Business Tips

Technology is omnipresent in the world of direct marketing and it is, without question, a chief catalyst for helping improve a company's revenue, reputation and brand awareness. Successful companies know the importance of using a robust marketing mix to generate the best results.

Integrating technology with conventional methods of marketing is shown to improve customer engagement, especially in direct mail campaigns. New technological enhancements not only improve the customer experience, but provide marketers with the ability to closely track results and measure ROI among direct mail campaigns as well as their effect on the marketing mix as a whole.

Did you know that you can track traffic generated via your direct mail campaign using Google Analytics? While direct mail might not seem like a natural match for an online tracking tool such as Google Analytics, it’s surprisingly easy to track the online traffic that your website receives as a result of your offline marketing efforts. There are several ways to track your direct mail postcards using Google Analytics, ranging from simple to slightly more complicated. Read on to discover how you can use this powerful online tracking tool to monitor your next direct mail campaign.

When you send a direct mail postcard campaign, how can you make sure you don’t mail to names and addresses that are out of date?

There are several ways to ensure your message reaches the right addresses. One of the most effective ways is to make sure you use a mailing list that’s recent and 100% up to date, as opposed to an older mailing list that may contain out-of-date entries.

Another way is to use “Or Current Resident” in the address field of your direct mail campaign. You can do this by checking the “Print Or Current Occupant” option when you use our direct mail postcard printing and delivery service.

For years, marketers have viewed direct mail and online marketing as very separate ecosystems. While direct mail and online marketing may seem worlds apart, they’re actually very similar, as well as extremely interconnected. The marketing actions your business engages in offline have a huge effect on how its customers interact with it online. This means that your direct mail pieces could have an immense impact on how your business’s customers use its website.

As email marketing and digital advertising took off in the early-to-mid 2000s, one belief was repeated almost endlessly by digital marketing evangelists: that the old fashioned forms of direct marketing – print and direct mail – were “over.” New data from New York-based consulting company the Winterberry Group shows that this prediction couldn’t have been more wrong. In 2015, direct mail spending is projected to grow to an astounding $45.7 billion in total. Even more impressive, direct mail is viewed by a growing number of marketers as a more effective, higher impact marketing channel than the digital marketing options that have previously dominated most marketing discussion.

For our entrepreneur friends, we put together the inspiring rags-to-riches stories behind five U.S. brands that started from nothing and became wildly successful. Despite humble beginnings, most of these brands have made it on the Fortune 500 list with big payoffs for the entrepreneurs who risked everything to see them succeed. This infographic highlights the ups and downs of the founders who ventured to create Whole Foods, Dell, Starbucks, Forever 21, and Walmart. The men and women behind these brands eventually found fortune but only after risking it all, failing at previous ventures, or starting from the bottom.

We know creating and sustaining a small business isn't easy, so we hope this inspires you to keep your chin up and keep following your dreams.

Each and every day, the average American views, hears, and reads more than 2,000 different advertisements. Is it any wonder that, given the chance, most people tune out to advertising instead of paying attention? 

As a business, standing out as an engaging, interesting signal amongst the constant noise of other advertisers is difficult. With all that noise, how can you ensure your target audience hears your message? 

More so, how can you reach out to your target audience and make it clear that your message is worth their time?

Have you ever prepared a brilliant postcard design, spent days writing the perfect marketing message, and taken every step to ensure your targeting is as relevant as possible, only to have the campaign fail to make an impact? 

It’s time for some hard truth, marketing style. Your prospects primarily care about themselves. They care about their wants, needs, and interests. They do not, however, care about you, your company, or your objectives.

When a prospect pulls your direct mail postcard or flyer out from their mailbox, he or she will ask a series of questions: 

• What is being advertised?
• Is it something I need?
• If it’s something I need, who is offering it? 

The last question – who is offering it? – brings your credibility into the spotlight and makes your reputation essential. It’s also a double edged sword – you need to reveal just the right amount of information, all without wasting valuable space. 

If you’ve studied copywriting or marketing in any respect, you’ve heard the phrase “focus on the benefits, not the features.” 

While the benefits of your product or service can have a huge positive effect on the success of any marketing campaign, it’s important not to forget about the immense effects that a product or service’s features can also have. 

Benefits are crucial – no doubt about it. Your prospects will only sign on the dotted line once they’ve understood how your products or services can benefit them. But the details and features of your product or service are important, too.