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Most popular direct mail articles of 2013

Posted by Sheera Eby on February 6, 2014

Over the past year direct mail has continued to be one of the most effective ways to communicate with customers and prospects. Direct mail headlines have included topics such as response rates, best practices and personalization.

 

 

Jacobs & Clevenger is a leader in proven direct marketing best practices. We are believers in testing and have compiled these best practices over millions and millions of touch points.

 

It seems that direct marketing is often misunderstood. Many people equate direct marketing with direct mail. Direct marketing is actually a set of tools and techniques that use targeted communications to drive response and action.

 

Today, we’ll focus on our most popular direct mail blogs of last year highlighting relevant stats, best practices and inspiring ideas for capitalizing on successful direct marketing efforts. Take a look at the direct mail blogs that acquired the most page views in 2013.

 

#5 – Why your direct mail is underperforming
Architecting a successful direct mail campaign is as much science as art. When companies utilize direct mail and it doesn’t perform, they often blame the channel as a whole, rather than dissecting that individual direct mail initiative and looking for improvements.

There are a number of common mistakes that companies make in developing direct mail. Read the blog about some of the most common direct marketing mistakes and learn how to make adjustments and apply direct marketing best practices that can lead to successful direct mail campaigns.

 

#4 – Have direct mail best practices been influenced by digital media
Digital marketing and digital media have changed the way many marketers communicate with their customers and prospects. Email has provided a cost-effective and expeditious vehicle to communicate with customers. Online vehicles, such as banner ads and content marketing, are demonstrating value as effective pull marketing mechanisms.

So has digital marketing, and more specifically digital media channels, changed or influenced direct marketing best practices or direct mail best practices? And how should marketers adapt their direct mail to accommodate these new channels? Check out this article to learn about the 7 adjustments that should be considered within the direct mail best practices framework to accommodate the influences of digital marketing and digital media channels.

 

#3 – 7 successful direct mail examples
How is success defined for a direct mail campaign? Most people would say success is defined by outcome. In other words, if the direct mail met its objectives, then it was successful. But why do some things work better than others?

This article highlights 7 successful direct mail examples. Each example is accompanied with a quick overview on why we believe these direct mail examples worked. For the most part, the success can be attributed to the application of tried-and-true direct mail best practices that drive campaign performance. Click here to see all 7 successful direct marketing examples.

 

#2 – Expected direct mail response rates
According to the Direct Marketing Association, the average response rate is 3.4% for a house list and 1.28% for a prospect list. This varies by industry and a number of other factors that this article outlines.

Interestingly, direct mail response rates have remained steady for the past 24 months. One theory on this topic is that as volume has decreased, effectiveness of direct mail has increased. A less cluttered space seems to have created a positive impact on direct mail response rates. Check out this article to see the top four factors that impact response.

 

#1 – 10 best practices for direct mail
Direct mail should be considered an essential part of an integrated marketing strategy. Direct mail delivers the high level of personalization today’s customers demand. It provides proven response triggers that drive the target into action, and it’s the right medium to tell an information-rich story in a compelling way.

 

To understand the full potential of direct mail, we have developed a list of 10 direct mail best practices that should be employed to optimize the effectiveness of direct marketing campaigns. Read this blog article to learn about the tips to creating successful direct mail campaigns.

 

 

Our top blogs of last year bring up many relevant topics that marketers found useful to implement successful direct mail marketing campaigns. Each of these topics can help marketers apply direct marketing best practices as they plan their 2014 marketing campaigns.

 

While average direct mail response rates remain steady, marketers still have a lot of control over impacting them for their individual businesses. Utilizing personalization and accommodating the influences of digital marketing and digital media channels into direct mail best practices will continue to be essential for successful direct marketing programs.

Topics: Direct Marketing

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