What are the most effective methods for getting targets to open direct mail?

I'm responding not necessarily for the publication - but because this is a VERY interesting conversation. I'd like to see a Focus Rountable on the topic of the value of mailed pieces with Mike Volpe (great comments - the elephant in the room) as well as a contrast with a couple of us who see it as a great part of a multi-faceted approach to gaining attention from your prospective customer or strategic partner.

My suggestion is to use packaging that really is memorable. A coffee packaging client send out notes in empty coffee bags they sell. THAT was their most successful "snail mail" campaign.

Although I use an electric car most of the time, I find that a Clydesdale still does draw a crowd - that's why I use both.

Quit Sending Rectangles!
A great strategy for sending direct mail is to send a multi dimensional or customizable direct mail piece in a shape other than a rectangle. The USPS hosted a focus group on this topic years ago asking people to reach into a mailbox and pull out the mail. They then asked if the person notice anything in particular and had an overwhelming response to the odd shaped direct mail piece. In the email world there is a saying, the most expensive email is the one that isn't opened. I would argue the same logic applies to direct mail as well.

Direct Mail is making a comeback . . . distinction, personalization, and the ability to arouse curiosity. These are traits that an effective mailer piece needs to incorporate. Direct Mail isn’t simple sending a letter which is often construed as bills!

Distinction: Make it bulky! Add an incentive – something visible to the eye. Make it stand out.

Personalize: Address it to the contact not to Sir or Madam – know your audience!

Curiosity: As we gaze over our countless emails your receptionist just walks in with a shiny personalized envelop hand delivered to you. You look back at your monitor and then this tangible object in your hands – what would be your next move?

Ensure your direct mail piece is part of a larger system that incorporates other aspects of the tactical marketer’s toolkit. This will increase your impression with your audience and will more likely evoke action.

Hi Vicki,

I suggest two more sure-fire ways to get direct mail opened:

1. Design to please - Aesthetics go a long way in capturing attention and creating desire. Invest in high-quality materials and make opening, unfolding, removing, and every other recipient action a positive experience. For example, what do you think of as you unpack an Apple product?
2. Add free stuff - Add a coupon, gift, or a promo code to something truly valuable. Do so as a way of saying thanks even if it is not related to your offering.

- Chris Jablonski, Marketer

Direct mail marketing really isn't that different from other forms of marketing in the sense that you are still a needle in the haystack needing to stand out in a crowd of millions. At Advantix we have adopted many of the methods both Michael and Maria reference in their comments which have worked very well for us. I would suggest checking out this blog: http://www.copyblogger.com/. It was very helpful in assisting with the creation of effective headlines to communicate our marketing message. Also, if you are interested I would love to share our direct mail marketing success stories.

Simple: the headline has to communicate a benefit in as few words as possible.

My suggestion is to place something in the envelope that will make it bulky. Like a letter opener, a pen, something that will make the prospect open the package. Also, stamp the outside with "Confidential" "For Your Eyes Only" "Urgent", again to move the prospcet to action.

You can also use non-traditional colors, like brown envelopes.

Selfishly I would like to say that email really will give you the biggest bang for your buck, but realistically if integrated with other methods, direct mail can still be quite effective.

The KEY is integration, simplicity, and something different! Keep those three things in mind and you are sure to capture attention of any audience.

I have recently seen some extremely creative direct mail campaigns that caught even my attention.

I am going to comments here about B2B, as B2C is a bit of a different animal. A "plain Jane" envelope works best. Not the ever-mysterious blank envelope popularized back in the selling to VITO days, but a regular #10 envelope with your logo and live postage (don't use "Standard", spring for First-Class" regardless of the quantity). So-called “lumpy mail” might get the envelope open, but the “lump” will be quickly evaluated for value and the rest of the package tossed. I also like “peek-a-boo” envelopes – 9x12 with a window on the entire back of the envelope where a white paper or other “freemium” is presented.

We tailor our approach to be humorous and insightful at the same time. Elevating the direct mail piece out of the mainstream of letters and packages a prospect receives by making its arrival an event and experience is the goal. Using Eloqua we track advance e-mails and notes that a gift is coming to see initial reads. We selectively follow up to create anticipation of the package being sent. Recently we sent Transformers out to symbolically show how our software transforms businesses. It was the most successful campaign yet because people found it humorous and insightful at the same time.

I love DM, especially for a higher-level audience. DM’s only going to get more expensive as the USPS shrinks. So I vote for Lori’s and Maria’s answers as most on target. Yes, the integrated approach works and makes your clever, creative DM far more effective. On a recent B2B project, we set up two (pre-DM) emails, the personalized DM (with landing page) and a follow-up call. Now that gets results.

This is a deep topic...In the case of direct email, the actual text in the message body seems to be of minimal importance as compared to the level of "attunement" it has to the prospect.

By attunement I mean, if the prospect has opted in to your marketing, you will know more about them and can craft specific messaging and build trust. "Permission Marketing" is a good book here.

If it is direct mail to a general list purchased from Jigsaw or some other source (i.e. the prospect has no idea who you are) it is a different world, the cold list.

Let's take the cold list as an example. I've been using Marketo to track my email effectiveness, and I find the subject of the email is the most important component in this case since most will not bother to open the email in the first place unless it is a darn good subject. The subject can be long, and it should offer something of value or free-- probably best to not mention your company name unless it is well known as you cannot build a brand by getting a reputation as a spammer!

Good subject Example:
"Free pass available for Dreamforce Conference in Vegas - July 22"

I want to open this email if dreamforce is something I am interested in --

Bad subject: "Free Whitepaper from Alight Planning"

Nobody wants another white paper and no one knows who Alight is.

Better: "Top 5 Ways Small Companies Streamline their Budgeting Process: Free Webinar"

This is kind of like asking what the best type of horse is to commute to work. I could say clydesdale and you'd go buy one and ride it to work. But if I really know my stuff, then I should tell you is that you should buy an electric car.

While direct mail is not totally ineffective, there are many other marketing methods that are far more effective. Forget the horse, search for "inbound marketing" and learn more about what really works and where marketing is headed, not where it was.

There are three main variables that need to be aligned to ensure a direct mail is successful; target audience, creative, and messaging. The target audience is usually simple to define but almost impossible to find since list quality is an issue that plagues most marketers. The target audience must also find creative value in the piece to catch their attention and ensure it’s not thrown out with the rest of the junk. Finally, creating a message that is appealing to the reader and in sync with the creative is necessary if action is to be taken on the piece.

Direct mail is a thread in larger dialog. It provides a way to enforce a message, underscore a theme or continue a conversation as part of an integrated campaign.
Provocative direct mail that is highly personalized and that drives the recipient to a rich, online experience can work really well. Depending on the audience, something mysterious often gets the best response because it leaves the recipient wondering "what is this all about?" and encourages them to take that next step. Dimensional mailers can help your piece to stand out if your target is a hard-to-reach executive but it’s the continuation of that dialog that matters most.

Depending on the volume sent, try hand addressing and using a good old fashioned stamp. Makes it look like personal mail.

However, I agree with Mike Volpe, DM and the interruption marketing that it represents has been trumped by good inbound marketing tactics

Hi, Vicki.

Although I can not provide any direct statistics on this matter, given that companies contract with us to field custom questions such as this one among marketing heads, I can tell you that on a personal level I read a fantastic book recently by one of my LinkedIn connections, Keith Chambers, called Pull. I highly recommend picking it up, as the concepts that he describes on an overall-marketing basis are highly applicable to such things as how to get someone to open an email or read a direct mail piece. I think you'd pick up some valuable information, as I did.

Warm regards,
Rebekah
www.cawalker.com

Direct mail is most successful when it is planned as part of a multi-channel strategy and it is fully integrated with a CRM to gather response data. When developing the piece, personalization of the message is critical! If possible, try to segment the messaging, based on the data you have, company size, industry, etc; then use variable printing to deliver a message that is truly meant for the recipient. Then, drive the lead online through a personalized URL where you can engage them further. Remember that effective marketing is always about the user experience, first and foremost!

I read the question as simply how to get your direct mail opened, nothing else. My best practice to get direcct mail opened uses a plain, white #10 envelope. I put no company or individual name in the return address, just the address itself. Then a simple address block with Contact Name, Company Name, Street, City, State, Zip. Most importantly, NO labels. Ink Jet the envelopes individually and use a stamp. Nothing else. The recipient may not like the content but the letter has a high probability of being opened.

First define your goal – do you want the target to make a buying decision call you for more information (think selling a new garage versus a cable package). Based on your goal
1. Determine if Direct Mail is the right approach.
2. Then determine what type of direct mail makes best sense
a. With an envelope where you need to cross 2 hurdles - compelling reason to open and compelling reason to read, or
b. A post card where you must give the customer a compelling reason to read
3. Develop the compelling message – words and pictures.

Effective direct response is 40% list + 40% copy + 20% creative, or another way of saying this is the correct message to the correct audience using creative imagination. Develop a creative brief and plan first, and the open rate will take care of itself.

One trick that my father used (he was a founder of the Canadian Direct Mail Association) was to put "Or occupant" under the address window. In this way, if the addressee had moved, the mail can legally be opened by the new occupant. This approach consistently increased the campaign response rate.

We used to talk about "interrupting" our target audience but we live in a more entertainment-focused world where people go to the web and social sites like facebook and twitter to be distracted from their daily lives. Effective Direct Mail needs to offer that distraction. It needs to look "different" from everything else or it needs to look urgent. Whether it's "lumpy mail" or a hand-written note, it needs to grab the recipient's attention immediately.