What is Direct Mail Marketing?
Mailchimp, who know a thing or two about email marketing campaigns, define direct mail marketing like this:
…any physical correspondence you send to customers in the hopes of getting them to patronise your business.
This physical correspondence can include a letterbox drop of printed collateral – catalogues, brochures or flyers. It also includes direct mail advertising which is not usually personalised and is also known as unaddressed mail.
Many classic direct mail packs contain four elements – envelope, letter, brochure and response mechanism, but the sky’s the limit with creativity. Direct mail can include shaped postcards, scented letters, innovative envelopes and cut-out logo shapes, to name just a few creative ideas.
More specifically, targeted direct mail marketing is often a postcard or letter addressed to a specific person and sent from a delivery service like Australia Post, a traditional mail house, bulk mail or courier.
The tangibility of direct mail – you can hold it and touch it – creates distinctive forms of marketing campaigns in an era of digital approaches.
Email advertising can be deleted in bulk with a keystroke, while dealing with a piece of direct mail is a manual process, and it may easily remain on a desk or table for days.