subject: Direct Mail Advertising - Tips And Tricks To Success [print this page] You will probably end up using direct mail marketing to advertise your Virtual IT business. This form of marketing can also be expensive especially if you dont know how to make it work at your advantage. So, it is advised that you know the ins and outs about direct mail marketing before you begin.
Tips On How To Do Direct Mail Advertising
Usually, it takes around three to five pieces of direct mail to be sent before you can get a response from clients. Sometimes it even needs more mailing. To be able to get a higher response rate you should have a good list of clients that have a track record of buying products in your industry or whom you know have and existing interest on your products.
One tip in order to get a highly targeted direct mail advertising lists is to rent from a reputable broker and the list should have common elements like industry, occupation, location, etc..
When you already have a highly targeted list, start making your advertisement. See to it that the headline that you will use will hit the interest of your targeted clients. If you have good copy and a good headline, possibilities of getting 3% to 5% response rate will be achieved from a standard response rate of 1%.
Before you send your mail advertisement, do a poll or research to check on the things that are really appealing to your recipients. When youre doing this the first time, this will be a trial and error process, but soon youll finally find out what your target audience would be most interested in.
In direct mail advertising it is recommended to use postcards rather than letters. With postcards you can send them easier, you will have the pleasure to writing less, you will also save money on printing. Postcards postage charges are also cheaper than letters so you can send them more often.
You should set up a tracking system for you to measure your response rate and to know every single inquiry on the mailer. With this system you will be able to determine whether the inquiries are coming from the first piece of mail advertisement, second piece, so on and so forth.
There should be a two-step sales process involved. This is by getting them first to ask questions by making an inquiry and from there, you should take over and drive them to close the sale.
Make sure that your direct mail advertising is date sensitive. This means that you have to make your prospects to respond as soon as possible. Using promos with specific dates or discount coupons with expiry dates are some ways you can make them respond immediately.
Start the mail advertisement with just 500-1000 piece in order to give you a feel of the whole process. With this sample, you will know if there are things that need changes like your advertising copy or the list itself. If you are now happy with your response rate, go for bigger investment and more copies should be sent.
Direct mail advertising is an effective tool that you can use for advertising your products. You just have to learn how to maximize your returns and be smart enough in dealing with the problems that comes with it. By using the tips mentioned above, surely sooner of later you will get the results that youve been wanting.
