Five Direct Mail Marketing Ideas

By Dean Schwartz (SWAG Master): Direct mail marketing has been around a very long time. And even as the world goes digital, direct mail continues to be an effective medium. In fact, the Data and Marketing Association shows that direct mail customer response rates increased year-over-year by 43 percent, and prospect response rates increased year-over-year by 190 percent! With these response rates, it is no wonder more marketers are adding mail to their marketing mix.

However, high response rates are not guaranteed. Your rates will likely drop if you continue to send the same old pieces. Personalization and relevance are key. Delivering to a well-targeted audience can drive up costs, but scale and ROI will remain strong. Get the results you want by creating new and engaging mail pieces. Here are a few creative direct mail ideas. Or click here to learn more about our direct mail marketing campaigns.

5 Creative Direct Mail Ideas

1. Be Interactive – Print is powerful, but additional elements such as QR codes and NFC (near field communication) technology enable interactivity and can add a new dimension to your mail. Check out this NFC business card. Tap to save contact info (vcard), load mobile site, like Facebook page, play video, download app, email or call. 

2. Folds are your friend – Paper is a versatile medium. You don’t have to be a master-origamist to be able to make a cube or paper airplane. Give your mailpiece the ability to stand on its own two feet with interactive cuts and folds. This pop-up clock is a perfect example. Custom print in vivid color and die cut this clock to any shape desired. Best of all, it can be mailed flat and then assembled by unfolding and snapping the tab in place. 

3. Lumpy mail gets opened – It doesn’t matter how good your mailpiece is if your mail is never opened. Mailers with a lumpy object inside have a near 100 percent open rate. People are curious what’s inside, and the curiosity gets them to open it. Need a lumpy, yet useful object? This card holder with stand and screen cleaner is perfect. Use to prop up your phone and keep your screen smudge free and clean. 

4. Go 3D – Pop-up designs are great, as we mentioned above. But we are talking literally going 3D. 3D postcards are a creative and interactive way to deliver your message. Check out our 3D Greets postcards. Printed with any number of colors and in a variety of different lens configurations. Great souvenirs or custom retail product for your museum, theme park, and exhibit. 

5. Mix up your packaging – When you put all your mailpieces next to each other, do they all look the same? Be careful your mail doesn’t start to look stale. One solution to this problem is to get creative with your packaging. Check out some of our custom mailer boxes, or read more about them on our mailer boxes blog. 

Browse even more direct mail ideas in our catalog, or give us a call 888.752.0432 and we will help you brainstorm your next direct mail campaign. SWAG with style!