Effective Direct Mail EnvelopesDirect mail has emerged to become one of the most popular direct marketing methods as it is effective in generating more sales and consequently, more income for businesses. However, with the thousands of companies implementing direct mail campaigns, more and more customers tend to disregard them as nothing but junk mail. In fact, direct mail items make up a significant percentage of the 200 billion pieces of mail that is being handled by the US Postal Service annually. This is why it is very important to use attractive direct mail envelopes to compel customers to read and look at the offer contained inside it. There are different elements of a direct mail package. Each of these elements has its own purpose but all of them work together to attract the interest of the recipient long enough for him to consider an offer. These elements consist of the direct mail envelopes including outer envelopes and reply envelopes, sales letter, brochure, response device, and inserts. Among these elements, the design of the envelope is very crucial as this can influence a recipient to either open the mail or throw it immediately in the trash.
It is important to use direct mail envelopes that give an impression that they contain business or personal correspondence rather than a marketing communication from a company. Make your outer envelope design distinct from the thousands of direct mails that customers normally receive. For example, instead of using 6-by-9 inch envelopes that are typically used for direct mail promotion use monarch style direct mail envelopes. It would also be a good idea to use a computer when printing the name and address of the recipient on the outer envelop. The recipient information should be printed using the normal upper and lower case letters. Good quality envelopes should likewise be chosen to make a good impression on customers. Do not settle for cheap looking envelopes as customers would just immediately disregard these. Seals and stickers with messages may also be added to make an envelope more attractive. To encourage customers to make a response as soon as possible, it could also be indicated in the outer direct mail envelopes that the offer is valid for a limited period only. Many companies also select envelopes that have windows other than address windows which allow recipients to get a glimpse of its contents. Inserting some type of device like coins, stamps, discount cards, membership cards and sample products in the mail package will also increase the likelihood of customer response. Transparent direct mail envelopes are also very popular among businesses. This works the same way as the envelopes with windows however, these allow front and back view of the package. Transparent envelopes can come in various colors and can be decorated with creative designs. When choosing the envelope size to be used for direct mail campaigns, it is important to consider postal regulations and ensure that it complies with the requirements. Failure to do so would entail increase in postal rates making the campaign more expensive. |