Direct mail may be a bit old fashioned, but it’s certainly not dead. On the other hand, you can’t just send out a ton of junk mail fliers and expect to get a great ROI. Instead, you’ll need to be a bit more thoughtful about your design. If you’re looking to make sure that your direct mail campaign is a success, then read on and we’ll show you three crucial design elements to help you get ahead.
1. Plan Ahead
You’ll need your piece to stick out from the rest without being obnoxious. The fact of the matter is that if your mail doesn’t make it out of the envelope, you’re not going to be able to get there. There are a wide range of gimmicks used, but a direct and simple message is often the best route. From there, it’s all about the graphic design of the mail inside the envelope. For most small businesses using an outsourced professional designer is the way to go.
The basics are the same, regardless of the company: it needs to be clearly organized, with proper headlines, and draw the eye along through the entirety of the flyer or brochure. Contact details should also be clear, allowing the prospective lead to call in as soon as they’re done reading the flyer if it’s something they’re interested in. You only get one chance to make a first impression, so make it count.
2. Keep Typefaces Simple
As cute as it is to toss out Papyrus and Comic Sans, or even just mix up a bunch of different fonts, you want to avoid it. It’s one of the major pitfalls of amateur graphic design. While multiple fonts isn’t necessarily a bad thing, you need to be consistent. Since most direct mail will consist of only a single page flyer… just stick with the general rule of only using two fonts for your design unless you have a professional advice otherwise.
3. Focus on the Copy
Attractive pictures are great. They should be included if your business lends themselves well to them. But the purpose of these pictures is to draw the eye, not to make the sale. It’s your advertising copy that helps push things along and it should appeal to the reader. A highly attractive flyer that tells the potential customer nothing is worse than useless: it’s just junk mail.
Depending on the format of your mail you may want a longer sales-letter form or short snippets that show off the features of your business. Either way is fine as long as you ensure that you’ve got great copy to back up your strategy. The best part? Great copy can be used time and time again. If you invest in an outside writer, then you’ll be able to get increasing returns for a one-time price.
Get Your Direct Mail Campaign Going!
Direct mail is still an effective way to reach out to customers, especially if your target audience isn’t particularly internet savvy. You’ll need to do a bit of work to ensure a good return, however. Your mailers are there to hook customers, even the best copy and graphic design still need to be backed by excellent salespeople. On the other hand, you’ll never know if you don’t try. Why not see if our services are right for you?