Postal Direct Mail Vs Cold Email Marketing: Which Gets The Best Results?
Mass email is a straightforward way of communicating with potential customers but does it yield the results your business needs or are you better to invest in direct mail? With over 269 billion emails sent worldwide each day, it’s unsurprising that business and home users are swamped and that ‘cold’ or unsolicited emails have fallen out of favour with businesses. Office workers receive an average of 121 emails daily – the notorious ‘email soup’ – while home users may rarely even check their personal email address these days, preferring social media and messaging services.
By contrast, direct mailshots sent in the postal system account for only 13.8 billion per year. With less competition and more flexibility to create bespoke envelopes using custom overprinting, direct mail is having its greatest impact in a generation.
Why Is Direct Mail A More Effective Option Than Unsolicited Emails?
If you’re looking for a fool-proof way to raise the profile of your brand while achieving a profitable ROI, direct mail is an effective strategy – particularly if you partner with a bespoke envelope printing partner such as Eagle Envelopes who can give your mailing the flair it needs to be noticed. Here are some reasons why direct mail still has a place in your marketing toolbox:
Direct Mail Is Customisable.
Unlike emails, which arrive in a user’s inbox swamped by hundreds of identical-looking communications, direct mail can be customised to appeal to a particular audience. With envelopes available in a range of colours, sizes and styles, it’s easier to make your mailshot stand out from the other letters on the doormat, which never number more than a handful on any given day. Standout appeal can be increased through envelope overprinting, which can add high-quality images to an envelope or convey clear written messages to customers. If you want your promotional material to be instantly noticeable, direct mail is a cost-effective solution.
Direct Mail Doesn’t Need An Opt-In.
Generally neither does email but unsolicited emails tend to end up in the promotions or spam folders when auto-filters detect incoming messages that haven’t been requested by the user. With direct mail, you can target business customers generically or according to their company profiles and with no opt-in required (so long as the letters are sent to businesses and not named individuals), they are unlikely to prevent your envelopes from dropping through their letterboxes. (Be this as it may, in our experience the best direct mail results come from targeted mailings to an opted-in list. It is no longer considered good practice to send unsolicited postal mail, due to the risk of breaching personal data or it being perceived as junk mail by the recipient.)
Direct Mail Can’t Be Deleted.
A problem with emails is that they can be easily deleted, never to see the light of day again. This is especially true when a user, inundated with spam, swiftly clicks through their inbox, deleted anything that doesn’t look relevant (with only the subject header to read, which if it is a deliberately misleading headline to grab their attention can by equally annoying). Direct mail sent through the post is more tangible as it’s a physical object. Many letters do get recycled or thrown away but many recipients will keep the mailshot in view to come back to later, particularly if they know they may need your service at a later date. Not receiving an instant response from a direct mail doesn’t make it unsuccessful; you may just have to wait for the lead, weeks later.
Contact Us Today For Bespoke Direct Mail Envelopes
There are many reasons why direct mail can be more successful than unsolicited email but you still need the right envelope design to earn a decent ROI. At Eagle Envelopes, we can supply envelopes for your direct mail campaigns in a range of sizes, styles, and colours, and our overprinting service is perfect for giving your envelopes that bespoke touch to make them stand out.
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