A Guide to Getting the Most Out of Your Direct Mail Marketing in 2024

Direct mail marketing has long been a staple print communication tool for marketers. But the newfound popularity and effectiveness of print in account-based marketing (ABM) campaigns — not to mention the continued burnout consumers are experiencing with digital communication channels — has pushed direct mail to a new place of prominence. 

In fact, a large percentage of marketers increased their direct mail marketing budgets in 2023, and this trend is expected to continue in 2024 and beyond. 

This means marketers will have to take a more savvy approach to how they design and execute direct mail campaigns that rise above the competition and produce the kind of robust response rates necessary to generate meaningful ROI. To achieve this, you’ll need to partner with a printing and mailing services provider that can help you think more strategically about how to print and send targeted, high-quality direct mail. 

Here, we’ll look at a couple of ways you can get the most out of direct mail in 2024, and what makes Varispark your ideal printing and mailing services partner.

Take a more interactive approach

Direct mail that takes a more interactive approach has a better chance of creating a deeper connection with your target audience, and it also makes it more likely that your audience takes a desired action. In addition, interactive direct mail pieces are more likely to be shared within a personal or professional network, and their more immersive nature also increases the potential that your target audience retains and recalls your core messaging or branding. 

There are a variety of ways to make your direct mail campaigns more interactive. For example, you can use specialty inks or finishes to enhance the visual and tactile appeal of your piece.

Plus, you can infuse your direct mail campaign with digital integrations like quick response (QR) codes that launch videos, landing pages, and even augmented reality (AR) experiences to better engage your audience. 

Partnering with a printing and mailing service expert like Varispark can help you create this kind of exciting direct mail marketing, and we can also help you take advantage of USPS postal incentives that reward your interactive approach to direct mail with significant discounts on postage. 

Read more about this year’s USPS® Promotions and Incentive Programs and our ideas for creating direct mail that can benefit from these postage discounts.

Put personalization atop your priority list

Personalization via variable data printing (VDP) helps marketers create customized print pieces, individualized for each specific recipient, on a large scale. VDP uses data or insights from your customer relationship management software (CRM) to help you create custom copy, images, or design elements specifically tailored for individual recipients.  

For example, instead of sending 100,000 identical postcards, all with the same message, we can help marketers use VDP to create customized pieces, each tailored with messaging that will most likely resonate with the individual based on what you know about them. If you’ve ever received a coupon from a brand on your birthday, this is the technology that powered it. These campaigns made possible by VDP not only increase customer loyalty to your company, but also encourage them to continue to do business with you over the competition.

This kind of consumer insight and data usage is part of fuels direct mail in ABM campaigns, which use high-value, personalized, and targeted offers and content to communicate with an audience that has previously expressed interest in your company.   

Our use of VDP technology can help you create highly-targeted personalized direct mail marketing materials that go beyond the norm of merely using the recipient's first name in the greeting. In fact, we can help you take personalization to a whole new level to help your direct mailer truly stand out and drive increased response rates.

Save time and money with print-on-demand

Print-on-demand (POD) is a digital printing technology that makes it possible to print the exact quantity you need right when you need it. Traditional offset printing methods are built around long runs, because offset is more cost-effective if you are printing large volumes. This means that not only do you run the risk of wasting pieces if a logo suddenly needs to be changed or the copy needs to be revised, but you also have to warehouse your print inventory until you need it. 

This can be particularly challenging with direct mail as these kinds of pieces often include exclusive, limited-time offers or seasonal content that makes excess copies nearly impossible to use in the future. 

POD for printing and mailing services helps you meet precise quantities without incurring excess copies, which helps optimize your print marketing spend. What’s more, POD helps you print direct mailers with more flexibility and versatility should the size of your mailing change, or in the event you need to update visual assets, calls-to-action, URLs and more.

Make your direct mail more multi-channel

Today’s consumers respond better to brands that engage them in a more multi-channel way across a number of platforms or in a number of places. Believe it or not, partnering with a printing and mailing services provider that understands this desire can help you create direct mail marketing campaigns that take a more multi-channel approach. 

For example, a QR code on a direct mail postcard that launches a landing page, microsite, or ecommerce store can be used to ignite a multi-channel marketing approach that targets users with ads on Google, Facebook, or LinkedIn. This strategy uses direct mail as a springboard to create an additional digital touchpoint to help keep your products or solutions at top of mind for your ideal customer. 

What’s more, we can help you take advantage of the USPS Informed Delivery® program, a digital integration with direct mail that helps users preview their daily mail with email notifications, and one that allows for unique content, offers, or messaging within these email updates. As a trusted printing and mailing services provider, we can help you create high-quality, targeted direct mail marketing campaigns that drive brand awareness, generate new leads, and help you grow your business. Tell us about your direct mail needs and we’ll get started!