The Do's and Don'ts of Direct Mail

Do: Use direct mail as part of your regular marketing because it is one of the most cost effective ways to reach your target audience.

Do: Make your direct mail simple and easy to read. It can be as inexpensive to produce as running off a letter, or as elaborate as a 4-color gift box with a gimmick inside, but whatever you choose to send, get your message across quickly and concisely.

Do: Make sure your direct mail goes to a real recipient. That means, keep your client list up to date, and if purchasing a list, purchase the most recent list available from reliable sources.

Do: Increase your direct mail's effectiveness by following up with a telemarketing campaign. That way, you reach your audience twice with the same message.

Don't: Don't try to send direct mail by yourself if your time is valuable and you have too many pieces to send (almost always).You can easily spend a full day producing, printing, folding, stuffing, and stamping 250 to 500 letters, and then dropping them off at the Post Office (not quite in time for the last pickup).

Direct Mail houses have the equipment to do the job quickly and cost-effectively. So outsource your direct mail and spend your time completing a client job or making new contacts.

Ref: http://www.ballantine.com/dosanddonts.html