1) Direct mail is an effective way to advertise and get your message out to potential customers and donors as it allows for precise targeting of audiences. 2) When people receive mail, they are more likely to physically handle and read direct mail advertisements compared to emails which may be ignored or deleted without being read. 3) Direct mail marketing campaigns can be customized and designed to catch people's interests, with research showing that 81% of households read at least some advertising mail they receive.

1. Q: How Do I Get the Word Out?
A: Mail Yourself! [Dominique
Barbagello]
by Dominique Barbagallo
…Metaphorically, of course!
It may be the year 2015, but mail is certainly not dead; it’s alive and growing. Whether
you’re a business, organization, foundation, fund-raiser, charity, or you’ve just got
something significant to say—the mailbox is a smart place to start.
Source: eddmtoday.com
When most of us think of advertising
anything,
We tend to think TV commercials, billboards, magazines, email, social media, and maybe
eventhe newspaper. This thinking is perhaps a bit flawed, as it is missing such an
important piece of advertising—a piece in which the largest, most successful companies

2. such as JCPenny’s, Disney, and Victoria’s Secret all use to attract new and existing
customers. But you don’t have to be a large, successful company in order to utilize direct-
mailing. In fact, direct-mailing actually saves youmoney and wasted resources when it
comes to advertising. It is no wonder that in 2013,direct mail ranked as the number one
planned marketing channel coming in ahead of social media channels and email!
Source: eddmtoday.com
When observing other types of advertising
and marketing,
You don’t have as much control over the audience as you would with direct-mailing. TV
commercials, magazines, and social media may be able to target and specify their markets
and customers with more ease basedon the types of shows, magazines, and online activity
in which people engage; but let’s face it—most people are ignoring or disregarding these
types of advertisements. Direct mail puts your words, your brand, your business, your
organization, your charity, etc., in the physical hands of the people you want it to go to. In
this sense, there’s no wasted energy and resources (and money) on people who are not
likely to become new customers or not likely to do business with you again. It’s not some
email, which might be specifically targeted, but is just deleted almost immediately without
evenopening it or entirely reading it. When you create an eye-catching, creative, and clever

3. customized mail-piece, those receiving it are physically sifting through their mail;
physically touching what you’ve created. They don’t just see a “preview” as they would in
an email; they see the whole thing on one piece in their hands. If it catches their interests,
they’ll read it. Even if they decide it’s “junk” (hopefully not!), you know they’ve read it;
you know they’ve seenthe name; you know they’ve seenthe offer.
Source: eddmtoday.com
Source:
eddmtoday.com
Mail is far more serious than anything else to
people.

4. When going through their mail, people are extra careful about what they throw away or
discard. People wouldn’t want to get rid of something important, such as a bill, government
notice, or personal letter. When mailing your ad, you can trust that people will at least look
it over once.
Source:
eddmtoday.com
Still not convinced?
The Direct Marketing Association has done research which suggests that approximately
81% of U.S. households read at least some, or all of the advertising mail they receive.
Again, this is so much more useful when compared to email. Email is invasive; and so much
email bombards people on a daily basis, it’s hard to keepup with it all. With direct mail,
you can achieve more of a focus. According to the United States Postal Service, the average
U.S. household receives only two pieces of Direct Mail a day, compared to 157 emails. And
this type of advertising works well in so many realms besides business, such as charities
and non-profit organizations. In fact—according to the same source—in 2005, nearly $200
billion in contributions for good causes were collected through direct mail; from
foundations conducting important medical research, to charities supporting the poor. OK,
so I know what some of you may be thinking… “What about the paper wasted and the
environment?” Well it gets better for you! In recent years, a group of direct-marketing
companies created a wide-spread initiative, calling themselves the “Green Marketing
Coalition”, creating best-practices guidelines for the direct-mail business. It is also

5. important to note that mail-outs in direct-mail marketing campaigns are created from
recycled paper, making direct-mail an ‘Eco-friendly’ marketing technique.
Source: eddmtoday.com
Source:
eddmtoday.com
So the next time you think advertising…
You need to think mail. Mail reaches the specific or customized audience you want it to
reach, allowing you to focus your budget on those most likely to respond. Everyone who
has a place to live has a mailing address, allowing your message to have an endless reach.
With all the creative possibilities and customization options, you can brand and create
recognition for yourself with eye-catching and appealing mail-pieces. The flexibility in
formats, quantities, and postage options allows virtually any business or organization to
utilize direct mail without breaking the bank! Mail is a highly track-able medium, which

6. allows for monitoring of the impact and ROI (return-on-investment) of every enterprise. So
let’s ask it one more time: What’s a great way to advertise? You already know the answer,
because that’s how smart you are!
(Go you!)