Can't Snail Mail and E-Mail Just Get Along?

I hate the term "Snail Mail" because it makes what we do at Printz.com sound so, well, slow. But I can't be too offended. It does take days for mail to reach an address, while e-mail takes seconds.

And while I make my living doing direct mail, I realize the importance of e-mail. It can deliver the same message and more: it's fast, it's very affordable (almost free!), and it's eco-friendly. But I also realize the drawbacks. The open rate for e-mails among opt-in participants ranges from 10% to 50%. That means 50% to 90% of your customers and prospects are not seeing your marketing message. That can't be ignored. Also, e-mail is almost solely for maintain a relationship with current customers and prospects. It's very difficult to attract new prospects with e-mail. Good purchased e-mail lists are very difficult to come by and many are suspect.

So how can snail mail and e-mail get along? I had a call from a marketer with a great solution. He starts with e-mails. In the first e-mail he gets an average open rate of 18%. Most e-mail providers like Constant Contact allow you to see which recipients on the list open the e-mail and which don't. He then resends the e-mail to those that have not opened the first e-mail. With the second e-mail he moves his average open rate up to 24%. Now he takes the remaining 76% of the list that has not opened any e-mails and creates a mailing list.

With this process the marketer reaches a few goals. 1.) He has reduced his direct mail budget by almost 24%. 2.) He's reached his entire list with his message. Let's face it, as marketers we're in the awareness game and we can't afford to ignore 76% of our customers and prospects. 3.) He's communicated to his list in the way his customers and prospects want to be communicated to. He's touched those who read e-mail with e-mails and he's touched chronic e-mail deleters with snail mail.