Direct-mail personalization runs from the reason a prospect should care to the way the piece feels in hand. Relevant copy can still look like junk mail and hurt response.1 Treat the envelope, address treatment, offer, format, and follow-up as parts of personalization. Request and approve a live personalization sample before the full drop.2
Run the personalization pass
Work in this order so the physical treatment follows the message instead of competing with it.
Set the job
Start with the action you want the recipient to take. Establish the mailer's goal and message first.3 Direct mail can drive traffic to a website, generate leads, or support conversion goals.4
Select the audience and data
Make the piece relevant to the people receiving it. Personalize the item and campaign message by segmenting the target audience, using industry terms, or addressing its pain points.5
For account-based direct mail, select accounts from the CRM, time the mail to the sales cycle, use live account data, and synchronize with sales.6 Adding a recipient's name alone lifts response rates by 33%.7 Combining the name with offer relevance and behavioral data produces a 135% lift over generic mail. Use the strongest available context that you can keep accurate through fulfillment.
Choose the format and size
The mailer's goal and message determine its specific format and size.8 An educational mailer needs a larger format to accommodate its content.9 An event mailer is a smaller snapshot with less explanatory content.10
A folded self-mailer provides adequate space for larger content needs.11 Recipients can easily identify it as a marketing piece, so use it only when that expectation suits the message.12 A postcard puts its design and content in view without an opening step.13 No amount of personalization fine-tuning will make a postcard or self-mailer appear to be anything other than a commercial mailer.14
Choose a card with an envelope for an upscale event or a personal touch.15 Let the recipient's expected experience guide the format before you finalize the copy.
Make the outside feel deliberate
After setting the format, inspect the details that signal how the mail arrived. When a piece still looks like junk mail, the lettershop's personalization process is the likely culprit.16 Give the lettershop specific instructions for addressing the piece, especially the font choices.17
Choose a serif font that makes the envelope look as though it came from someone's laser printer.18 Check the address area for a keycode above the address and a barcode immediately below. Those elements can make the piece look like junk mail and negate its intended effect.19 A printed stamp implies a mass corporate mailer, while an adhesive stamp provides a personal touch and may encourage the recipient to look inside.20
Prove the execution
Review the piece as it will arrive, including the address, postage, and opening experience. Test the direct-mail execution.21 In a client test, the version without a barcode generated a 30% higher response.22 Use that result as a reason to test barcode treatment with your own audience, not as a universal rule.
Connect the follow-up
The physical piece should arrive within a communication sequence that can use its context. The USPS reports that 68% of marketing respondents said combining digital and direct mail increased website visits.23 It also reports that 60% said the combination increased ROI.24 Activate the follow-up after the physical piece lands.25
What not to do
Production details should stay part of the personalization decision. Avoid these mistakes:
- Do not apply one repeatable formula to every mailer. The formula behind a successful direct-mail campaign cannot be replicated for every unique mailer.26
- Let budget inform the mailer's size and format without making it the determining factor.27
- Do not default to the lowest postage rate if it would force barcode use. Decide whether that tradeoff fits the piece.28
- Vary the mailer size and formatting so the piece can stand out in the audience's mail.29
- Do not assume a live stamp will always make mail feel personal. Pre-sort stamps can look as bad as pre-printed indicia.30