What is a Mailshot?

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What is a Mailshot and How Does it Work?

If you have ever looked into mass marketing campaigns, then it is likely that you have come across the term mailshot. However, few people know what mailshot is or its potential in marketing different products and services.

Even fewer people know how to run a successful mailshot marketing campaign. So, if you are reading this article to find some answers about mailshot marketing, you have come to the right place. We will discuss every detail you need to know about mailshot and how you can implement one to get the optimal results.

What Are Mailshots?

A mailshot is a type of direct marketing where businesses reach out to a large group of prospective and existing customers via postal mail. The Royal Mail offers several services to send personalised messages to your customers/prospects.

Mailshot is one of the most effective ways to generate a response from your target audience because it is more personal. Unlike emails or text messages, the recipients of mailshots such as personalised postcards want to read them.

Companies usually use a mailshot to pitch a good or service that it wants to sell. Postcards and letters are two of the most common choices for sending mailshots to customers or prospects. However, companies can also send flyers, newsletters, brochures, and even booklets as mailshots.

What Are The Benefits Of Using A Mailshot For Your Business?

There are numerous benefits of using mailshot marketing for your business. However, if we were to give you one single reason why you should use mailshot marketing, it would be that they are incredibly effective.

While most advanced digital marketing campaigns struggle to generate a response from the target audience, mailshots can do it effortlessly. But, the real question is, what makes mailshot advertising/marketing so effective?

And the benefits listed below should answer that question for you.

Superior Targeting

Thanks to direct mail automation tools like PostGrid, you now have superior targeting capabilities for your mailshot campaigns. Such advanced tools enable you to target your audience who finds your offer relevant. In addition to this, mailshots have a higher chance of converting your target audience.

High Personalisation

Mailshots such as postcards can be highly personalised to connect better with the target audience. With tools like PostGrid, you can easily integrate it into your website and use its CRM for quick, easy personalisation.

Easy Monitoring And Tracking

Earlier, marketers had to rely on the mailshot recipient making a phone call to measure its response rate. Today, you can guide them to your website or landing page through a QR Code or PURL. You can then access advanced insights and track the progress of your campaign with advanced analytic tools.

Easy To Create And Execute

In the past, creating and executing direct mail campaigns was a time-consuming process. But now, with ready-to-go templates and easy automation from PostGrid, developing and executing mailshot marketing campaigns is easier than ever.

High Return On Investment (ROI)

Direct mail campaigns have one the best ROI you can get from a marketing campaign. The Return On Investment or ROI of direct mail is much higher than most digital marketing campaigns.

Complements Your Other Marketing Efforts

Sending mailshots can be effectively used to complement your other marketing efforts, including digital marketing campaigns. For example, you can use a QR code to guide the customers to an online sale happening on your website.

Cost-Effective

As far as marketing campaigns go, mailshot marketing is one of the most cost-effective marketing strategies you can find. Automating your mailshot marketing reduces wastage of materials and saves you a lot of working hours.

History of Success

Another thing that makes mailshot advertising or marketing so enticing to businesses is that it already has a history of success. Even without automation, there is no denying that direct mail campaigns are effective because of how emotionally appealing they are to the customers/prospects.

What Are The Things You Should Include In Your Mailshot?

Mailshots come in all sizes and shapes depending on the type of marketing campaign you wish to execute. It means you can select a mail format based on your unique needs and target audience. However, companies usually prefer to use minor and straightforward mailshot printing to minimise expenses.

Hence, the most common mailshot examples that you can see are:

• Postcards
• Flyers
• Leaflets
• Brochures

Headline

The headline is usually one of the first things the reader notices in direct mail, such as postcards, flyers, etc. Even if the reader were to casually glance through their mailers as they get it out of the mailbox, they would still look at the headline.

Hence, your headline should be able to grab the reader’s attention at first glance itself. For example, a headline that says “SAVE ££” immediately conveys what the customer or prospect can expect from the mailer. However, you need to get more creative with the headlines to get them noticed by the recipients.

Body Copy

As you can guess, a great headline needs an excellent body copy to complement it. Creating a compelling body copy that makes the reader want to take action is not easy. However, an approach that usually works is to try and tell a story to the reader.

A story-like narration is more effective in capturing and holding the reader’s attention. Using shorter sentences and paragraphs is better for the mailshot and its story. The last thing you want to do is go on and on about the product/service you are offering and bore the reader.

Instead, focus the copy on how your product/service can benefit the target audience. Additionally, it would be best to use the word “you” so that the reader connects themselves with the mailshot you send. You can also use typographical tricks like underlines, bold fonts, and typefaces to highlight parts of your mailer.

Personalised Content

The first thing you need to include in your mailshot is personalised content. As we have already mentioned, mailshot marketing performs so well because it feels personal. So if your mailer uses generic terms such as “dear customer”, it defeats the purpose of sending mailshots.

Value Offering

The next thing that your mailshot should include is a value offering that the customer or prospects find interesting. Whatever you are offering in the mailshot should be relevant to the person reading it. You could try to attract the customer/prospect with a discount offer, free coupons, gift cards, and so on.

Conditions For Offer Redemption

A good practice to follow when you create mailshot campaigns and their value offering is to include any conditions for offer redemption. There is nothing more frustrating to a customer than finding that they can’t redeem an offer because of a hidden clause.

Hence, always make it a point to include any condition for offer redemption in your mailshot. You should also mention the offer’s closing date in the mailer you send to the customers and prospects.

Call To Action (CTA)

Some might argue that the CTA or Call To Action is the most crucial part of your post office mailshot. Although such a claim is arguable, the CTA is unavoidable in a mailshot. The CTA is usually provided towards the end of the mailer.

Your CTA tells the reader what action they need to take after reading the mailer. Suppose you want to take the reader to your online store, you can provide a QR Code inside and give a CTA to “scan the code to get a special discount!”

Similarly, if you want them to fill out an online form, then you can use a CTA that says something like:

“Scan the code to register for a free service.”

The CTA of your mailshot should be attractive and connect with the value offering of your mailshot. Hence, it would be best to connect the CTA and the incentive you are offering the reader.

PS or Postscript

Although not necessary, you might want to try using a PS or Postscript in your mailshots. There are numerous advantages of using PS in mailshot marketing. For example, PS lets you wander off-topic and pitch something entirely different to the reader, like a parallel marketing campaign your company is running.

You can also use the PS to point out the benefits of your product or service. Use the PS to complement your mailshot’s CTA and reiterate your value offering. Furthermore, adding a PS to your mailer make it seem more personal and not just another machine-generated mail.

How To Create a Successful Mailshot Marketing Campaign For Your Business?

Creating a successful mailshot marketing campaign is not easy. And if you are new to mailshot printing, you will need all the help you can get. So, we explain below how you can create a direct mail campaign with a higher potential for success.

Step 1: Put Together A Quality Mailing List

The mailing list is the best place to start when you create mailshot campaigns. It is crucial to have a good quality mailing list before implementing a mailshot marketing campaign. The quality of your mailing list can make or break your mailshot campaign.

Where to Get It?

The most reliable source for your mailing list is your business’s customer database. However, it may not be good enough to target new audiences. In that case, you can consider buying the list from a broker.

Clean/Filter Your Mailing List

It would be best to run the mailing list through an address verification solution, such as PostGrid. That way, you can ensure the quality of your mailing list. PostGrid compares your mailing list with the Royal Mail’s official address database to identify valid addresses, which ultimately maximise your deliverability.

Step 2: Choose A Suitable Direct Mail Format

The next big decision you need to make when creating mailshot campaigns is to pick a suitable direct mail format. Each format has its unique characteristics, benefits, and drawbacks. You need to choose a postal mail format that best fits your needs for that special campaign.

Usually, businesses prefer using A5 flyers or postcards for their mailshot campaigns because they are economical and can house attractive images. However, your options are not limited to flyers or postcards. Here are some direct mail formats you can consider for your mailshot advertising.

• A5/A6 Leaflets & Postcards: Economical and can include images.
• Enveloped Letters: Provides more privacy.
• Self-mailers: Cost-effective and provide more space for communication.
• Custom Mailer: Use custom shapes that are more memorable to the readers.

Step 3: Create The Text For The Mailshot

After selecting the direct mail format for your mailshot campaign, you will get an idea of the content it needs. However, you will always have limited space for communicating your vision regardless of the mail format you choose. There are mainly two things you need to create: the headline and the body copy.

Headline

The headline of the mailer should be short and enticing to generate interest in the reader. It could very well be the only thing that the recipient reads. Therefore, you should ensure that the headline is not confusing and gives the reader an idea about what the mailer is about.

Body Copy

The body copy should also be concise, and you must make sure that the reader keeps on reading. Hence, it would be best to pitch the reader with a value proposition. However, you must be careful to explain your offer well to avoid miscommunication.

Step 4: Design The Mailer

The creative side of the mailer is just as important as the content side of the mailer. More often than not, the design side of the mailshot process is more time-consuming than any other aspect of the mailshot campaign.

A good design should accomplish the following goals for your mailshot campaign.

• Grab the reader’s attention.
• Convey a relevant message.
• Align with your branding.

Image/Picture

One of the ways you can grab the reader’s attention is by using images. It can be funny, surprising, or even shocking as long as it captures the reader’s attention. However, it does not mean that you can use any random image on your mailer because it has to be relevant to the content of the mail.

Step 5: Create An Irrefutable Offer

The one aspect that can single-handedly change the fate of your mailshot marketing campaign is the value offering. You can not hope your target audience takes the desired action without incentivising them.

The offer in your mailshot is what pushes the reader to take action, and hence it has to be genuinely valuable. One of the strategies you can use to drive more actions is setting a limit to the offer. For example, people tend to respond faster if an offer is limited.

Step 6: Create An Attractive Call To Action or CTA

Let’s assume that you have successfully created an awesome mailshot capable of grabbing the reader’s attention at first glance. The reader is thoroughly impressed with your mailer and the value you offer.

Now, imagine what would happen if the reader had no idea what to do next. Indeed, they could look up your business online and contact you, but the chances of that happening are slim to none. Including a CTA tells your customer or prospects what they need to do to access the mailshot offer.

In other words, the CTA must clearly state the action the reader must take, such as making a call or visiting your website. Combine your CTA with convenient options such as QR Codes or PURLs to boost your chance of getting a response.

Step 7: Print And Deliver Your Mailshots

The next step is pretty simple because this is where you print your mailshot and get it delivered to your target audience. You can either print and deliver the mail yourself or use a third-party service provider, preferably one with an automated system.

Send Mailshot Using PostGrid

The best option for printing and sending mailshots for your business is to use a direct mail automation tool like PostGrid. It is not good to use an in-house process for sending mailshots because it uses an error-prone manual process.

Furthermore, there are a lot of logistic challenges that your business may not be able to handle. On the other hand, PostGrid uses an entirely automated process free of manual errors. By the end of the day, you are likely to save a whole lot of money and time by using PostGrid for mailshot marketing.

Step 8: Time Your Offer Right

Like most good things in life, the mailshot can work wonders if you get the timing right. However, make a mistake in the timing, which could affect your entire campaign. There is usually a backlog mail from Sunday. Hence, you should ensure that the target audience doesn’t receive the mailer on a Monday.

Similarly, it would be best to avoid the B2B mailshots reaching their destination on Fridays. It would be best to avoid holidays or send the mailshot much earlier during the season. Royal Mail is usually busy during the holiday season, and there is a more extended delivery period.

Step 9: Track And Measure Your Results

The last thing you need to do to ensure that you run a successful mailshot campaign is to track and measure its results. Ideally, you should use the CTA to guide them to your website and use your advanced analytics tools for superior tracking and measuring capabilities.

Try using the following in your CTAs for better tracking your mailshot campaigns.

• QR Codes
• Trackable URLs
• PURLs

Conclusion

Mailshots are a great way for businesses to market their products and services. It has a high ROI, can appeal to the audience personally, and is ideal for generating the desired response rate. The tremendous success rate of mailshot is also because people are tired of getting bombarded with digital marketing campaigns.

In short, it is the perfect way for reaching out to your target audience. However, to get the full potential of mailshot marketing and still make it profitable, you need to optimise it with automation tools like PostGrid.

With PostGrid’s automation capabilities, you can personalise, print, and deliver mailshots with the click of a button. There is no need for you to worry about logistic challenges or manual errors because PostGrid takes care of it all.

The post What is a Mailshot? appeared first on PostGrid UK.

source https://www.postgrid.co.uk/what-is-a-mailshot/