Blackopsmailing

Wire //

Thursday briefing ·

Direct mail marketing, planned like a mission and measured like one

Do not mail more. Mail smarter.

Blackopsmailing is a direct mail publication for business owners, marketers and print buyers who want to know who should get the piece, what it should say, and how they'll count the response.

Lead brief // AUD-02 Audience Targeting

Direct Mail for Law Firms: How Local Attorneys Can Build Geographic Brand Awareness

Local attorneys don't need more mail. They need the right few towns, a plain message about place, and a way to count the calls.

Objective
Brand awareness in the towns a firm actually serves
Target
County, courthouse, then carrier routes
Offer
A plain message about practice area and place
Deployment
Fewer routes, mailed more than once
Results
Tracked numbers and cost per consultation

By Marcus Reed · · 7 min read

What's moving this week

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The six files

Most of what goes wrong with direct mail happens before anything gets printed. Wrong list, vague offer, no way to count calls. The sections below each cover one part of the job, from strategy and targeting to the press run. Pick the one that matches the problem on your desk.

DMS-01Direct Mail Strategy

Pick the objective before the paper

Every campaign here starts with one question: what should happen after the card lands? A new customer, a return visit, a booked consult. Once that's clear, the list, the offer and the budget stop being guesses.

Open the direct mail strategy file

From the wire: direct mail strategy

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AUD-02Audience Targeting

Mail the people who can say yes

Targeting is where most budgets leak. We cover ZIP codes, carrier routes, radius mapping and customer segments, and we'll tell you when a smaller mailing is the smarter one.

Open the audience targeting file

From the wire: audience targeting

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LST-03Mailing Lists

Know what you're paying for

Compiled, response, or your own customer file. Lists differ in source, freshness and legality, and a bad one poisons the whole test. We write about how to judge a list before you rent it.

Open the mailing lists file

No field brief filed in this section yet. The first one is on the planning board.

PCD-04Postcard Marketing

Two seconds at the mailbox

A postcard gets glanced at between the mailbox and the kitchen counter. Headline, offer, place and phone number have to survive that walk. Our postcard pieces are about layout that reads at arm's length.

Open the postcard marketing file

From the wire: postcard marketing

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PRS-05Personalization

More than a first name

Putting a name on a card is easy. Making the piece fit what someone bought, where they live or when they last visited is harder, and it's where personal mail starts to pay.

Open the personalization file

No field brief filed in this section yet. The first one is on the planning board.

VDP-06Variable Data Printing

One run, many versions

Variable data printing lets one press run carry different images, offers or maps for different households. We cover when it's worth the setup and how to test versions against each other.

Open the variable data printing file

No field brief filed in this section yet. The first one is on the planning board.

How we write about mail

Every piece on this site treats a mailing as an experiment. We name the audience, the objective, the offer and the measurement before we talk about design. We don't publish response-rate promises, invented case studies or tricks that make mail look like something it isn't. If a tactic only works for some businesses, we say which ones. For law firms, healthcare practices, lenders and political campaigns, we point you to the rules that apply before you print. Read more in our editorial standards, or start with the Mailbox Ops blog.

Questions from the mailroom

What should I know before getting into direct mail marketing?

Start with the objective and the audience, not the design. Decide who should get the piece, what you want them to do, and how you'll count the responses before you spend anything on printing. Treat the first send as a test with a set budget, and expect to change the list, the offer or the creative for the second one.

How much does direct mail marketing cost in United States, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Grand Strand, Myrtle Beach, Conway, Charleston, Columbia, Charlotte, Atlanta, Southeast United States, national U.S. market?

There's no single regional price, because cost depends on format, quantity, list and postage. USPS publishes current postage on its Every Door Direct Mail page, and retail EDDM postage was about 26 cents a piece at the time of writing, before printing and design. Print and list rates vary between shops in Myrtle Beach, Charlotte, Atlanta and everywhere else, so get two or three written quotes for the same spec and compare the cost per piece delivered.

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