There are a lot of ways to advertise your product through the mail. Some are not as obvious as others and all can be successful. The most important aspect of direct mailing is getting your ad in front of the right person, using a good mailing list. Once you’ve gotten your ad in the right hands, you’ll want it to be in the best format for your product’s success. Here’s a small survey of formats, and when they’re effective:

The Stuffed Envelope/Package Mailer.
These may include a newsletter, product descriptions, response cards, and/or coupon. The advantage to this form is the quantity of information you can present to the customer. If your product requires a lengthy description of usage and benefits you’ll want to send a package.

The Insert.
There is less information that in a packaged mailer, but there is space enough for longer copy. The cost is cheaper than an envelope because you’re sharing the shipping and mail list costs with other companies. Clip out coupons are typical inserts. There are three sub categories:
• Ride-along. Ads that are inserted into magazines or journal publications
• Free Standing Inserts. Ads that come stuck inside the newspaper.
• Mailbox Inserts. Your ad comes together with a group of other ads, delivered in a plastic bag.

The Post Card.
It’s the cheapest and most effective way to reach the customer. It also gives the customer the least amount of information. The major benefit is the lack of an action needed by the customer. There is no envelope to open. Regardless of interest, they have to read your ad.

Card Decks.
Like a postcard, but joined with other ads, card decks usually double as business reply cards. Card decks function like an insert in that they share the workload of getting to the customer, and are usually grouped by target markets.

The Catalog.
Useful for multiple products. Catalogs require the most initial investment, but each year the cost reduces and(if you’re catalog and products are presented well) your profits increase.

To know what the most successful format will be for your product you’ll have to run tests and know your market. Testing results will be different for every company and every product. Most young buyers won’t spend the time opening an envelope, while older people may be turned off by the lack of information on a postcard. Keeping on open mind and being patient are crucial to the success of direct mailing.

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