By
Sarah Harris
Customers can tell when advertising is more about sales than their needs or wants. Direct mail printing allows businesses to take a more personal tack with potential customers.
Statistics show that response rates for print mailers are greater than other advertising methods. Consumers respond more positively to tangible materials than digital ones, especially when the message is geared toward solving their problems or tapping into their interests.
Direct Mail Printing Explained
Direct mail printing services send physical mail to select recipients, informing them of events, sales, new products and other developments. These mailers display branding and images consistent with the business’s other marketing efforts as well as calls to action to drive engagement from recipients.
Direct mail can help inform audiences of events, sales, new products, special offers, and other developments. It’s a common marketing strategy that can be used as an alternative or to supplement a digital marketing strategy. Direct mail marketing offers a ton of benefits as it reaches consumers in a way that may be increasingly overlooked in a digital world. There’s something to be said about receiving a customized pamphlet, postcard, or brochure – complete with vibrant color that captivates. In fact, the benefits of direct mail printing are well-documented, which we’ll discuss down below.
Direct mail printing entails working with a printing and direct mail partner – such as Print Bind Ship. The process typically begins with designing the mailer – this includes elements like message copy, images, branding, offers/CTAs, personalization variables, etc. Once the mailer design is finalized, printing happens in bulk to enable mass distribution. Common direct mail printing methods include digital presses for shorter runs and offset lithography for larger quantities exceeding 1,000 units.
From there, businesses can either handle addressing and postal paperwork themselves or work with a full-service direct mail provider to manage the entire end-to-end process. It can be much more convenient and effective to work with a direct mail printing service like Print Bind Ship. We not only work to print your custom mailer, but we also manage all aspects of the direct mail marketing process – from compiling customer data to shipping and more. Get in touch to learn about our customized solutions here.
Types of Direct Mail Printing
Direct mail printers can send a variety of mail types. Choosing the right one can be the deciding factor in a campaign’s success.
Postcards
Generally, postcards are between 3.5” x 5” and 4.25” x 6”. They’re inexpensive and offer enough space for short, punchy messages and attractive graphics.
Brochures
The most basic brochure design is an 8.5” x 11” trifold or half-fold, but larger custom sizes are also available. Well-made brochures look professional and attractive and provide plenty of room for detailed information.
Flyers
If you want the visual impact of brochures but don’t need them to fold, flyers may be the right choice. These are usually letter-sized at 8.5” x 11” but can be larger or smaller. Flyers are typically made from heavy stock to preserve their colorful graphics and keep them from bending in the mail.
Catalogs
Catalogs are pricier than postcards and flyers but can generate consistent sales. If your catalogs are attractive enough, they’ll earn a spot on the coffee table as repeat reading material.
Benefits of Direct Mail Printing and Mailing Services
Direct mail print materials are budget-friendly and allow for a personalized experience. Take a look at some of the key benefits to direct mail printing and mailing services.
Targeted Marketing
Direct mail printing allows businesses to precisely target their audience based on demographics, location, or other specific criteria. By tailoring content and design to a particular segment, you can significantly increase the relevance of your business’s message and improve the likelihood of driving engagement or response.
Advanced personalization, thoughtful creative features, robust data, and a strategic mail distribution plan can enable your brand to target audiences in ways digital channels simply can’t match. It’s well-known that direct mail campaigns deliver higher open rates than certain digital marketing approaches – such as email campaigns. In fact, it’s estimated that 90% of direct mail is opened, far above email open rates which hover – at best – around the lower double digits.
Tangible and Memorable
Unlike digital advertising, direct mail provides a tangible and physical representation of your brand that recipients can hold in their hands. This tactile experience can make a lasting impression as audiences engage with a physical keepsake to interact with and display. Direct mail printing is especially notable for standing out from the fleeting emails and website visits that are easily forgotten.
Well-designed mailers, catalogs, dimensional mail, and creative formats spark curiosity and deliver a positive first impression. And the time invested in poring over a striking mail piece directly strengthens your brand’s memorability.
Personalization and Customization
One of direct mail printing’s biggest advantages is enabling personalization at scale that digital channels simply cannot match. Businesses can customize everything down to the recipient’s name, location, purchase history, known preferences, and even variable images or content.
This tailored, humanized communication makes the message infinitely more relevant and engaging – creating the feeling of a one-to-one conversation versus the more hollow experience of generic digital broadcast blasting. Personalized direct mail at scale is also proven to deliver dramatic improvements across recipient response rates to overall conversion value.
How to Create a Direct Mail Campaign
If you’re ready to drive engagement with the help of Print Bind Ship’s Mail Genius, get started on the right path by doing some legwork first.
Define Your Target Audience
You can use various metrics to narrow your focus, including income, age, gender, geographic location, interests and occupation.
Choose a Direct Mail Printing Medium
Postcards will be perfect if you have a simple message with a clearly defined call to action. By contrast, catalogs might be more useful if you hope to be a reliable source for products and services over months or years.
Design and Layout
What kinds of images and designs will wow your recipients? You only have a few seconds to grab their attention, so your print mailer needs to instantly communicate a specific intent and imprint your branding in their consciousness.
Copywriting
Keep messages short. The clearer you are, the easier it will be for the consumer to figure out whether they want what you’re selling.
Printing and Mailing
It’s time to bring your direct mailers to life! Print Bind Ship is a knowledgeable and experienced direct mail printer that’s helped businesses worldwide grow and improve their operational efficiency. Our printing is fast, high-quality and capable of reaching every corner of the globe.
Choosing a Direct Mail Printing Service
You need a direct mail printer you can trust to work closely with you and get results. Businesses around the world turn to Print Bind Ship’s Mail Genius. Here’s why.
Experience and Expertise
Print Bind Ship’s been creating printed marketing materials across dozens of industries for decades.
Quality of Printing and Materials
Our printed materials look and feel attractive, durable and professional.
Customer Service
You can expect timely communication and quick solutions from Day One of our partnership. Our customer service team prides itself on providing a first-rate experience.
Pricing and Turnaround Time
We know your budget isn’t arbitrary, and we’ll always work within it. We can get your materials out the door and on their way within 24 hours of printing.
4 Tips for a Successful Direct Mail Campaign
Here are a few pointers for getting the most out of your direct mail pieces.
1. Use Attention-Grabbing Headlines
Write short, pointed headlines like “Get affordable health insurance with more benefits” or “New cars for under $10K!”
2. Personalize the Message
Always use the recipient’s name in the message, and make sure to reference their specific needs and interests. It can also help to mention times they’ve reached out for information on products or services in the past.
3. Include a Clear Call To Action
Tell your recipients explicitly what you want them to do, whether it’s taking advantage of a sale, signing up for a free consultation or showing up at an event.
4. Follow Up with Leads
Don’t leave potential customers hanging! Close the deal by following up with them promptly and offering to answer questions or provide a product demonstration.
Direct Mail Printing and Mailing Services With Print Bind Ship
Even in today’s crowded marketing landscape, direct mail continues offering outsized impact owing to its unique tactile and personalization advantages. But executing an effective campaign requires blending creative vision with data, printing quality, and postal savvy.
Whether you’re looking to drive conversions with personalized postcards, boost engagement through dimensional mailers, or improve loyalty via customized catalogs, look for further than Print Bind Ship for trusted direct mail printing and mailing services. With over 60 years of experience in the field and a recognized leader in the space, our team brings the strategic perspective, technical abilities, and dedication to excellence needed to craft mail campaigns that spark meaningful conversations with your audiences.
Our Mail Genius direct mail printing and mailing services do it all – targeted lists, top-quality printing, and fully postal-optimized mail plans.
Contact Print Bind Ship today to supercharge your direct mail strategy with Mail Genius!
FAQ
Despite the digital age, direct mail stands out by delivering a tangible format As a physical medium, it enables impactful personalization at scale linking names with relevant offers not possible digitally. Direct mail can also help expand marketing awareness and response rates across offline and online channels. Among other reasons, direct mail has high response rates, is budget-friendly and provides useful user data for future campaigns.
Direct mail printing supports full-color postcards, dimensional mailers, personalized letters, targeted brochures, customized catalogs, reusable coupons, and high-impact packages. Any creative approach that engages audiences with relevant messaging and offers can be used in a direct mail campaign. At Print Bind Ship, we offer professional printing services to get your brand on all types of items – from gifts, t-shirts, mugs, swag and more!
Forgetting a call to action, getting lazy with the overall design, including an unappealing offer, targeting the wrong audience and using the wrong type of mailer are all errors you should make an effort not to commit.