When it comes to direct marketing media strategies, email remains king among advertisers while social media is gaining ground and running a close second, according to an ANA study

The study showed that email was the most used medium in all campaign types (B2B, B2C, and split B2B/B2C), averaging an 82 percent usage rate among respondents. Social media came in second at 74 percent.

Beyond email and social media, the report included overall findings for paid search (51 percent), digital display advertising (42 percent), direct mail (38 percent), and SMS (18 percent).

Is Direct Mail Still Effective? 

Yes, direct mail is still effective. 

In fact, the mail format that produced the best ROI for “house” lists was postcards (92 percent). The mail format that produced the best ROI to “prospect” lists was letter-sized envelopes (112 percent), the highest of all formats.

Other notable formats for prospect lists include dimensional and oversized envelopes, both of which eclipsed 90 percent ROI.

Tips For A More Effective Direct Mail Campaign

You can use emails or social media to send coupon codes to customers or prospects, but often consumers are so overwhelmed by online marketing efforts these days that they tend to ignore even a killer coupon offer. 

Stand out from your competition by sending coupons with printed postcards along with emails or social media posts. Just be sure to make the most of your postcard coupons with the following helpful tips.

Postcard Design Considerations

Using postcards as direct mail coupons is quite simple, far simpler than most people originally think before giving it a chance. But you have to get it right. Some of the basics to include:

• Logo—make sure the design, front and back, includes your logo.

• Basic contact information—a website, address, and phone are all you really need.

• Time sensitive—make the coupon time-sensitive to create pressure for the consumer to

respond.

Direct Mail Coupon Tips 

The coupons you are offering will vary depending on what types of products or services that you have to offer to consumers. 

You can choose to offer a discount on your most popular product or service to both encourage a purchase and also to get consumers interested in more items that you offer. 

You may also want to make sure your coupon is for an item popular for the season. You could also simply offer a coupon for, say, 20 percent off of any purchase over $20.

Benefits of Using Postcards with Coupons

• Affordability

•Versatile, being able to target specific groups very easily

• Increases user engagement by offering a discount on services or products

We hope this article was helpful in coming up with ideas to market your business.