How To Use Direct Mail Advertising To Consistently Close BIG Deals.

Have you ever wondered if direct mail advertising is worth your time?

I’ve seen a lot of people complain about direct mail marketing, and how they feel it’s the worst marketing channel in the whole wide world.

I’ve even heard people who have never tried direct mail advertising call it old school or outdated.

Let me show you something for one second…

Take a look at this image below.

What can you see?

Well,  the data and marketing association discovered that direct mail grew by a whopping 43%.

See, I’m very big ON digital advertising.

It’s what we do every single day but I’m not just a digital marketing consultant, I’m a growth marketer.

What that means is that I’m opened to new channels.

You see as humans, when we fail at something, we tend to blame that thing instead of taking full responsibility.

When people fail at direct mail marketing, like other marketing channels, they blame the channel.

For example, when people fail at Facebook marketing, they tend to blame Facebook but the truth is, Facebook may not be the problem.

We are quick to blame the channels instead of trying to learn NEW WAYS of doing old things.

Most times, the channel isn't the problem, it is our strategies.

I try new things or old things in a new way.

Anyway...

How Did I stumble On Direct Mail Marketing?

Ofcourse, you know I didn’t invent direct mail advertising.

For me, it was an accident.

So, back in 2009, I was trying to get this big client with a value of N1,000,000.

Looking back now, that’s small money now but then, it was worth billions.

Have you ever been broke to the point where N1,000 was like a billion?

Well, that was the state I was.

I really needed that deal badly because I had already calculated that if I got it, I’ll be able pay a lot of bills.

However, there was a problem.

I didn’t know to approach this prospect because their gate were always shuts, it’s a big company.

I didn’t also knew anyone who works in the company.

The worst case is that even if I decided to go in there, who will I say I’m looking for?

Well, one day, I decided to “risk’ it and went there.

Three times I went there, three times I was driven back by the gate keepers.

Oh, my God!

I still remember it clearly, like my name, how the men shouted at me “Oga, who you dey find?”.

My last experience with them was horrible (but let’s not talk about it for now, maybe when I write my biography, LOLz!)

Anyway, I got home that day feeling bad at myself because “ordinary” gate keepers kept me from my perfect client.

You know that thing they say that when they dream is big enough, the WHY will be small, right?

Whoever said that was spot on.

I needed that N1 million and I wasn’t going to take NO for an answer.

I got up one night and made one decision.

What was this decision?

Well, you would think It was about going back there to fight or beat up the gate keepers, or maybe to go there and create a scene and somehow, people will notice me, and ask me what I want?

To be honest, those options didn’t cross my mind.

I decided to post a letter and address it to the managing director of the company.

However, there was a problem.

I didn’t know the name of the managing director of the company.

You would think that this is enough to stop me but I didn’t.

I reasoned that I should go ahead and post it addressing it to the official title of the managing director so it’ll look like an official document.

Off I went to Fedex to mail it to them.

I sent it on a Tuesday, I got a call from them on  Friday (the same week) for a meeting on Monday.

I was stunned.

Funny thing is that, it was the exact same gateman who was the “wall of Jericho” that led me to the reception.

Obviously, he couldn’t recognize me.

To cut a long story short, I secured the deal that same week.

I spent only N600 to post it.

I closed a deal of N1million.

93% of that was pure profit.

Can you see that the RIO of direct mail advertising is huge?

Take a look at the image above, what you see is crazy, right?

Well,according to marketingcharts, the ROI of direct mail marketing is 29%, higher that paid search which is only 23%, online display is only 16% ROI.

That’s huge!

And incase you want to run a direct mail marketing campaign and you’re not sure what your RIO could be, I’ve got you covered, my friend.

Here’s a tool you can use to calculate your direct mail marketing campaign RIO.

Contrary to what a lot of people say, and want you to believe, direct mail is holding its own against other marketing channels.

Personally, I don’t follow opinion, I follow data.

Yes, I’m a digital marketing guy, it’s what I preach but I believe in being innovative.

I’ve heard most people say direct mail isn’t for them, they say it won’t work for them but that’s not true.

Direct mail works for everyone IF you know how to use it to your advantage.

Two years ago, we sent out 100 direct mail to 100 companies.

We got 74% of them to get back to us-made inquires about our offer.

That’s a whopping 74% response rate.

See, most of your competitors don’t believe in direct mail so they are not using it, and those who are using it are doing it wrongly, so they’re not getting the desired results.

All these are good for you,it means you can dive in and make it big before their eyes are open.

Anyway, we eventually closed about 18 of them as clients, all within 60days.

That’s not too bad considering that the price of what we sell is very high, our profit margin is huge, and it cost us only  N80,000 to send out the mails.

Funny thing is that we have used it for our clients who are in roofing, real estate, construction, auto, fitness, consulting and in other markets, and it works ALWAYS.

Most people don’t know how to do direct mail, they simply do it from selfish angle.

When marketing is selfish, the prospect will object.

Your entire marketing should be all about what the prospect will get, and how you’ll better their lives.

I’ve heard people say they sent out direct mail to people, and they got no response.

Well, I was like that before.

Before I got good at sending direct mail, and getting result, I’ve failed at it severally.

One time, I was totally frustrated.

I mean, FRUSTRATED.

I stopped using it completely.

WHY?

It’s because one time, I sent out 50 direct mail and I got no single response.

When I say none, I mean not even one.

Then I tried again by sending out 28 and I got no response as well.

At that point, I stopped using it completely.

My first attempt at it got me a deal of N1million naira without stress, why was I failing afterwards?

I think my first attempt happened by chance.

It was after my series of failures that I started paying more attention to direct mail marketing campaign because my competitors were not using it.

I eventually created a system for it, and we use that system for ourselves and our high end clients.

I believe most of your competitors are not using direct mail, and those who are using it might not be getting the type of result they should be getting.

What does that mean to you?

It’s means that you can quickly and rapidly grow your sales by constantly running direct mail advertising campaigns.

I’m not sure about you but I always love to hear that I have something from the post man, it’s human nature.

Once you hear that, what’s the next thing you want to ask?

“What is it?”

“Who sent it?”

Correct?

That’s already suspense.

Suspense is a powerful marketing tool if used correctly.

So, you are creating suspense in the mind of your prospects, which is great for you.

How do you run your own direct mail marketing  campaigns without frustration?

It’s actually simple.

I developed something I call the 50/40/10 of direct mail advertising campaigns.

I need you to pay close attention to this because if you do, you’d be shocked at the result you would be getting from all your campaigns going forward.

I’ve already told you that, direct mail marketing campaigns works best for almost anything but what I found out is that it works best IF what you’re selling is high-end.

If you’re selling a luxury product or service or anything that’s expensive, I’ve found direct mail marketing to be incredibly effective.

Anyway, let’s go back to 50/40/10 rule.

50% success is all about the target-getting to the right person.

For example, if I want to reach a company, I find out who the head of the department is, and I reach out to him via his official title.

Instead of saying…

Mr Johnson Emmanuel

I say…

The founder, XZY LTD.

When you do that, it changes everything.

I must tell you, I’ve done both but what I found works best is this.

If you are finding it to book meetings with prospects, chances are, this is the big mistake you’re making.

Just a little shift like this can make the whole difference.

I also found out that it’s best to use courier services like FedeX and the others.

DON”T use Nipost for any reason.

Best time to send?

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays.

I’m not sure why these days works best but these are the perfect days in my findings.

I’ve tested it with over 2000 direct mail, and it says the same thing.

Mondays might not work because people just resumed from the weekend, so Tuesday is kind of free for them until Thursdays because Friday, they’re in weekend mode.

That’s the only explanation I can give on why these are the best performing days.

Are we together?

Ok, the next?

40% is all about the offer.

In my new book, DEEP POCKET CLIENTS I share how to create killer offers.

Look,I know it, most of the time, the offer is what is wrong.

I’ve seen people send direct mail campaign asking people to  buy stuff of N1 million.

That’s crazy, it’s like asking for marriage on a first date.

Sure, it’s possible to woman might agree but maybe 80% of women will say no.

This is the most difficult part.

Let’s get to the last…

The 10%.

It’s all about the design of the letter and envelop itself.

What’s funny is that people spend 80% on this aspect.

DO NOT DO THAT!

I’ve found out that sending black and white letter works.

When you brand it too much with all your company stuff, it becomes a marketing material, and people don’t like marketing.

Just make it normal stuff you would write to a friend, period.

If you’re using any of the courier services, they have their branded cover, use that.

Don’t stress yourself trying to get things you don’t need.

The best marketing In the world doesn’t actually feels like marketing.

When you have all your stuff branded in your colors, it becomes clear marketing.

One thing that makes direct mail effective is because it is personalized marketing.

See, everyone like to get personalized attention.

People like customized marketing.

Although a lot of people are saying direct mail is dead but the truth is that it is up and kicking.

Direct mail is not going anywhere soon.

Infact, the Africa market has not even started using it yet.

Chances are that your competitors are not even using it, which is one of the major reasons you should be using it to it’s fullest.

If you’re wondering why direct mail should take a place in your marketing tool belt, I hope you’re no longer in doubt.

Direct mail campaigns give a high ROI and even a higher ROI than paid ads.

They can work effectively in a campaign by themselves, or alongside a digital-marketing campaign.

You can use direct mail to target the right customers at the right time. And it’s easy to track the results of each campaign you run.

With direct mail becoming less common, there is less noise. You can capture the undivided attention of your customers.

So, I like to know, are you currently using direct mail campaigns?

If yes, how has it been with you?

If no, what’s been stopping you?

I’m here to help, leave the comments below.

I’m reading and will respond.