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Wanting more website traffic? Start with snail mail

Wanting more website traffic? Start with snail mail

It seems like the words ‘marketing,’ ‘advertising,’ and ‘public relations’ can no longer be mentioned without the term ‘social media’ following them. Once considered the communication of the future, social media are now thought of as requirements of the present. While I have my email sent to my phone for immediate readability, I too often become annoyed with the dozens of promotional and commercial spam offers I get on a daily basis. Worse, now it happens on Facebook, too—and by my friends!

It is easy to delete an anonymous mass email by a huge corporation, but it takes a second look and a little hardening of my heart to deny or decline invitations from an old classmate or friend. Though I say this, and will continue to be aggravated by these Facebook invites, I still support them as a must-have to marketing, advertising and public relations. Instead, the point I bring up is: Are they enough by themselves?

With over 230 million people with Internet access in the United States in 2009 compared to 150 million addresses that receive delivered mail from the US Postal Service, it is obvious the direction communication is heading. Quantity, however, does not always trump quality.

Similar to the sincerity felt in receiving a handwritten card from an old friend, sometimes traditional grass roots direct mail strategy outshines an easily deleted email. At a time when it seems your inbox is full with promotions and offers, and your Facebook is cluttered with Page and Like invitations, a well thought-out, traditional flier in the mail has never seemed more refreshing. But, just because you may choose to send a postcard or flier through the mail does not guarantee response. There are many factors that go into successful direct mail marketing.

The first to consider is evaluating your desired needs and goals. Why are you choosing to address the public? What is it that you have to offer? What do you wish to gain from contacting a mass audience?

Take a few minutes to write down three objectives you have for the mailing. One of these focal points may very well  be to get the receiver to visit your website or Facebook page. Concentrating on only these three objectives will not only help you to create a clear message, but help you target your audience, as well.

This is why the second step is carefully deciding to whom you will be mailing your material. A mass mailing to every Joe on the street will rarely be as successful as selecting a target audience that already has interest in or a need for your product or service.

Now, with the audience and goals determined, you can begin to create the actual flier that will be sent. Your handout should physically appear appropriate to the material you are presenting. This step should not be taken lightly; whether you need a professional letterhead or a bright design, the look should be polished and reviewed by a few people who fall into the audience you are targeting.

Throughout this entire process, try to remember that you are using a traditional form of advertising, and likewise, you should stick to a simple but informational message. Also, you cannot lose site of the fact that the handout should not be the end of the road; instead, you have to find a way to pull the potential customer into further communication with your company. This is where social media and websites come back into play. Offer an incentive for joining an email listserv, visiting your website, or becoming a friend of your business on Facebook. After seeing that you care enough to send a personal letter through ‘snail mail,’ the follow-up emails that come from you later may, too, seem more endearing.