Over 150 years ago, Henry David Thoreau stated that the world needed to "simplify." 

That was before IOT... self-driving cars... and ChatGPT.

Today the world seems more complicated than ever.

If ever there were a time to "simplify," it's today.

Especially in the world of direct mail design.

Because direct mail design, much like digital design, has been changing over the years.

Calls to action are crucial in generating leads from online content. Today, information searchers make up 75% of blog traffic as most blog visitors are searching for content in hopes of fulfilling a need, solving a problem or gaining insight. Therefore, it is vital to give searchers a reason to continue interacting with your website, instead of simply moving on to another site for additional information. This is where a well-crafted call to action comes into play.

Direct response marketers have a lot on their minds these days. And if you ask them to rank their most pressing issues, the results are quite interesting. That’s exactly what the folks at Lob did. Results from selected survey questions are laid out here...

Direct mail has been around for centuries...

But with the rise of digital ads, email, etc., it has been deemed "old hat" by some. Yet, there are still several advantages that direct mail has — and will always have — over today’s technology that make it a worthwhile investment for businesses in 2023.

Here are the top three reasons direct mail is the best place to put your marketing dollar right now:

Remember the early 2000’s???

The Internet was still emerging… email marketing was new and exciting… digital ads were popping up at every click… social media was exploding… video content was all the rage… and even those unsolicited SMS messages were kinda curious (-- in an irritating sorta way).

Boy, those were the glory years for us marketers.

But today, after 20+ years of online ads and emails, things are changing — and we must change...

There's one sure thing direct marketers know and it's this...

Through scientific testing and retesting — certain direct response techniques work better than others.

You were there.

So you know…

2022 was another year of Zoom calls… Nexflix binges, and lots of UberEats.

So what's 2023 going to look like?

Insurance companies know risk.

But do you know the best way to attract and convert prospective policyholders?

If you follow a few important guidelines, your best, most effective, and most profitable channel could be direct marketing.

It's been a hell of a couple years.

Supply chain issues... political nonsense... inflation worries... not to mention a never-ending pandemic.  

It's no wonder a lot of companies are tightening their belts and bringing some marketing work in-house. After all, it’s cost-effective, it gives you total control, and you know exactly how and where your money is being spent.

 But…

In our continuing analysis of direct mail control packages, we attempt to zero in on exactly what makes a control — a control.

What are readers attracted to?
What interests them about it?
Why do they read it?
Why do they respond to it?

Some controls are so good that they’ve bested all challengers to date. And they remain the undisputed control — sometimes for years. These are known in the industry as “Grand Controls.” You may have received some in your own mailbox. They show up every so often and you know you’ve seen them before. Chances are, you’ll keep seeing them until you respond — or a new control package beats it.

But the baffling thing is...