Direct Mail
If you’ve known me for any length of time, you know I’m a big fan of sending mail. From a very early age, I started collecting stamps. First I inherited a collection from an uncle and that was the beginning of a hobby that continues on to this day. I’ve also been highly involved in a Burning Man theme camp called the BRCPO which stands for the Black Rock City Post Office. And in between these two things there have been years of sending letters for all sorts of reasons – letters to the editor; letters to friends; and trying out direct mail for marketing purposes.
These days the mail has been in the news for a variety of reasons. The previous president tried to use the USPS to restrict peoples’ ability to vote. He even installed a puppet to lead the USPS who the current administration is trying to oust, but it’s not that easy! But through all of this, I’ve remained a huge fan of sending mail. Now as someone who is involved in marketing I also recognize mail as a marketing channel and it has a special place in my heart because it is an underutilized marketing channel. What this means is that anyone who uses the mail to send out marketing materials is going to have a bigger impact than those who pass on this opportunity.
Currently, there are many ways to send out mailmerged letters to hundreds or thousands of people. You probably receive this type of correspondence frequently from companies offering credit card opportunities, for instance. But when was the last time you got a letter from a friend? Did you know for instance that there are ways to send handwritten thank you cards online? I’ve been playing around with this concept for a couple of years. There are ways to automate sending emails and there are also ways to send out cards using similar online processes.
One of the niftiest things is if you get a chance – take a picture with someone at an event and then send them a card via the mail soon after including the picture. Sending a thank you card is a way to indicate to the person that they are special to you. That the time together was important. And also shows off your savvy use of technology. What’s really interesting about all of this is how technology continues to advance. Now it’s even possible to have the card printed using your own handwriting – talk about personal!
If you want to really take this to the next level you can just use the old-fashioned pen and ink version. See the picture above. A good friend, Taj, gave me a stack of Postcard to Voters postcards and I used these this year for my annual New Year’s card to friends. I also created a little game where I’d bring the cards with me to times when I’d be with other friends and we’d all take a turn saying hi to various friends we have in common. Then, the person on the receiving end would get a hello from a bunch of friends rather than just me. I also had friends address cards to themselves so I could take those forward. It’s been a fun experience and it’s all thanks to the US mail that I can have this much fun and spread this much joy.
So, if you’re interested in discussing using direct mail in a marketing approach, please get in touch. I’d be happy to speak to you about it, and if you want to take any ideas I share here and run with them – go for it. Try just sending one card out and see what happens. I promise you you’ll be surprised and your friend will be overjoyed!
Happy Postal goodness. Albert
