What are the advantages of direct mail advertising? Direct mail has the highest response rates, is more trusted, tangible, more memorable, unavoidable, is not blocked by privacy walls, cuts through digital fatigue, allows for more creative design, is easily targeted, and has the best ROI in marketing.
Continue reading10 Strategies for Successful Holiday Direct Mail Marketing
10 Strategies for Successful Holiday Direct Mail Marketing
It's 2022 and people are starting EVEN EARLIER than usual!
For the first time in history, holiday sales are predicted to rise above 1 TRILLION DOLLARS in the US this year! Are you prepared?
Capitalize on the busiest shopping time of year by increasing your marketing efforts this holiday season. The earlier you get your message out to consumers the better your chances are of attracting new consumers and loyal customers to your business.
You’ll give your business a boost for the following year as well. Capture their attention with a carefully planned and executed holiday direct mail marketing campaign. Let’s take a look at ten easy things you can do to improve your marketing campaigns this holiday season.
1. Use Oversized Direct Mail
Help divert consumers attention to your message and offers
77 percent of consumers sort through their physical mail as soon as they get it.

2. Use House Lists To Improve Response
Increase your ROI by sending mail to your current customers
You spend less money getting a customer to return than trying to convert a consumer into a new customer.
3. Incentivize With Offers & Gift Cards
Give them an incentive to shop with your business
Part of what makes direct mail so fantastically appealing to marketers is that it gives them the potential for multiple impressions compared to email. If your message is compelling, and your gift card and/or offers are highly enticing, then it’s possible that your customers will put a gift card in their wallet, leave it on their kitchen counter or put it on their fridge.
Your customers might not go running out to use them right away. However, if they’re interested they will keep your mail piece in their home instead of throwing it away. Essentially, you have given them a constant reminder of your business. There are plenty of different types of direct mail you can improve with offers.

4. Don’t Neglect The After Season Shopping
Consumers will still be purchasing after the season is over
New customers given gift cards by relatives can be turned into loyal, returning customers with the right in-store experience. Focus on customer service during the week between Christmas and New Years.
5. Lift Response With Spectrum’s Easy Omni-Channel Solution
Spectrum Mail Plus integrates your mail with online channels

Increase your average marketing campaign RESULTS by 23-46%
Most sales are made between the 8th and 12th impression! Perfect to hype holiday sale events and promotions!
6. Combine Direct Mail And Email
Give your holiday campaign a lift

Remind them with social media ads
Social media users spend around 50 minutes per day looking at content.
7. Reward Loyal Customers
Making a customer feel appreciated is a fantastic way to keep them coming back

8. Start Early
The more time your marketing message spends with consumers the better
Just because you’re prepared doesn’t always mean your customer is
Starting early gives your marketing message more time to sit with your customers. Sending them one piece of direct mail is rarely enough to get them to buy, especially long-term.
9. Convey Emotion
Consumers respond well to emotion so show a little in your collateral

10. Send A Thank You Card
With no agenda and no pressure show gratitude towards your customer so you’re the first place they shop

Thank your customers and show your gratitude for them. It will go a long way when you’re ready to hit them with the offers and sales.
So What Is The Best Holiday Direct Mail Marketing Strategy?
There is no one tip on this list that’s going to significantly boost your marketing campaign beyond all others. However, the combination of all of these strategies is sure to help you succeed. Using all of these tips will help create a campaign that really speaks to your customers on a personal level. It will also make you more memorable during this highly competitive time of year.
Send early, send often, and stand out!
The takeaway here with holiday direct mail marketing is to be the first on customers mind. So send early and send often! Make sure when your customer sees your message throughout multiple channels that it’s consistent, includes special offers, conveys emotion, and also stands out. Making sure you touch on these main points is key to a successful holiday marketing campaign.
We’re here to help.
Whether you are current client or new to direct marketing, our marketing experts, experienced in your specific industry, will help you utilize these tips to create the perfect holiday direct mail marketing campaign.
Direct Mail Meets Consumer Coupon Demand
Direct Mail has always used coupons effectively to drive action. But in the current market, it’s more critical than ever to get them in hands of deal-hungry consumers who are demanding better deals, special savings offers, and incentives.
Continue readingDirect Mail Response Rate Report 2021
Direct Mail Performance
Direct mail still delivers the highest return on investment!

ANA DIRECT MEDIA RESPONSE RATE REPORT 2021
Direct mail coupled with other marketing platforms tops the list with 112% ROI!
The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) has released its long awaited 2021 Response Rate Report (membership required) that once again reinforces direct mail ROI as the highest of all channels they studied. Once again proving direct mail is the most effective marketing solution.
As has been reported over and over, all marketing channels (email, social media, paid search, digital display, sms, and direct mail) have seen independent success as standalone efforts, depending on how they are focused.
Leveraging a multi-format offering across multiple production platforms, direct mail ROI topped the list at 112% ―a stronger return than from any other channel!
That may explain why nearly half (46%) of study participants said they planned to increase their use of direct mail in the next twelve months.
The partnering of direct mail with other channels continues to prove to be the catalyst of increase response.
Looking to increase your direct mail marketing campaign response by 23-46%? Learn more >

Study participants who sent letter-sized envelopes to prospect lists through direct mail reported the highest ROI of all media in 2020 (112%), followed closely by SMS (102%) and email to prospect lists (93%).
ANA RESPONSE RATE REPORT 2021 | HIGHLIGHTS
- Direct mail ranks fifth for usage in marketing campaigns, averaging 38 percent across all industries. The industry segments reporting the strongest use of direct mail for marketing campaigns were Automotive (70 percent), Travel and Hospitality (53 percent), and Financial Services (52 percent).
- For respondents who track direct mail response rates, over half use online tracking capabilities (59 percent), such as Personalized URLs (PURLs). The use of codes or coupons ranked a distant second (29 percent), followed by call center or telephone inquiries and matchback (25 percent).
- The top reported purpose of direct mail by B2B and split B2B/B2C marketers was to generate leads. However, the primary purpose among B2C marketers was equally divided between making a direct sale, driving traffic to retail locations, and engaging prospects/customers.
- B2B marketers were most likely to report the use of “house” (customer) mailing lists, whereas B2C and split B2B/B2C marketers were most likely to use a combination of “house” and “prospect” lists.
- The most popular direct mail format sent to “house” lists was letter-sized envelopes. None of this study’s B2C participants used oversized envelopes. B2B and split B2B/B2C marketers were the most frequent users of dimensional mail.
- The mail format that produced the best ROI to “house” lists was postcards (92 percent). The mail format that produced the best ROI to “prospects” lists was letter-sized envelopes (112 percent), the highest of all media types. Other notable mail formats to prospect lists include dimensional and oversized envelopes, both of which eclipsed the 90 percent ROI threshold.
- For direct mail sent to “prospect” lists, 39 percent of respondents reported the primary purpose was to engage potential prospects.
- The most popular direct mail format sent to “prospect” lists was letter-sized envelopes. Split B2B/B2C marketers were the most frequent users of letter-sized envelopes to “prospect” lists, followed closely by B2C marketers who send postcards.
- Regarding future use, 46 percent of this study’s participants plan to increase their usage of direct mail in the next 12 months
DIRECT MAIL FORMATS - NEW DATA
Direct Mail coupled with other marketing platforms tops the response list with 112% ROI!
Based on the DMA’s “Direct Mail Response Rates 2003-2018”, House List response rose 125% from its 2015 levels and Prospect Lists (acquisition) rose 400% for the same period.
Average direct mail ROI ranges from of 85% to 112% depending on direct mail formats and list usage.
Preferred by more than half of marketers, the letter-sized envelope is the most used direct mail format for both house and prospect mailings. Postcards are a close second, with 49% of marketers using the compact format when mailing to house lists and 51% when mailing to prospects. House lists receive oversized envelopes 21% of the time and dimensional packages 19%. When mailing to prospects, dimensional packages (29% of direct mail mailings) are 3% more likely to be used over oversized envelopes (used with 27% frequency).
Speak with a Spectrum marketing expert to discover which mail formats, lists, and mailing programs will deliver the highest predicted ROI for your specific business and industry. Contact Us >

EMAIL - RESPONSE RATES
Open Rates on Informed Delivery Emails in Comparison to Prospect/House Emails are NEARLY DOUBLE
Response Rate Report participants reported average email open rates of 32% when sent to prospect lists and 37% when sent to house lists.
While both of these figures are up compared to results reported in 2020, it is notable that they significantly lag the open rates for Informed Delivery emails that are consistently north of 60%.
The open rate for Informed Delivery email is impressive — 64% to 80%.

Spectrum can easily add Informed Delivery to your next direct mail campaign. Learn more >
Most Used Mediums
The study revealed that email was the most used medium in all campaign types (B2B, B2C, and split B2B/B2C), averaging an 82 percent usage rate among respondents. Social media came in second at 74 percent. Beyond email and social media, the report included overall findings for paid search (51 percent), digital display advertising (42 percent), direct mail (38 percent), and SMS (18 percent).
- Most respondents came from small companies with annual revenues of $25 million or less (56 percent), 24 percent from medium-sized companies (between $26 and $500 million in annual revenue), and 20 percent from large companies (over $500 million in annual revenue).
- Sixty-five percent of respondents reported revenue growth at their organizations in the most recently completed fiscal year.
Future Marketing Channel Strategy
Nearly 80% of ANA respondents plan to continue or increase the use of direct mail.
At least half of those surveyed plan to increase their use of email, paid search, social media advertising, and SMS over the next year. Social media advertising usage is the least likely to decrease. In the future, DTC participants are most interested in learning more about QR codes, organic search, and live chat technologies for direct marketing use.
How Direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketers are using direct mail
Among DTC marketers, the intent of a direct mail campaign is equally divided amongst making a direct sale (17%), engaging prospects (17%), engaging customers (17%), and driving traffic to retail locations (17%).
Customer communication (12%), lead generation (8%), and brand awareness (4%) are also among top priorities for DTC mailers.
Most DTC direct mail campaigns include a combination of prospect and house lists.
75% of DTC marketers prefer postcards when mailing to prospects.
When mailing to house lists, letter-sized envelopes (61%) are used most frequently.
Industries using direct mail marketing
Automotive is the number one industry using direct mail (70%), followed by travel and hospitality (53%), financial services (51%), and retail (48%). Nearly half of marketers use the offline channel for B2B products and services (42%), financial services/insurance (41%), and health care (40). Consumer products and services (36%), technology and communications (31%), and publishing/media/entertainment (29%) complete the top ten mailers.
RESPONSE TRACKING
Online tracking, such as Personalized URLs (PURLs), is the preferred response rate tracking method by 59% of respondents. Codes or coupons (29%), call center or telephone (25%), match back (25%), and linked sales transactions (20%) follow. Derived or calculated (13%) and list coding (8%) are the least used response metrics. Learn more about how to track your mail campaigns here >
All this makes print more powerful than ever for marketing.


There is also digital fatigue.
Digital advertising fatigue can also contribute to increase interest in direct mail marketing. According to a study by Sappi, 65% of consumers agree that mail lifts their spirits. Households receive on average just two pieces of mail per day, versus 157 email messages. Plus, with 7 in 10 white collar workers in the U.S. still working from home, mail is a welcome distraction. It’s part of the reason the USPS is consistently ranked as the most popular entity in government.
Mail is more important than before the pandemic and could offer the physicality missing at retail.
The pandemic has affected shopping behaviors, notably retail shopping which means the mail is a new source of information and inspiration.

ADDING A ONE - TWO PUNCH FOR IMPACT
Direct mail isn’t an all-or-nothing proposition. It plays well with digital communication.
There’s a 28% increase in conversion rate for marketing when direct mail and digital ads are used together as a one-two punch. And consumers say they prefer to receive direct mail and digital over any other media, including social media.
Those facts suggest that if your retail marketing strategy has defaulted to digital only, you’re missing an opportunity. Don’t miss out >
DIRECT mail plus retargeting
- 96% unique visitors leave your website without purchase/signup
- 26% will return to your site to take action after being retargeted with display ads
- Use mail to get them to web and retargeting to get them to return. Explore the technologies available that tie together your physical direct mail and digital.
Design Tips
You have five seconds to get your mail opened or ditched. Let your design team bring you more impactful ideas that are right for your specific audience.
- Make it highly visual; we process images 60,000x faster than text
- Use either real handwriting or a handwriting app for a more human, genuine feel
- Employ the envelope back as a billboard and the flap side as address side
- Be creative with paper stocks, dimensions, inks and folds. If your potential customers value sustainability, choose eco-friendly paper stock

The increased level of direct mail response in the last 3 years represents a remarkable reversal of the previous trend and underlines the fact that something truly amazing is happening in this traditional channel.
Don't miss an opportunity to enjoy a superior marketing ROI!

*All relevant data has been pulled from this year’s ANA Response Rate Report 2021. (Source: ANA Response Rate Report 2021)
Measuring Direct Mail ROI
Measuring the return on investment (ROI) for direct mail marketing helps you to evaluate the success of the campaign.
Continue readingUSPS Informed Delivery from Spectrum
Direct Mail With Informed Delivery® By USPS®

What Is Informed Delivery® Email Service?
SEE WHAT’S COMING IN THE MAIL
Users can also view their incoming mail by using the free USPS Informed Delivery App anytime, anywhere on your phone or tablet.
ADD DIGITAL TO DIRECT MAIL

How Does Informed Delivery® Work For Consumers?
- Consumer signs up for Informed Delivery® on USPS.com.
- Mail is scanned at the USPS sectional facility producing an image during processing.
- Images are matched to delivery points and mailer interactive campaigns are applied.
- User receives mail piece images via Informed Delivery® daily email.
- User receives physical mail pieces in their mailbox.


What Value Do Informed Delivery® Campaigns Add?
INFORMED DELIVERY® CAN HELP BUSINESSES INCREASE THE REACH OF THEIR MARKETING CAMPAIGN THROUGH A SYNCHRONIZED PHYSICAL AND DIGITAL TOUCHPOINT.
- Great Open Rates – 61% of subscribers open their daily Informed Delivery® email
- Know exactly how many people are checking their mail digitally
- Increase Interaction – And impressions by adding a digital ride along advertising image to your grey scale mail piece scan
- Increase Website Traffic – The ride along advertisement provides a link to your campaign page before the mailer hits homes.
- More Bang for Your Buck! – Potentially increase ROI with additional impressions and clicks lead to sales!
- Increase Brand Recognition – Each view adds to your overall brand recollection.
- Encourage Faster Consumer Responses – Ads with offers, interactive content, and a clear call-to-action related to mail piece.
- Additional Campaign Performance & Data Insights – Further optimize your marketing spend.

Informed Delivery® Subscriber Statistics
Over 52 Million Subscribers And Counting
Signups Increasing By 18% Year Over Year Growth
66% Of People Open Their Alerts/Emails Daily
Informed Delivery Has An Average Click Through Rate Of 1.01%

Updated January, 2023

Got A New Mover Direct Mail Campaign?
One of the main USPS marketing techniques for promoting ID to consumers is through change of address processing. When a consumer files a change of address they just need to check a box to add Informed Delivery®. This is a main reason for how the subscriber numbers are growing so quickly.
Add Informed Delivery® To Any Direct Mail Campaign For Only $149!
SPECTRUM IS HERE TO HELP
People are in their homes and have more time to read and look forward to receiving their mail more than ever. Now is a great time to market to them! Reach your target audience with one of Spectrum’s direct mail marketing solutions. Spectrum Mail Plus, our digital enhancement to direct mail, is a cost-effective omni-channel direct mail centric marketing program that integrates your mailing list with online ads for increased response. Informed Delivery is one of the integrated services as well. Contact us and we’ll help you determine the ideal marketing solution for your business
Business NH Magazine – Ranked #42
Business NH Top 100 Private Companies List

The Fastest Growing Companies on the Private 100
Business NH compiled the fastest growing top 100 companies in New Hampshire and in 2021 Spectrum Marketing Companies was ranked #42 among the top 100.

Direct Mail Marketing Strategies & Statistics for Black Friday Promotions
Direct Mail Marketing Strategies for Black Friday Promotions

One of the Biggest Shopping Days of the Year
The day after Thanksgiving, also known as Black Friday, kicks off one of the biggest shopping days of the holiday season.
Between the coronavirus, increased adoption in online shopping, supply chain woes and several retail giants choosing to remain closed on Thanksgiving, retailers didn’t know what to expect during the five major online shopping days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday. While the Cyber 5 period looked much different than previous years, thankfully, that didn’t put a damper on spending. According to Adobe Analytics, online sales totaled a record $34.36 billion, up from $28.49 billion for the same period in 2019. ***
November and December make up 20% to 40% of annual sales for small to medium-sized businesses so make sure you are optimizing your ad spend. If you choose not to run a cohesive Black Friday direct mail marketing campaign, you could miss a large percentage of annual sales.
Put Your Best Offers in Customers Hands!
Create Even More Impact with One of Spectrum’s Eye-Catching Black Friday Direct Mail Solutions!

Leverage Spectrum’s Cross-Media Direct Marketing Solutions to Lift Your Campaign’s Response!
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Spectrum MailPlus Direct to Digital Solutions: Increase marketing response 23-46% with direct mail to digital omni-channel advertising
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Email Marketing: Our designers will convert your Black Friday direct mail piece to a responsive email that will capture the attention it deserves.
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IP Targeting/Banner Ads: Target Black Friday customers and prospects before, during, and even after your Black Friday direct mail campaign drops. Direct them to your website or landing page and present your offer(s).
- Social Media Advertising: Gain even more traction by engaging with your target audience on Facebook and Twitter.
Start Planning Your Black Friday Promotion Today
2021 Emerging Tech USPS Direct Mail Promotion and Incentive
2021 Emerging Tech USPS Promotion And Incentive



2% USPS Postage Discount Promotion
FOR DIRECT MAIL CAMPAIGNS USING EMERGING AND ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY
INCENTIVE PERIOD
March 1, 2021 – August 31, 2021 (Must mail during this time period)
USPS
2% OFF POSTAGE
PLUS
SPECTRUM
2% OFF THE REST!
DETAILS
USPS 2% DISCOUNT OFF POSTAGE
SPECTRUM WILL EXTEND THE 2% DISCOUNT
QUALIFIED FOR DISCOUNT


7 integrated digital technologies designed to target, attract, engage, and convert your best prospects.
Seamlessly integrated Direct Mail, Social Media, Mail Tracking, Online Follow-Up Ads and Call Tracking that maximize the impact of your marketing campaigns.
All monitored through a single client-side reporting dashboard!
DON’T MISS THIS GREAT OPPORTUNITY!
Add Spectrum Mail Plus And Save!
LOOKING FOR HIGH-RESPONSE DIGITALLY ENHANCED DIRECT MAIL? SPECTRUM CAN HELP.
Direct Mail Marketing Trends 2021
2021 Direct Mail Marketing Trends For Success

Huge Opportunity To Beat The Competition
Our clients have been asking our marketing experts: “How can Spectrum improve our direct mail results during these uncertain times?”
Improved Targeting
Direct mail can be very granular with data targeting the right audience at the right time, making it a very powerful marketing and response channel.
Integrate With Technology
- Target Across Channels
- IP Targeting from Your Mail List
- Location Targeting
- Augmented Reality
- Informed Delivery

Personalization
USE AS MUCH DATA AS YOU CAN
EMPATHY MARKETING
Empathy is another element that is critical when communicating your message in 2021. Understanding how your clients and customers are feeling and building connections with them is more important than ever. Spectrum’s creative team can assist you with developing copywriting that will help you express your goals.
Omnichannel Marketing
INTEGRATE TECHNOLOGY WITH DIRECT MAIL ADVERTISING
Touching your audience with a consistent message across direct mail, Informed Delivery, social media, your website or landing page, and online display ads with Google Ads provide the repetitiveness necessary for success.
- Key Stat: A combined physical and digital presence can help brands increase their impact by 32%, according to ROI Genome data.

Informed Delivery
CONSUMERS SEE WHAT’S COMING IN THE MAIL
Informed Delivery® is a free subscriber (30+ million as of today) based email notification service offered by the United States Postal Service. Residential consumers receive a digital preview of their household’s incoming mail scheduled to arrive soon directly in their email inbox! Informed Delivery® allows subscribers to view greyscale images of the exterior, address side of letter-sized mail pieces and track packages in one convenient location.*
- Engage simultaneously through print media and digital advertising
- Use informed delivery to enhance your product offering or drive traffic to your store and website.

Direct Mail Retargeting
CAPTURE MAILING ADDRESSES FROM YOUR WEBSITE – AND MAIL TO HIGH INTEREST PROSPECTS
With Spectrum’s LeadMatch service you can now match physical mailing addresses of unique visitors who came to your website or landing page from your direct mail piece. You’re able to sort leads by geographic area and then mail those highly interested prospects a follow up marketing piece.
Increase your campaign success by reaching out to highly engaged prospects who visited your website or landing page.

Take Advantage Of Postal Promotional Rates
DIRECT MAIL HAS TRANSFORMED INTO A CHANNEL THAT PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS IN WAYS THAT MAKE SENSE AND INCREASE CAMPAIGN IMPRESSIONS, ENGAGEMENT, AND RESPONSE.
Reach out to your dedicated Spectrum marketing expert or contact us today to learn more.
USPS PROMOTIONS
- Tactile, Sensory and Interactive Engagement
- Emerging and Advanced Technology
- Mobile Shopping
- Earned Value Reply Mail
- Informed Delivery
