Featured image for “Direct Mail vs. Email”

Direct Mail vs. Email

By: Joyce Hayne

With the hundreds of emails that people receive each day, it’s getting more difficult for your emails to stand out from the crowd and get noticed. I’m not suggesting that you discontinue email marketing, but consider adding direct mail to your marketing mix.

The volume of physical mail arriving each day is quite small and if you send something via Xpresspost or courier it will garner even more attention, since envelopes sent via courier are deemed to be important. Personalized messages with carefully selected materials targeted to that individual will mean more to a client or prospect than a mass email blast.

You can also get very creative with direct mail, engaging the senses of the recipient to increase their likelihood of response. From interesting shapes and textures to scents, mail offers endless possibilities.

Mail is also more trusted than email. When you receive a letter, it’s perceived to be more truthful and meaningful, whereas lots of email we receive is spam and some can include viruses that can crash your computer. Review the open rates of your emails and reverse that number to see how many people haven’t seen your message. An attractive envelope with a hand written address is more likely to be opened, and people generally spend more time looking over physical materials than emails.

Recent neuroscience research proves that direct mail is far more persuasive than digital media. Its motivation response is 20% higher – even more if it appeals to additional senses beyond touch. So think of how you can add direct mail to your campaign to improve your results.