One of the most difficult challenges as a company can be how to reach new, valuable customers to help kickstart waves of new income.  As you start to consider ways for a new company to grow keep in mind that most large-scale advertisement services will be unfeasible without a large startup fund.  For example, National Broadcast Channels can run close to $115,000 for a 30-second slot. With such high costs for expansive outreaches there are more reasonable, cost conscious advertisement services to start: Yelp review postings, personal business cards, social media posts, Local Television broadcasting, etc.  Among the numerous ways to advertise at a low cost, Direct Mailer services have proved a personable and inviting way to introduce yourself to potential clients while minimizing your work input. A Direct Mailer service utilizes a list or range of addresses to send company postcards, pamphlets, or any type of personalized outreach material through the mail to consumers.  According to the Data and Marketing Association (DMA), a study in June 2017 concluded the return on investment (ROI) of Direct Mail at 29%, 6% above paid online search advertisements and 13% above online display services. This type of ROI proves that the use of mailing services is not a declining practice and is well received by potential new customers. This type of advertisement can begin at costs as low as a few hundred dollars to reach roughly 500 addresses and since most Direct Mailer Services utilize a personalized range of addresses it ensures that your advertising is reaching people best suited to hear about your services.  In addition to a personalized range of addresses these services can provide you help with consultation for new or improved advertisement creation and direct mailer address lists.  

Making the decision to use a Direct Mailer could prove to be a great asset to your business, but a quick search will show that there are many companies that offer services for this type of advertising. This makes it extremely important for your company to dial in on what the goal of Direct Mailer advertising is for you. Does my audience need to be particular people? Can I mail as much as possible and still receive results with feedback? Do I have the advertisement material necessary to start using a mailing service? What will be a convenient service provider to go through and communicate with? These questions can help to sift through places that are less cost-effective to your mission statement and just focus more heavily on the side of the service that doesn’t relate well to you.  Keeping these questions in mind here are two service providers that have been very well received for adaptability and cost..  

1. Staples –

Staples offers two distinct options which allow for none or a little user input.  The simplest, and cheapest, option is “Every Door Direct Mail”. It allows for advertising to entire postal routes or zip codes which makes the creation of the mailing order easy, sequential (in terms of addresses), and cheap.  Although this is a simple method of beginning direct mailing it may not reach the clients that are actually interested in your business. If this is a worry, the other option offered will take care of more particular advertising using “Personalized Direct Mail”.  This gives you the ability to create a mailing list with help from expert consultants, or use an already created mailing list, gathered from outside sources, to personalize the address range for more effective targeting at a higher price. Both options boast their own pros and cons, but it’s good to note that either service you choose will come with expert consulting to try and make this the best experience possible for your business, cost a minimum of $500 to start, while also being a visitable location for on-demand help.

2. Printingforless.com –

Voted the best overall online direct mailer service in July 2019 by Business.com, this service provider brings to the table similar options as described for Staples, while also offering inventory fulfillment and delivery for your direct mailer addresses.  This helps to provide a variety of services while also bringing a data analysis tool to your direct mailer responses. If your company is looking to more closely monitor the response rate or feedback from this service, through the use of a third-party, this can provide a better analytical look than use of a service provider like Staples.  Printingforless also provides free mailing templates for estimating postage cost and resources to better acclimate yourself with this type of advertising. All pricing estimates are personalized based on need and range of mailing, so feel free to visit the website and request a quote to see the average cost for your project.

In conclusion, Direct Mailer services can provide a personable and more trustworthy outreach to potential new customers.  Given the needs of your business, several options exist to customize and optimize the effectiveness of your mailing advertisement.  Service providers like Staples and Printingforless.com can aid in the creation of mailing lists and advertisements, while also allowing you the right to use personal flyers and your own creativity.  Although only Staples and Printingforless were mentioned in this blog we do encourage everyone to do their own personal research and find what options were best for them.