1. DO NOT HAVE A TARGETED APPROACH
The most common of all direct mail marketing mistake is that marketers send mails blindly to everyone. The more targeted approach you have, the better prospects exist for your business. Randomly sent mails will not get you the desired response. Therefore, it is important that you use refined targeted mailing lists. Reflect upon the demographics, identify their interests and then cherry pick your prospective buyers.
2. COMPLEX CALL-TO-ACTIONS
If your call-to-actions (CTAs) require too much input from the recipients, they might refrain from responding. Keep the CTAs easy to comprehend and simplistic for implementation. Don’t ask your recipients to fill out time consuming forms. Make personalized offers to the targeted individuals. Enable the prospective customers to access your offer easily. Mention how and when can the clients take action.
3. PURCHASE MAILING LISTS THAT ARE NOT UPDATED
Your mailing list broker is a valuable resource. Therefore, it is essential that you only purchase mailing lists from a broker who is reliable. The mailing lists that you are using must be updated. The prospective customers ought to be selected with careful deliberation. If the direct mail marketing campaign did not work according to your wishes, scrutinize the lists and ask your broker questions in order to be absolutely certain that there wasn’t any fault in the mailing list.
4. DO NOT DEVELOP PERSONALIZED CONTENT
You need to make your client perceive that you are talking to them directly. The recipient should be able to relate to the message as soon as the message is read. Use “you” throughout the message rather than generalizing the customers as “people”. Also, mention the name of the customer in the salutation of direct mail marketing sales letters.
5. DO NOT STATE FACTS
Another common mistake that marketers might make is that they use adjectives excessively. Instead, for successful direct mail campaigns, it is imperative that the message contains facts, figures and statistics. The information must be accurate and precise so that it doesn’t appear fluffed. You must be able to build the trust of the customer. To accomplish that, you need to research so that your product/services can easily be differentiated.
6. PRESERVE THE COMPELLING REASONS TILL THE END
This isn’t a mistake – it is a cardinal sin. Marketers must present the offer straightforwardly. The reader wants to know, “How do I benefit from this.” So, address this directly by letting people know if there is a “grand sale” coming up or you are giving “free consultation” as part of new year celebrations.
