If I told you about a local business that’s seen 239% growth since the pandemic, what channel would you guess they were leading with? Paid ads? TikTok? Blood magic?
If I said “print mail,” you’d probably think blood magic was more likely. But last year, 84% of marketers said direct mail had the highest ROI of channel they use. 🤯
When I heard that stat, I knew I had to find an expert who could explain it. What I found was a master who not only knows direct mail — she used it to build her own 9-figure business.
Joy Gendusa
Founder and CEO, PostcardMania
Fun fact: Joy has an 8 ft. hydroponic tower in her office so that she and her staff can regularly harvest a healthy lunch. (“It’s been such a hit, I hired someone to grow food on PostcardMania’s property. We have a bunch of huge grow boxes with herbs, lettuces, and tomatoes.”)
Claim to fame: Created a business that’s grown to almost 400 employees and $100 million annually — without any investors or angels — simply because she couldn’t find a postcard company she liked.
Lesson 1: Primp and preen for the mail gaze.
“ People have so much digital advertising fatigue,” says Joy Gendusa. “Just the popups and the zillion emails. I don’t know about you, but I bulk-delete emails in the morning. I just go, ‘Brrrrrrrr,’” she gestures with a finger going down the list.
And the stats back her up, with 73% of desktop users citing online ads as their number one frustration in a recent survey by The Harris Poll. And almost 1 in 3 internet users use an ad blocker.
But that doesn’t mean a full return to the days of the Pony Express. Gendusa shares some tips for making mailers more modern:
- Add a QR code that sends recipients to the same landing page as your digital ads to create a cohesive experience.
- Use a custom URL just for your mailer. That way you can track what traffic comes from your print ads just like any digital channel.
- On the back end, you can even integrate your direct mail service with your CRM to automate personalized print campaigns.
“We’ve integrated with a number of CRMs, so a salesperson can do a one-off postcard without leaving their keyboard,” she says. “They just go in there, type a message, and the card is pre-designed.”
That means you can do lookalike campaigns, retargeting groups, and any number of fancy shenanigans you usually associate with digital marketing.
Lesson 2: Can the spam.
It’s time for some inward reflection, marketers. That digital ad fatigue? We did that. So it’s critically important not to fall back into spammy habits with your mailers.
So I asked Gendusa how marketers should think about a quality piece of mail.
“Your headline should instantly communicate what the product or service is, or what problem it solves, without the person having to think at all,” she says. Clarity > cleverness.
“And the graphic should back that up.” So, say you’re a dentist: The headline might mention clean, healthy teeth, and you’d use an image of a beaming, beautiful smile.
“You also want to have a bright, non-matching color for your CTA.” A non-matching color will draw the reader’s eye to the CTA — whether they want to look or not.
“Designers hate this rule,” she laughs. “They hate it so much. But we insist.”
Finally, don’t forget the web address or QR code.
After our chat, Gendusa shared with me the 12 tips she sends her own customers.
Lesson 3: Never cut marketing budget during difficult times.
You may want to pause here and forward this email to your favorite CFO.
“I cut marketing in 2008 during the mortgage crisis. Bad move.” It took almost two years for their performance numbers to return to pre-crisis levels.
During unpredictable economic times (ahem), it can be tempting to trim the budget where you can. But if you slash your marketing spend, you’re cutting off the top of your funnel, reducing your new business.
“We’ve had a couple of times in our history where I cut it a little bit on the advice of others, and I regret it every single time.”
“I’m not scared to lose money on marketing,” she adds. “When I first started, I spent more on marketing than I paid myself. And I do the same thing now.”
And what advice does she have for those executives or business owners thinking about making a trim?
“Come on. You’re a business person. You’ll figure out how to make money.”