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©2010, Foundry Software / MarketVolt

Seven Keys to Executing a Successful Marketing

Campaign that Combines Direct Postal Mail and Email

By Tom Ruwitch (tom@MarketVolt.com) and

Aaron Corson (Aaron@MarketPathOnline.com)

We frequently hear clients and prospects tell us that they prefer email marketing to direct (postal)

mail marketing because email is so much less expensive.

Sure, direct mail costs more than email. But when was the last time your company calculated profit

by measuring costs alone? If executed well, direct mail can be a cost-effective way to generate sales

and profits. Direct mail works especially well when combined with other marketing tools such as

email.

One of the most effective formulas to acquire and than convert leads is to:

Send direct mail to a list of cold leads.

Invite them to visit a special page on your web site where they enter their contact information

to receive something from you (entry to a contest, a set of tips, etc).

Use email (and other media) for an ongoing campaign to convert them from leads to

prospects to clients.

Continue to communicate with them to maximize the length and value of that relationship for

you and your business.

Here are seven keys to accomplish all of the above with maximum efficiency and minimum hassle:

1. Choose Your Lists Carefully

Your marketing campaign is only as good as your target market. Not all lists are created equal. If

you plan to purchase a list for your campaign, work with a reputable list vendor – or someone

who has such relationships – who can find leads that correspond with your business goals. The

cheapest list is rarely the best list. Cheap lists may save you money up front, but you’ll earn far

less in the long run. The do-it-yourself list bazaars are OK, but rarely your best option.

2. Personalize Your Content

Choose a printer who can personalize the content of each print piece by including the recipient's

name (and perhaps other data, such as the recipient's city). Such personalization will result in far

higher conversions than non-personalized content. When shopping for printing vendors, ask

whether they can handle "variable data printing."

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©2010, Foundry Software / MarketVolt

Use personalization with your emails, too. Good email marketing systems allow you to

personalize content with salutations (i.e. Dear Bill) and, better yet, dynamic content (i.e. include

a blurb about dog toys for the dog lovers and a blurb about cat toys for cat lovers).

3. Include Direct Calls to Action in Your Print and Email Copy

Your print piece should explicitly tell recipients what to do and why. "Visit <this web address>

to get a free report that will show you how to..."

Marketing pieces, especially print pieces, too frequently describe your products and services and

include a phone number and web address without any direct call to action. It's not enough for

you to imply that readers should call that number or visit that web site. Tell them what to do and

describe what's in it for them. If you do this, more people will act, and you'll convert more sales.

4. Drive Recipients to a Personalized Web Page Using PURLs

Many printers and email vendors can create personalized pages with recipient-specific web

addresses called PURLs. Response and conversion rates improve dramatically when you use

PURLs.

For example, if Acme Widgets sends a piece to John Doe in Springfield, it might include copy

that says something like this: "Hi John -- We're so glad to share this offer with you and other

residents of Springfield...Please go to http://johndoe.acmewidgets.com to get..."

When John goes to that address, he will see a page with a personalized greeting (i.e. Welcome

John Doe).

PURLs are a great tool because personalization works (see #2) and because they're trackable (see

#6).

5. Recognize that Sales is A Process not An Event

Too many marketing pieces are designed simply as branding or image advertising pieces. Those

who are ready to buy may respond to the piece right away. But most people you target are not

ready buyers. Think of the Goodyear blimp. The 70,000 people in the stadium below are not

going immediately after the game to buy new tires. Goodyear flies that blimp over the stadium to

enhance their brand and their image. Goodyear hopes those people will remember the brand

when it's time for them to buy. Giant companies like Goodyear can afford to market like this,

putting blimps and magazine advertisements and television ads in front of a market in hopes that

people will think Goodyear first when shopping for tires.

Smaller businesses don't have that luxury or that kind of marketing budget. But you do have the

names and email addresses of the people who respond to your print piece. Don't assume the job

is over after they read your print piece and visit the web page. Follow up. Send them more

information by email. Pick up the phone. Send another print piece.

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The initial print piece is just that -- the initial step in a process. Many people who receive your

print piece -- even those who visit the page to which you direct them -- won't buy immediately.

You have to nurture them to convert them from lead to prospect to client. That means you have

to follow-up with a continuous flow of marketing messages. Those who opt-in to receive the

thing you offer on your web page should receive a follow-up email within days of opting-in.

6. Measure and Analyze

Are you spending your marketing dollars wisely? How do you know? If you can't measure the

results, you're simply guessing. If you follow the tips above, you can measure the results. You'll

know exactly:

o How many people (and who) went from the print piece to the web site.

o How many people (and who) gave you their email addresses after visiting the web site.

o How many people (and who) responded to the follow-up offer(s) you make in your

emails.

Ultimately, you can measure the true costs to acquire a lead and to convert a sale. Of course,

you know how much revenue you earn from the sale. Consider that you can have repeat

sales, referrals and other value from that client (weigh the lifetime value of the client against

the cost to acquire him), and you have a clear picture of whether your marketing dollars are

well spent.

7. Rinse and Repeat - with Refinements

If you successfully execute an integrated marketing campaign, you can repeat the process with

great confidence of similar results -- better results if you refine the campaign to correct mistakes.

If you acquire 100 clients through profitable integrated marketing campaign, why not try a

similar campaign with another list? Tweak the campaign to get better results.

The numbers don't lie. If you're successful once, you'll be successful again -- as long as you have

a market to tap.