A recent report by research firm Borrell Associates projects a 39% decline for direct mail over the next five years. Its research shows, not surprisingly, that email will continue to grow for both national and local advertisers, and is now the number one interactive medium. Even with rising costs, however, you should think twice about dumping direct mail – an integrated online/offline approach is always best. Here are some tips to ensure you are achieving the right balance … along with a template for acquiring email addresses and a white paper on integrating online and offline search engine marketing.

1. Ask your recipients: depending on the demographics of your audience, each company will have varying levels of acceptance of email vs. print. If you’re currently mailing a hard-copy newsletter, for example, insert a postage-paid reply letter in the next issue. I’ve created a template for such a letter; click here to download. Use it as you see fit.
2. Append you database: that same letter can be used to obtain missing emails from your audience – also known as “email appending.” You should also make it a company-wide practice to obtain email addresses at every touch-point: customer service reps, trade show leads, sales calls, and so on. WARNING! Avoid offers for quick, cheap email address appending services! The majority of these offers are scams, and there are only a handful of reliable companies in the appending industry. The company I recommend is FreshAddress.
3. Follow-up an email with a letter or sales call: technology now allows you to carefully manage the offline communications process. After an email goes out give your database to a printer that provides “variable data printing”, and send a letter or postcard that repeats the emailed offer – in terms of both graphics and text. Printed materials can be as equally personalized and relevant to the recipient as an email.
4. Convert invoices to emails: transactional emails (invoices, statements, etc.) are among the most-opened and read emails available. Not only will you save printing and postage costs, but you have a perfect platform to cross-sell / up-sell your recipients while you have their attention. Be careful not to overdo the sales message in a transactional email – remember, you’re asking them for money already!
5. Publish your Privacy Policy: many people will not opt-in to your email communications if they don’t readily see a clear Privacy Policy. Be sure to promise them you’ll never share or rent your list – not only online but offline with your telephone personnel, trade show sign-up forms, sales calls, etc. For a sample Privacy Policy, read mine.
6. Integrate search engine marketing with offline efforts: here is an excellent study completed by noted Search Engine Marketing Specialists iProspect, and Jupiter Research in August 2008. It demonstrates the importance of integrating your search engine marketing efforts with your offline marketing. The study found that "67% of search engine users had been motivated to perform a search on a search engine in the previous six months as a direct result of exposure to some form of offline marketing. The study also revealed that of that 67%, a full 39% ultimately purchased a product or service from the company that had prompted their original search."* Click here to read the entire report.

If you would like assistance in integrating your online and offline activities, call me at 717-368-5143 or email me now.