Some marketers have predicted the death of direct mail for years now, and depending on the situation digital can be a great avenue of advertising. But while inboxes get crowded and digital ad costs continue to rise, postcard mailers are quietly continuing to deliver some of the strongest response rates in modern marketing.
The reality is simple: people still check their mail. And when a well-designed postcard lands in the right mailbox with the right offer, it gets attention in a way digital ads often cannot.
Direct Mail Advertising Response Rates
Recent direct mail industry data shows postcard campaigns consistently outperform many digital channels in response rates. Average postcard response rates typically range between 2% and 5% for prospect lists, and can reach as high as 9% for existing customer lists. Let us compare that to average email marketing response rates, which often fall below 1%.
That gap matters. It means, depending what you are marketing, EDDM (Every Door Direct Mail) might be right for you.
Could Marketing Direct Mail Work For You?
Can your customer be locally targeted? Maybe you are a restaurant, home improvement service, landscaper, or similar location based company. A postcard can be effective at raising awareness among potential customers who may not know of your products or services.
Are you looking to stand out from the competition? A custom designed mailer that matches your brand and messaging can be quite effective.
Physical is often more impactful than digital. Many emails simply go unread while many physical mailboxes are opened daily. Even after receiving, some research suggests that households keep direct mail pieces an average of 17 days. Often digital advertisement has overwhelming competition while a direct mailer feels intentional and more credible to the recipient.
This is not to minimize digital campaigns-which are often more inexpensive and useful to reach large audiences. The best marketing campaigns combine both digital and physical elements. For example, postcards often list your website or a qr code to link to a specifically relevant webpage.
For best effect, use strong headlines, relevant content, and strong calls to action with color, imagery, and typography consistent with your other advertising media.
When Should I Use Direct Mail Marketing?
We often find that customers send postcards whenever they have a specific events or sales to promote. Other times a brand is simply raising awareness amongst potential customers. We can use a current customer mailing list or mailing lists can be purchased by location or even filtered for specific household demographics such as household income, marital status, and more.
Direct Mail Marketing Services
We’d love to work with you to design, print, and mail a postcard that communicates your brand image and messaging. Contact us today.