The world of marketing can sometimes be a little confusing. Today, thanks to the internet and mobile devices, there are more channels through which you can promote your business than ever before.
online, there are social networks, advertising, seo, email, among many others. offline, there’s signage, word of mouth, telesales, direct mail, just to name a few.
More and more companies are integrating their online and offline marketing efforts. it’s smart, especially when you consider the different ways your target audience can discover and interact with you.
In this post, we’ll look at the difference between email marketing and direct mail.
email marketing
According to salesforce, 44% of email recipients made at least one purchase last year based on a promotional email. When marketers say there’s money in the list, they’re not kidding.
Electronic mail, also known as electronic mail, is a mode of direct communication. Unlike direct mail, you do not receive anything physically. the email is sent to your digital inbox where you can go to view, forward and reply to messages, whether personal or promotional.
Most businesses use, and should, use email marketing software to manage their subscriber list and send campaigns. mailchimp, aweber, and icontact are just a few options worth considering. using the proper software ensures that you comply with relevant regulations. it also makes email marketing much easier to do effectively.
Email services give you the option to create “subscription mailboxes” for your website. These are simple forms that people can use to sign up and receive your email communications. These signup forms can be placed anywhere on your site, but you can also increase their effectiveness by using them in conjunction with landing pages (pages built with a single goal in mind).
Using email marketing services, you can also send email campaigns to your subscriber base. This is where the power of email marketing lies. email is the only way you can have direct contact with your online audience. By adding value to them and earning their trust, you can continually market to them and share your latest deals.
direct mail
according to compu-mail, 56% of customers consider print marketing to be the most reliable type of marketing.
You should be pretty familiar with direct mail marketing by now. Every time you get a piece of print advertising in your mailbox, it’s direct mail. you probably get emails like this every day.
Despite the growing awareness of online and digital marketing practices, print marketing can still be an incredibly effective way to reach your target audience. Fewer companies are using it, which means there is more chance to stand out. And any business that continues to use direct mail is almost certain to see some return on investment.
To find direct marketing services in your region, all you need to do is search for “city name + direct marketing” (replace “city name” with the name of your hometown) on Google. they can help you design, print, and send your print ad to your prospects. but if you already have a customer database and have collected their contact information, you can also design ads in-house, print them, and send them to your customer list.
The least expensive way to increase your profits is to re-engage existing customers instead of always going out and finding new leads and prospects. a healthy balance is essential for businesses of all sizes.
using email marketing & direct mail simultaneously
Email marketing and direct mail can be complementary to each other, as long as the lines of communication are open between different departments and you plan accordingly. If your email person isn’t talking to your direct mail person, for example, you could end up sending mixed messages to your customers and prospects. as you can imagine, that could be counterproductive and inefficient.
but this is just one way your email and direct mail campaigns could intersect and work together synergistically:
You could send an email to let your subscribers know about the promotion you have. then you can follow up with a direct mail campaign as a reminder for your customers to take advantage of a limited-time promotion.
final thoughts
It’s easy to think of email as the digital counterpart to direct mail and direct mail as the physical counterpart to email. and in a way, they are. but it is also essential to understand the differences and take advantage of the strengths of each medium.