3 Simple but Powerful Ways to Engage Your Audience with Direct Mail

By Lauren D'Alessandro, April 19, 2017 | Marketing

Direct mail presents a real opportunity for brands. As we shared in our post, 4 Reasons Why Direct Mail Belongs in Your Marketing Mix, one of the benefits of direct mail is the ability to catch and hold your recipient’s undivided attention.

The key to grabbing hold of this benefit is to create a piece that is engaging. The more time your recipient spends reading, viewing, or interacting with your mailer, the better chance you have of staying in their long-term memory.

So how do you foster engagement? Here are three tried-and-true methods that are simple but effective.

1. Share a sample of your product

Not only is this a great way to show off what you can do, but it can also add visual and tactile interest to your mailer. This trifold mailer contains a free sample of our removeable vinyl label. The label, which has our logo, website, and the text, “Starting is Easy, Finishing is Hard,” can be used as a sticker. If the recipient decides to affix this sticker to something, that’s just another way that we can keep our brand on their mind.

Our multi-panel Web-to-Print mailer (above) is another great example. The front panel contains "bait" with an arrow instructing the recipient to open the piece. Each panel then contains the next component of the messaging, compelling the recipient to continue reading until they reach the center.

3. Be irresistible

Give your customer something they can’t resist interacting with. Offer a prize, give them a scratch off card, or give them something to peel apart. It’s simple, but for some reason being able to pull apart perforated materials or wax is super satisfying. When you use this to your advantage, it’s easy to drive engagement.

For me, the first thing that comes to mind is the Monopoly sweepstakes that Acme runs on occasion. I always find myself peeling open the tickets and assembling my board to see if I’ve won anything. Although I’ve never won a single thing, I get sucked in every time because there’s something so satisfying about peeling the paper and putting the board together. And voila – I’ve just dedicated ten minutes of my time to interacting with Acme’s brand without realizing it.