Is direct mail dead? No. Is email marketing dead? No.

25/01/2008 by Tony Attwood.

If you read the blogs and commentaries about direct marketing these days there are two continual themes:

Theme one says direct mail is dead - or at least dying - the future is email marketing.

Theme two says response rates in email marketing are so awful, and with unwanted advertising now accounting for 97% of all emails received, that the day of email marketing has come and gone.

The fact is both are right and both are wrong.

Direct mail response rates to poorly written poorly conceived mailshots are slipping down further and further. 20 years ago it was possible to write an appalling piece of direct mail, but if the product was reasonable to still get replies. Now the level of advertising generally is so high that this is no longer the case.

But well-written direct mail can still get terrific response rates. Sometimes it is hard to get to the right mailshot - whereas 10 years ago I might have to send out 2 trial mailings to find a mailer that worked, sometimes I have to go through four or five such promotions. This is not (I hasten to add) because my creative skills have declined, but because there are many more traders out there, and I don’t always have the latest information about what my client’s competitors are up to.

So direct mail still works - and well - but we all have to try harder and be more creative to make it work.

But what of email? In my opinion that can still work well. I have just done a mailing to generic addresses (ie not directly to the individual I want to reach, but rather to the organisation in general) and picked up a 1.2% sales rate. That is not 1.2% opening the email, but 1.2% actually buying the £20 product. None of these were previous customers - it was a cold email. I don’t always score that highly, but it shows there is life in the system.

So, again the message is the same - it is the quality of the piece, and a knowledge of the technology that works.

I’m always happy to share my thoughts on these issues - if you want to tell me about your product and your promotion, or send me a copy of your latest mailing, I’ll call you back (as long as you are in the UK) and we’ll talk it through. No charge, no obligation. (If you are outside the UK, I’ll email my comments to you.)

I do it for free because over half the people I do these reviews for come back and ask me to write for them - which is how the service is funded. But there really is no obligation.

My number is 01536 399 000. There is more about what Hamilton House does on www.hamilton-house.com

Tony Attwood

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