Statistics On Direct Mail

[grafikrtist]

Can anyone provide me with the effectiveness of opt in direct mail ?

[Dao Jones]

I recently quit the direct mail business and can give you some basic information but from your question I'm not really sure what you want to know. You say "opt in" which usually refers to email marketing but then you used the term direct mail which is not email marketing. So I'm a little confused about which you want to know about.


If you're talking about email marketing be very careful who you use because the rip off artists are all over the place. My associates and I have discussed doing this for our clients for years but we've avoided it because we simply can't tell if any of the list vendors are reputable. There are so many people getting ripped off I just didn't fool with it. On top of all this there is a growing number of companies who didn't like the results of email (lots of shoppers, few buyers) that the trend is to use conventional direct mail (snail mail) again.
As far as direct (snail mail) goes your results should be in the 2-3% range if normal up to 5 or 6% if you have a killer sales letter and a great list.

Some friendly advice; get a pro to write the letter. And if the person you're talking to says they can do a good sales letter for less than $2000 then walk away. And if you can't afford $3000 a month for a consistent mail campaign then don't do it. Never mail less than 5000 pieces (10,000 would be better) and expect to pay anywhere from .40 to .65 cents per piece including list. Most companies without really good ad budgets (and the expertise) should stay the hell away from direct mail.

[mybusiness]

WOW! Thanks Dao. Good info.

I wanted to send out some brochures to local businesses in my area. I wanted to send at least 30 to 50 each week. Now I guess I need to rethink my plan.

[vgsllc]

From the outset of your relationship, first understand your core customer, message, and market, in order to create your definition of success. It's this type of active partnership that allows you to leverage this knowledge across less expensive, highly segmented and customer specific vehicles (e-mail marketing, e-newsletters, website analytics) with more high impact, personalized print vehicles.

[east2west]

Originally Posted by Dao Jones

I recently quit the direct mail business and can give you some basic information but from your question I'm not really sure what you want to know. You say "opt in" which usually refers to email marketing but then you used the term direct mail which is not email marketing. So I'm a little confused about which you want to know about.


If you're talking about email marketing be very careful who you use because the rip off artists are all over the place. My associates and I have discussed doing this for our clients for years but we've avoided it because we simply can't tell if any of the list vendors are reputable. There are so many people getting ripped off I just didn't fool with it. On top of all this there is a growing number of companies who didn't like the results of email (lots of shoppers, few buyers) that the trend is to use conventional direct mail (snail mail) again.
As far as direct (snail mail) goes your results should be in the 2-3% range if normal up to 5 or 6% if you have a killer sales letter and a great list.

Some friendly advice; get a pro to write the letter. And if the person you're talking to says they can do a good sales letter for less than $2000 then walk away. And if you can't afford $3000 a month for a consistent mail campaign then don't do it. Never mail less than 5000 pieces (10,000 would be better) and expect to pay anywhere from .40 to .65 cents per piece including list. Most companies without really good ad budgets (and the expertise) should stay the hell away from direct mail.

Just had to say that is good info there

[davcgp]

Generally speaking a good direct mail campaign usually will get about 1-3% response rate. Your rate can increase if you personalize the package. Another key factor is segmentation. You have to know your customer and provide them with relevant information. Modeling your database can provide the data you need to rent prospect lists, and help define your offer. There are many things concerning list that can help response. Running it against the NCOA list, DMA No Pander list etc.

Response rate will really depend on your offer and your actual mail piece, the bigger the better. As well as your audience and the quality of your mailing list and the number of times you mail to that same audience.