eMail And Direct Mail Marketing

A good marketing plan will have both eMail and Direct Mail campaigns. Some marketers do a direct mailing to potential buyers and follow it up three days after it hits with an eMail reminder.

The success of any program depends on several factors: Timing, Offer, Graphic Design, List Rental Quality, Book Title and Ease of Response.

If you are looking at direct mail with an eMail follow-up, you will need to buy a list that is guaranteed to be at least 90% deliverable. Be sure to select a list broker that can provide the list, clean it and mail your marketing piece and blast your follow-up offer. You don’t want to use 2 or 3 providers to accomplish your goals. There is too much possibility for things to go wrong.

Some folks want to test direct mail against eMail to see which is better. eMail over the length of any campaign is more cost effective but usually yields a lower return on investment. eMail can average 1% ROI and direct mail, an average of 3%. However, returns cam mean different things to different folks depending on the message you send.

If you offer a free “Sample Read” of your eBook (1st three chapters) you may get lots of returns, but sales are another matter. If you just use your message to push readers to your “Author’s Page” of “Website”, with no specific offer, you may not get a lot of sales.

Timings is everything. When is the right time? Don’t set delivery of your direct mail to bookstores for a weekend. Don’t set an eMail blast to go out on a Monday or Friday.

Your list rental is about the most important factor of them all. Are you renting book buyers? Are they all Christians? What brand of Christianity are you focused to? Does the theme of your book fit into the profile of the audience you desire? What are they currently reading? The more detailed you make your list rental, the better chance of success.

A black and white graphic is far less appealing that full color. Your graphic presentation will be a big help because it will grab the reader’s attention and spark an interest to continue to look it over.

Finally, you need to provide an easy way to response. Don’t make the reader jump through hoops to get information or even buy your book. A simple “Click Here” will do for free downloads or a link to more info and purchasing.

If you cannot set all this in motion, seek out an advertising agency or graphic designer that can. I can offer one to you that I use. Ask me for it by email at johnmarineelli@embarqmail.com.

Until Next Time