Alternatives to Direct Mail Marketing Strategies

Although direct mail marketing is profitable, it is not nearly as effective as direct e-mail marketing.

It is also much more costly, which is a risky way to promote business. You don’t know for sure whether you’ll even recoup your advertising costs, let alone make a profit. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of direct mail marketing and discuss some alternatives.

Direct marketing costs include paper costs, printing fees, postage and return postage, and often special packaging materials. Costs average $700 to $1,000 per 1000 items that generate a 1 to 2 percent response rate. In other words, for every 1,000 letters you send out, you might get about ten responses. Is it worth the money spent to get back only ten responses?

The statistics on e-mail marketing tell a vastly different story. E-mail marketing costs $100 to $350 per 1,000 e-mails sent out that generate a response rate of around 10 to 15 percent. You’re investing less money and receiving a higher rate of return right away.

You’re also investing less time, as you don’t have to package items to be mailed. E-mail campaigns take less time to coordinate as well. A campaign may take from two to three days to complete. Within three days, you’re reaching thousands of people who have already shown an interest in your product or service. Since e-mail is easy to track, you can also easily find out which demographic segments are responding to your mailing.