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The Art of Startup
Marketing
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Article 2: It’s Not Junk Mail
Despite complaints about “junk mail,” the U.S.
mail remains one of the surest ways to get the
attention of pre-qualified buyers.
The key here is “pre-qualified” because
direct-mail marketing is prohibitively expensive
if you pay to produce and mail material that
recipients regard as trash can fodder.
Direct mail response typically is paltry. Don’t
expect miracles. But it is also a relatively
low-cost opportunity when well targeted for
keeping your message in front of your market.
Use it to reinforce other advertising and
marketing.
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The best mailing list perfectly matches your
target market. Commercial mailing list brokers
sell lists tailored to markets’ precise
demographic, psychographic and geographic
characteristics.
Tip: Don’t invest sight-unseen. Request a
sampling to measure the list’s effectiveness.
Many brokers provide hundreds of sample names
and addresses free. It’s easy to see whether the
list is low-cost. If the response more than pays
for the mailing, it’s profitable. Then you can
buy what you can afford with confidence it will
generate more profit than cost.
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Get your mail opened. Odd sized envelopes,
lumpy contents, messages on the outside all say,
“Look at me.” Many people open mail over the
trash can. So grab their attention with
something interesting, mysterious or
provocative.
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Get your mail read without being opened by
using postcards instead of envelopes. Postcards
substantially reduce production costs since the
message is the medium. The lower cost makes more
frequent mailings possible, and frequency is
critical for a startup to be noticed – and
remembered – by new customers.
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Whether you send an envelope or postcard,
always include a “P.S.” The postscript is one of
the two or three most likely elements of a
mailing to be read. Even when the entire message
is read, the postscript is your opportunity to
close the sale, prompt action or reinforce your
message.
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