Direct Mail Done Right

Regular readers of this blog know that I like to point out egregious examples of bad sales and marketing efforts. Like this one. And this one. Oh, and let’s not forget this one.

But I like to highlight good examples as well. I recently received the above postcard in the mail from my realtor—and friend—Bob Gordon. It’s content marketing at its finest.

The postcard lists the top ten home remodeling projects based on the percentage of resale value to cost. It’s valuable information for any homeowner thinking about possible remodeling projects. And if you weren’t thinking about remodeling, this information could inspire you to. It’s a practical message delivered precisely to the target audience. And it positions Bob as a person who truly cares about his clients.

As a bonus, because it’s useful, this postcard is likely to be saved, probably in a prominent place where it will be seen frequently. And very possibly seen by people other than the recipients. That expands the reach and impact of the piece.

A lot of salespeople and marketers have given up on direct mail, because of its perceived cost and inefficiency. But direct mail is actually more effective now than it has been in years, because people get so much less of it than they used to. Postcards are particularly effective because—unlike envelopes and email—they don’t need to be opened to be read. And when you employ content marketing, you make your direct mail even more powerful.

So the question is, how could you combine content marketing and direct mail? What information do you have that your clients and prospects would find valuable? What content marketing have you used digitally—in emails, on your blog, on Facebook—that you could convert to physical form to reach entirely new audiences?

Perhaps now is the time for you to discover—or rediscover—direct mail marketing. When done right—that is, when combined with content—it can be a powerful tool for driving sales.