Our blog is full of amazing resources to help you plan every aspect of your direct mail campaigns. We decided to gather it all for you and share it in this easy-to-navigate format. Plus, we included this Direct Mail Checklist to help you keep track of your campaign’s many moving parts.

If you enjoy our blogs about direct mail, then you’ll want to bookmark this post!

Choose the Right List

 Decide regular mail vs EDDM*
 Decide on list size (based on campaign goals or on cost of mailing)
 Will you use an in-house list or purchased list?
 For in-house list: Send to entire list, or to a selected group?
 For purchased list: Use geographic and demographic information to customize a list based on your target audience

*EDDM will place restrictions on the size and design of your campaign.

Determine Your Campaign Goal & Call-to-Action

 Goal is SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time Sensitive)
 Create a Call-to-Action that supports this goal

Develop Effective Messaging

 Speaks the language of your targeted audience
 Moves recipient toward completing the Call-to-Action
 Communicates clearly and concisely
 Uses a strong “bait” headline to grab attention
 Uses personalization to more effectively target sub categories within your mailing list

Design Your Mailer

 Design enhances your message
 Appeals to your targeted audience
 Use the information hierarchy. The most important information should be the largest.
 If using envelopes, design them to catch attention in the mail

Bonus Tip: Don’t forget the follow up!

It often takes three interactions before someone will respond to a direct mail piece. If you are sending to a purchased list, try sending a follow-up postcard or sending your next few mailings to the same list. This repeat interaction with your brand can build recognition.

If you are sending to a customer list and you have their email addresses too, you can follow up with an email rather than another direct mail piece.