If you’re mailing a print catalog for the first time, then calculating your break-even is an important part of your mail order catalog strategy. Planning a successful catalog campaign involves multiple calculations. The key metrics are direct mail response rate, average order, catalog costs, and gross margin. Let’s look at direct mail response rates first because this comes up a… read more →
Direct mail is an effective way to drive existing customers online and acquire new customers. As part of an overall strategic plan, direct mail campaigns delivers high ROI, especially when brands take the time to segment their customer file, run hold-out tests to develop catalog sales attribution rates, and analyze performance. Brands that are new to direct mail often inadvertently… read more →
These are unprecedented times with brands struggling to manage cash flow, pay their employees, and stay in business. Small, local businesses will be especially hit hard. Please support local businesses and help them and their employees survive until the economy rebounds. So…how do you manage your direct mail campaigns if you mail catalogs and other direct mail pieces to the… read more →
The digital revolution gave us all a voice — and that’s great. Nowadays, everyone from the biggest multi-national company to the local struggling artist, right through to community groups and charities, has a wonderful platform for spreading the word. Social media, cheap web hosting, and a range of applications designed to make visual content really pop — all of this… read more →
Here is an update to an earlier post regarding USPS marketing mail (catalog) postage rates for 2020. The following postage rate pdf has more detail regarding new 2020 rates increases. Direct mail postage rates will increase on 1/26/20.
Effective January 26th, 2020, the USPS rates for Marketing Mail will increase by an average of 1.89%. If you mail catalogs, postcards, and other direct mail at the letter rate, the increase will be around 1.96%. But if your catalogs are a larger format and qualify as a flat, then the increase will be even higher – about 3.9%. For… read more →
You don’t want to foot the bill for an unnecessary cost, so you put off your direct mail strategic audit again and again. This could be the wrong choice, however, as a direct mail marketing audit can, in fact, save you money and prevent you from getting stung by a very expensive set of disasters. Look out for these key… read more →
For a long time, companies were dumping huge chunks of their marketing budgets into Facebook and targeted ads. This was a tempting strategy; companies had found great footing on Facebook with groups and pages, getting lots of organic views that were translating into high sales. But Facebook has rapidly changed the playing field, using new algorithms to force companies into… read more →
If you’re planning to use social media or e-commerce to sell your products and services then what you’re selling is just the tip of the iceberg. What you’re actually day-trading on is attention — namely, your consumer’s attention. And it’s more than just mere novelty that captures your customers’ attention. As we’ll see, it takes a unique blend of creativity, personalization and quality — features that… read more →
Direct mail marketing can be incredibly effective for B2B campaigns, but it’s also tricky to get right. B2B brands typically have much lower response rates than consumer brands, but average order tends to be much higher. In order to create effective campaigns and enjoy the benefits of acquiring new customers and increasing sales, it’s important to understand your audience. From… read more →