Avoid expensive mistakes with these 8 marketing best practices

Today I received a package in the mail. Produced by a printer, it did a lot of things right: it was an interesting shape and size (and weight), the envelope had a teaser image that piqued interest. Once inside the package, it showcased different print treatments and how they looked on a variety of paper stocks. This was an expensive package to put together and mail.

I was interested, so, I looked for a call to action.

None.

Then I looked for a website URL.

Nothing in the package.

I took the envelope out of the recycle bin and lo and behold, there was the URL on the back. Ok, now it’s making me work too hard, but I’m invested.

I typed in the URL and a CUSTOMER SIGN-IN page up popped. NO! Would anyone really spend this much time and money on a package and not have a prospect-accessible website? Not so much as a landing page? Apparently so. What a waste of their money, resources and my time.

For those of you developing direct marketing programs, your marketing dollars should be results-driven. Here are 8 best practices:

1. Tie your promotion into your online strategies with a landing page and an accessible website (don’t make prospects sign in).
2. Make the landing page relevant to your promotion and ask the recipient to respond
3. Have a highly visible call-to-action (call us, email us, visit us, learn more, etc.)
4. Test CTAs, creative, messaging, landing pages and offers, etc.
5. Have an offer (for more information on this see Sheryl’s blog post) that ties in with your promotion
6. Make your URL a part of your inside package content – you can also create personalized URLs
7. Pair mail and email together for better results
8. Track your mail through a unique phone number, landing page and email response mechanisms

Poorly executed mail is bad for all of us. It wastes marketing dollars, environmental resources and makes people believe that mail doesn’t work. A well-executed mail campaign will still produce strong ROI and create visibility to help your company grow.