Postal Mail Volume Decline = Opportunity

Okay, I’ll admit it, I love direct mail marketing. I look forward to going home at the end of the day, seeing my family and then looking at and opening my daily mail. I also love emerging media, but mail makes us, subliminally, feel important. Someone is trying to contact you and wants your attention. They are trying to convince you and educate you that their insurance, olive oil, magazine, steaks, wine or clothing is better and they’ll give you a deal to prove it to you.

Thus, when I continue to read that mail volume continues to decline I don’t panic. Why? Because it allows those of us who have had much, much success with the medium look even better. That’s because we have less clutter and fewer competitors to worry about. We understand how to test, how to sell the offer and how to measure and apply our discoveries to the next effort.

Personally, I still have a lot of success with direct mail — both for my companies and for the consulting work we do for others. I have seen a downward trend from many, but have also seen those who commit to testing succeed and grow despite the economic worries that surround us.

Now is the right time to mail and test. Make sure that your work is tied back into the web, microsites, email and the like, but still mail. And, if you are doing two-step campaigns, do not forget about testing your follow-up material and approaches.