Email Marketing vs Direct Mail (click here to read)
Are you thinking about adding or switching to a heavy dose of online email campaigns?
Likely you are trying to "keep up with the times" and at least flirting with email marketing. For those of you who don’t know my background- I LOVE DIRECT MAIL!
Direct mail is on the decline due to costs and environmentally conscious consumers. Let’s not fool ourselves, direct mail is getting the brush off more so because of $. It is far cheaper to rent/buy a list and sign up with an email service like iContact and start blasting out your offers.
I am all for smart email marketing, but there is nothing harder if you are not contacting people who know and want to hear from you.
Direct mail has a far greater chance of reaching the target (if done right) than email. It is not likely to piss them off either. I have opted out of a lot of people I admire email lists because I get sooo much crap.
The USPS is reporting that 12 billion pieces of mail were delivered this fiscal year. Meanwhile 210 billion emails were sent yesterday!
With email all we have is a tiny line of text to get them to open it. With direct mail getting them to look is fairly easy. If we cut down or cut out direct mail and utilize only the cheap email campaigns, does that make us more or less money?
Last time I checked an unopened email is worth nothing. They don’t even get exposed to anything
There is no doubt that extreme caution needs to be taken while doing email campaigns. It will be a very short time before you become labeled as SPAM. Next thing you know that is the only folder your emails show up.
Nobody reads SPAM.
Build a relationship or peak interest using direct mail. Keep in mind how much less mail is going out these days. Create a good letter with a good offer and lead them to you. Once you got them it is up to you to keep them.
Go get some
Paul McQuillan
Filed under: Small Business Marketing
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I completely agree. I read a statistic that consumers usually spend less than 2 seconds deciding whether to open an e-mail or delete it. But I do still believe it has its purpose and that the marketing campaign should incorporate both e-mail and direct mail.
Variable Data Printing also adds a lot of value to direct mailers. I am always more likely to open a piece of mail that is addressed to me specifically and holds value specific to me on the inside.
Thank you for the article!
Hey Paul,
You summed it up right here in my opinion…”Direct mail has a far greater chance of reaching the target (if done right) than email”.
People think “E-mail is cheap I’ll do that”. Well, no it’s not cheap. Look at all the money that IM people are leaving on the table. If they would just take a successful IM product or service offline they’d realize that.
You said “An un-opened e-mail is worth nothing”… Bingo. You hit the nail on the head there.
I know I would always open a plain # 10 envelope that looks like it might be from my Mom.
Best,
Bill Jeffels