. You could consider it your “Eyeball Cost”. Remember, hundreds of millions of pieces of direct mail are sent every year as part of direct mail campaigns. Review the table below to identify what media can you afford for your current objective?
Visibility – likelihood that a properly implemented ad will be specifically noticed and relevant for this audience (0 = minimal chance of connecting with interested prospect, to 5 = strong chance).
Cost – relative cost per new customer and flexibility of media ($ = low cost, ease of use, to $$$$ = high cost and structured)
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Visibility
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Visibility
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Visibility
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Cost
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Cost
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Cost
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Type
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Targeted
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Focused
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General
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Targeted
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Focused
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General
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Seminar
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5
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2
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0
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$$$$
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$$$$
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$$$$
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Telemarketing
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5
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2
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1
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$$$
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$$$$
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$$$$
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Referrals
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5
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2
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1
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$
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$
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$
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Postcard
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4
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4
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4
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$$
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$$
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$$$
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Email
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4
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4
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4
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$
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$
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$
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Online Ads
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4
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4
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4
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$
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$
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$
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Letter / Brochure
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4
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4
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4
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$$
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$$
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$$$
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Digital Magazine
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3
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2
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1
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$$
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$$
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$$
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Interest Magazine
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3
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2
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1
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$$$
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$$$
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$$$$
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Card Deck Ads
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1
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3
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1
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$$
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$$
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$$$
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General Magazine
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1
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2
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3
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$$$
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$$$
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$$$
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Radio
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1
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2
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4
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$$$
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$$$
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$$
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Television
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1
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2
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4
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$$$$
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$$$$
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$$$
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Insert / Flyer
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1
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2
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4
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$
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$
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$
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News Sticky Note
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1
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3
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5
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$$$
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$$$
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$$
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Newspaper
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2
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3
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4
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$$
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$$
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$$
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Billboard
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0
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1
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4
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$$$$
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$$$$
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$$$$
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Cookie Ad
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0
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1
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2
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$$$$
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$$$$
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$$$$
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Direct Mail Campaign Examples:
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To tell customers you’ve moved to a new location, consider a postcard or email, probably not a television commercial.
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To advertise a major sale, consider a news Sticky Note, insert (flyer), or email.
Direct Mail Marketing Solutions – News Sticky Notes, Postcards / KeeperMail, and Inserts (Flyers)
AdsValue direct mail marketing solutions are highly visible, cost-effective, and a little different than everyone else when possible. Pricing is competitive and even better with our multi-advertiser products.
Scan Viewing – regardless of the media, we scan it in less than one second to determine if we’re going to look at it. In other media, we may not even look inside, however with direct mail (Sticky Notes, Postcards), they are seen by the consumer about 98% of the time because they don’t need to be opened.
A combination of a direct mail marketing and email marketing campaigns can boost response rates more than each type implemented individually. Relevant, repetitive ads are more effective than single messages.
There are no direct mail marketing spaces as desirable as the front page of the newspaper. We provide various sized pastel-colored Sticky Notes applied to the front page of the newspaper providing your message with VERY HIGH VISIBIBLITY. An important additional benefit is that the note can be removed and kept for future reference and influence future sales.
Single Advertiser – one advertiser per Sticky Note. This provides great visibility while having a higher cost.
Multi-Advertiser – two or more advertisers per Sticky Note – about a 30% – 60% savings with the same great visibility
See a 4-color Note at the top of this page.
Typical Uses – new web site announcements, coupons, various event notifications, big sales, new store location, new product introduction, franchise ads, or political campaigns and elections.
Description - 3" x 3" size only on white paper, spot and 4-color process. Also over 40 die-cut shapes are available. Newspaper Zone and Zip Code delivery options are available. Cost varies based on your specific needs, volume, delivery area, number of colors, etc. Contact the AdsValue Sales department to discuss your specific direct mail campaign needs.
Postcards / KeeperMail
Individual postcards offer the high visibility you desire, with the flexibility of delivery options, adequate design space, and more professional image than some card decks. With postage rates increasing, the Multi-Advertiser solution is attractive to get your message out while staying within your direct mail marketing budget.
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Single Advertiser– displays one advertiser per postcard. This provides the best visibility while having a higher cost.
Multi-Advertiser – many advertisers per postcard while still providing very high visibility at a lower cost. Depending on the size of the postcard and your ad size - about a 20% – 40% savings
KeeperMail – our specialty multi-advertiser postcard highlights complementary providers (such as all mobile services) so a recepient is more likely to keep the postcard for future reference. It still provides very high visibility at a lower cost. Depending on the size of the postcard and your ad size - about a 20% – 40% savings
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Postcard sizes, finishes, and costs vary. Many delivery options are possible, such as using your mailing list, all addresses in a zip code, targeted lists, city wide, etc.
Vary your ad size depending on your current direct mail campaigns and budget.
Contact the AdsValue Sales department to discuss your specific direct mail campaign needs.
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Inserts / Flyers
Newspaper inserts are one of the most widely read features of the newspaper. We can design a single add insert, or have you join other local advertisers on our cost-efficient multi-advertiser insert.
Single Advertiser – one advertiser per insert
Multi-Advertiser – up to 50 advertisers per insert – about a 90% savings with a compact message and the same visibility
Availability, size and cost vary. Newspaper Zone and Zip Code delivery options are available. Contact the AdsValue Sales department to discuss your specific direct mail campaign needs.
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Get Started Now
Discuss improving your current direct mail marketing plan, lack of a plan, or plan to make a plan with the AdsValue Sales department for your specific direct mail marketing campaign.
Size Doesn’t Matter - We support small direct mail campaigns or large direct mail campaigns.
How can we help? Contact the AdsValue Sales department through the Service Info Request Form to tell us about your needs.
BONUS ! See other AdsValue services that will complement your direct mail campaigns such as Email Marketing and Surveys.
Thank You for Considering 
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