Top tips for planning your printed direct mail campaigns

Consider the format of your printed direct mail piece as this will have a dramatic impact on the following costs:

Postage – consider the size, weight and thickness of your DM piece as the difference in price between letter and large letter is currently 30p/27p per mailer based on 1^st/2^nd class franking with Royal Mail.
Envelope – it’s a good idea to use a custom sized piece to stand out, but always check what envelope sizes are available first. There’s nothing worse than a mailer piece sitting inside an envelope that’s way too big. Consider a printed or coloured envelope to add interest and encourage your recipient to open and read it, particularly if you need to stick to standard A sizes. You could also use a sticker or seal on the reverse to take it one step further.
Printed piece – think about how much content you need and who your target audience is as this will help you plan the mechanic and finish of your mailer piece. You can use a simple postcard, folded leaflet, complex folded piece and/or add a specialist finish such as die cutting to shape, spot UV varnish, foil blocking etc.
Stock – consider the quality and weight of paper to use and ensure it leaves your target market with the right impression.
Quantity – the volume of mailers you need to produce will affect the unit cost of the printed piece particularly in relation to specialist print finishes.

Think about how you can increase your return on investment:

Personalisation – we recommend using personalisation to improve the effectiveness of your campaign. This may increase the initial outlay but it will be worth it.
Freebies – everyone loves a free gift! For low quantities, you could consider enclosing a small gift that will surprise the recipient and give it an intriguing ‘feel factor’. Bear in mind that this will have an impact on all the cost factors listed above. For large volumes, you could offer a discount voucher or a prize draw.
The power of 3 – one hit mailers rarely work so embrace the ‘Power of 3’, a term coined by marketing author Dee Blick. Combine your mailer with a telephone call and a follow up email, for example, to improve its effectiveness. You can also use PURLs (personalised URLs), text messages, social media etc where appropriate.

If you would like more information on direct mail campaigns, please contact us on 01962 864900 or via email on hello@talkdesignandprint.com

Written by Nicky Peebles 15/05/17