Direct mail used to be one of the only go-to marketing strategies. Now that times are changing, the internet provides more options than ever before.
If you are wondering which strategy will be more beneficial for your business, you will have to take into consideration the advantages and disadvantages that both direct mail and email marketing provide.
Here is the difference between direct mail and email marketing:
Direct Mail
Almost everyone has received flyers from a direct mail campaign. They usually include a discount to help attract the attention of their audience.
Direct mail campaigns can be pricey for businesses, costing a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. On the other hand, email campaigns can usually be set up for just a few hundred dollars. When planning a direct mail campaign, you must purchase; a list of addresses, the postcard, design, layout, printing, and postage.
In addition to the cost, direct mail campaigns take 2-3 months from start until the time the postcard is delivered.
Direct mail campaigns tend to have a one-tenth of one percent success rate. That means 1 out of 1000 flyers that are sent out actually convert a new customer. In addition, the only way to track the success rate of your direct mail campaign is to track the promo codes that are used on each post card.
As can be seen, direct mail marketing campaigns are not only expensive, but they also take a while before reaching your audience. Certain industries find more success in direct mail marketing than others.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is quick and easy. All you need is a list of email addresses from your demographic and a carefully crafted email to give your audience a glimpse of what it is your business provides.
One of the best things about email marketing campaigns is that you can track your results within 24 hours of your email being sent. When tracking your results, you can see how many people are opening your emails, as well as how many people are unsubscribing.
That information is beneficial because it will help you determine any tweaking that may need to be done before sending out the next email blast.
In addition, since email marketing is so quick and easy, many businesses decide to do A/B testing to find out which subject lines are getting the most traction. The way that this is done is by splitting the email list into 2 groups. One group will have one subject line, and the other half will have a different subject line.
By sending out the same email with 2 different subject lines, you will be able to track which subject line seemed to compel more people to open your email. Since it is the deciding factor as to whether to open the email or get rid of it, it is important to make sure that your subject line is carefully crafted to catch the attention of your audience.
Since email marketing is quickly tracked, there are other factors that you should test out when beginning your email marketing campaign. You can play around with which day of the week you send out your email blast and what time of day, helping you test which day and time you should be sending out your emails each week. These are important factors to narrow down if you want to get the most out of your campaign.
Email marketing campaigns take a lot less time and money than direct marketing campaigns. While direct marketing is beneficial for certain businesses, email marketing is the favored choice for most industries.
Not only is email marketing a quick way to provide your audience with insight into your business, but there are also so many more details that can be tracked through email marketing vs direct mail marketing.
If you have any questions about email marketing, or want some professional help with your email marketing campaigns, contact us today. We want to discuss your options with you so that we can help to carefully craft the best email marketing campaigns for your business.
