Realtors are going to love this. What a waste.

Direct mail is not dead yet. I work in a Midwestern community with a population of 50,000 and believe me there are a lot of people here who aren't checking blogs, facebook or twitter.

I usually love your blogs but this one offends me. I work with a number of companies where direct mail is a significant part of their marketing mix and, for their markets, it is the appropriate marketing channel. Direct maiilers pay a significant "premium" to mail using the USPS. Let them have the freedom to pay for direct mail if it is the best way to reach their markets.

That USPS campaign is going to be a freak show. I personally have uplugged several companies from their direct mail lead generation addiction. The math is really simple - direct mail is terrible for lead generation. Aside from that, notice the sign says "All You Can Eat" and "Leg Meat", and there is clearly a woman in the chicken suit. Was someone trying to be funny here? ...Or perhaps they are just ...stupid?

I've done everything possible at work to increase click-through on emailed marketing campaigns over the last two and a half years and this is what I can tell you - I'm going back to direct mail.  
There is so much info coming through various electronic channels just now, I personally think it is time to go back to something that is tangible even if it means I cannot get delivery and read-through statistics.

Direct mail has a legitimate place in a cross-channel campaign. New tech is incorporated using variable targeted data in addition to other tools - pURLs and WE fit here. The post office is promoting themselves. So what? 

I usually like your blogs as well, but this one is very offensive. Blogs are supposed to be about personal opinion, so that's great, but I think you've stepped on a lot of toes with this one. 
 
A. I'm a marketer and I encourage my clients to use Direct Mail. 
B. The USPS needs help, so what's wrong with saving jobs by supporting them? 
C. In recent years direct mail has slowed down because of the digital age making the "junk" thinner, so right now is a great time to stand out with Direct Mail. 
D. I probably get 20 letters from credit cards companies every week, that's excessive and annoying, but the average small business is smarter with their advertising dollars, so I don't mind getting the occasional postcard from the local hair salon. And like the 20 Credit Card letters every week, if I don't want it, I just shred it and recycle.

Direct mail done well that is sent to a highly targeted list of qualified prospects is smart marketing. What doesn't work about "junk mail" is that it is poorly done marketing materials sent to a random list of people who are not even in the market for what is being marketed. Your blanket statement that all direct mail is bad is as wrong as someone saying that all social media marketing is a waste of time. It all depends upon how you do it.

It is understandable why an inbound marketing company would criticize or oppose outbound marketing. However, direct mail IS effective, especially if combined with different forms of inbound marketing. It is not dead, as some would propose, and there are many surveys and statistics about this (http://printinthemix.com/fastfacts/show/504). Depending on the type of business of course, good marketing strategies include the use of both inbound and outbound. 
The USPS, like other businesses in this economy simply came up with a new way to promote their product. And before shouting 'junk mail' (which can be and is recycled - currently over 60%), 'junk e-mail' is really no different. They are both an annoyance. 
And then there is the paper waste vs e-waste issue.... 

I have to agree to disagree on this blog. As a small business (photography studio), the largest percentage of our customers come from our direct mail. With most business jumping on the digital band wagon, a well done piece received in the mail at a time when the only other "junk mail" received are credit card applications, will not just generate leads but actual customers that pay for our services. A lead is good, a paying client is better.

I'm a Hubspot VAR, and one of the biggest advocates of inbound marketing. I accept, understand, and utilize all the research you guys are publishing on the relative effectiveness of various inbound and outbound tactics.  
 
Where I'm confused is why you felt compelled to attack the USPS? As a taxpayer I'm thrilled that they're trying to coax more revenue out of their traditional business model. If it proves even somewhat effective for part of their audience, good for them! Your blog comes across as defensive, which is the last thing HS should ever be about the USPS. I think you may have pulled a little bit of a minor"Netflix" with this post, but likely without the long-term impact on company value or brand equity.

Sorry, Brian, the comments above say it all--direct mail still works. And, about that chicken--every business wants to get noticed and be memorable. A certain marketing automation company I know even made staff wear bright orange running suits at a trade show in SF in order to stand out from the crowd.

Someone should tell Google about this blog since they are doing direct mail. I guess they are just a stupid company what would they know. Then there is the fact that 75% of the largest companies all have ongoing direct mail programs, again just a bunch of slow witted companies. See blog http://info.digitalprintink.net/bid/59294/Why-the-Largest-Companies-Use-Direct-Mail  
 

Direct mail still have its place. Its a game were you have to find balance. I have a landscape and concrete company. I send out about 10k real nice fliers 6x a year I have received a@ least 4 to 6 calls each mailing. Now some may say this is low. But my Avg. Job job is @ least 17k. Profit margins about 35-40%. I use also other ways to market from SEO to Social media to direct marketing they all come together nicely and feed off one another. The trick to direct marketing is to get your cost down I pay approximate .20 per flier design and postage included. The flier is a 11*6 tri fold glossy flier.

I don't approve of the push from the postal services toward direct mail, because it is bad for the environment and it bugs people. On the other hand, direct mail is not yet dead. I work for a lead generation business, that get 95% of their leads from direct mail. We obviously bring people what they need. So direct mail can be good, depending on your target audience, marketing goal and the way you use it.

We're partially responsible for the success of the Every Door Direct Mail program. We've mailed close to 3 million pieces for our clients using EDDM over the last year. Bottom line, it works, particularly in certain verticals like pizza or landscaping. Direct mail is invasive, you can't ignore it. Inbound marketing is wonderful and I understand your evangelism but I also think there's room for other media in a properly conceived, integrated marketing program.

My mother gets Direct Mail from charities she's never heard of along with political and social causes. She never gives out her email and in fact I know many people who do not use their email for those purposes nor do they read blogs or social media. These are everyday people. You can throw away junk mail or return it in their prepaid envelope. Also, there have been some direct mail pieces I've seen at her home that are great and she followed up. 
 
 
 
What you cannot do is stop direct sales calls from charities, social, environmental and political groups. They are more painful than direct mail. Even if you don't answer they clog up your answering machine.

Great that you initiated this discussion. 
 
Even e-commerce companies like Google, Amazon, and eBay are using direct mail. A well constructed multichannel marketing campaign (targeted, relevant, intriguing) is the way to go.  
 
Thank you!

While I do agree that "carpet-bomb" mailings live in the past because of their overall ineffectiveness, direct mail, if done well does have a place in today's marketing world. I get the same amount of "junk" email as I do "junk" direct mail. Not everyone is a slave to technology with the option of checking email on a regular basis. Most everyone still physically reaches into their mailbox at least once a day.

Well Ollie, fine mess you got us in this time...If you were testing to see if we are listing, I guess you got your answer. 
 
 
 
USPS has every right to market. Pizza landscapers, airconditiong among others still find direct mail a profitable marketing approach,nice try....

I am along with many others in the posts above. Inbound marketing does have it's place, but to bash this program is a bit outlandish. I actually checked this out yesterday and it is a well designed program except the fact that you cannot segment business addresses from residential addresses.  
 
Some would say that telemarketing doesnt work either, but it is a numbers game and like direct mail, if it is done well, it can be very effective.  
 
There is no one magic bullet to marketing...it is an integrated approach and I still believe that direct mail has it's place when done correctly.

I don't think you really know what your talking about on this one. It's full of one sided numbers that wholesale ignores a successful sector. It may not be Web 3.0 but often DM works. (Or do you think LL Bean, Lands End don't know what they're doing?)

Wow -- got a lotta feedback on this one!!! 
 
IF you can figure out how to do it opt-in and very targeted as some have suggested and are probably very good at, I suppose I'd back off my stance, but I'd suggest that 99.9% of direct mail is not done this way (or at least 99.9% of the direct mail that comes to my mailbox). 
 
Here's my issues with this type of marketing: 
 
1. As a human (forget marketer), I absolutely hate getting marketing stuff in my mailbox. Am I alone on this? Do you open the unsolicited marketing pieces you get in your mailbox? Doesn't it irritate you when you open your mailbox and have all that unsolicited stuff in there?  
 
2. I think marketers should try to do "marketing people love." I don't think marketers help their brand when they send unsolicited stuff into lots of people's mailboxes. Yes, they might get a couple of customers, but the rest of the people get turned off when they throw out that piece of mail month after month.  
 
3. Throwing that piece of mail out month after month is getting increasingly distasteful as larger parts of the population worry about pollution and global warming as most of those people know that most of the population still doesn't recycle. ...Regardless of what you think about global warming, lots of mail receivers believe in it and believe that dead tress are a bad thing, particularly when they are sacrificed in an effort to solicit you to buy something you didn't inquire about. 
 
4. My suggestion to USPS is to go in the opposite direction and figure out ways to save money versus increase revenues. For starters, I think they should deliver the mail 3-4 days per week only. If a consumer absolutely positively needs to get it there overnight, there are lots of options there.

1. Yes, I open unsolicited marketing pieces in the mail. When they've been properly targeted and executed, it's quite likely they've been made compelling for me to do so. 
 
2. Marketers as advertisers have always done advertising that people love. It wins them awards. Direct mail has been a mainstay of more direct results-oriented, if less "loved," marketing efforts. Personally, I get far more turned off by much of the poorly conceived junk email I get (whether I opted-in or not) than of what comes in the daily mail. I open a view a much smaller percentage of what clutters my email inbox every day, than of the much smaller stash that my mailbox yields. 
 
A well-executed postcard, by the way, does not have to be opened the way email does, to shout its headline/message even as it's on its way to the circular file. 
 
3. Let's put this myth about the environmental evils of paper to bed. The paper industry plants more than it harvests and there are 25% more trees in the developed world today than in 1900. Paper is biodegradable, renewable and sustainable. Growing and harvesting trees provides jobs while forestry plantations provide clean air, clean water, and wildlife habitat and carbon storage. A decline in the demand for paper products risks a decline in sustainable managed re-growth forests. Furthermore, print is tangible; it is effective in getting a message across and when recycled it can come back as paper or board.  
 
And I'm certain you recycle your paper, caring as much about the environment as you do, right? By the way, I don't object to online marketing on the grounds that bits and bytes are net consumers of energy. I do, however, object to bias in "journalism," as evidenced in this article's viewpoint. Or is not bias, but just lack of experience? 
 
4. Your specific suggestion for saving the USPS money, apart from reflecting your singular opinion, are not germane to this subject. 
 
Direct mail is a far-from-dead, important and cost-effective part of a marketing mix for many types of business. EDDM extends its reach to many local businesses -- without having to build an email list, or buy a mailing list, or wishing they had the countless hours necessary to build a better social presence. I've had several local clients who have gotten excellent, quick, direct, dollars-in-the-pocket response from EDDM mailings, and that's only a recent chapter in our success with direct mail. 
 

I'm really surprised by this advertising strategy. I always thought USPS's dirty little secret is the only reason they're still in business is all of that junk mail that gets delivered regularly. The idea that they're now advertising this service that most of their customers can't stand speaks to poor strategy and a lack of long term vision.

Michael Vogel has a point regarding the trees and the evils of paper. When cities are built trees disappear. When apartment buildings and offices are built in many areas trees are cut down. In S.CA hundreds of orange groves have and continue to be cut down because of developers. Land is cleared for the same reason resulting in trees being destroyed. FYI: In this economy the large office complexes are empty and their are large vacant lots. The trees are gone also-

Direct mail is alive and well. It is THE one form of marketing someone is forced to handle. Nothing is more invasive or more effective for small business owners. People who can't separate the web from other forms of marketing are, in my opinion, poorly equipped for the modern world of advertising. If anything the web makes direct mail MORE effective.

I've been reading the comments throughout the day and it amuses me how some people adamantly defend direct mail marketing vs. inbound marketing. It's very obvious that the the people defending direct mail have a vested interest in the medium. I see one person link back to their print shop website. I see another linking back to their flyer and direct mail company. I get it. 
 
I work in the broadcasting industry and if someone were to write a post about how radio and television advertising are obsolete, I probably would be on the defensive too. 
 
Look, the bottom line is this: the success of direct mail largely depends on what you are selling. I haven't seen any research, but I'm willing to lay money down and bet that direct mail has a better ROI for B2C companies vs. B2B. It seems to me that B2B would just have more success with inbound marketing. 
 
Let's just accept that direct mail will work for some businesses and not for others depending on who is being targeted. OK? 
 
Besides, let's just be thankful HubSpot didn't write anything about how the Yellow Pages is obsolete. If they did, I can guarantee you the defenders would come out of the woodwork. I should know. I had a colleague write such a post and you wouldn't believe the hatred that was spewed in his direction.

Your really missing the concept on Every Door Direct! It allows a small business on a local basis get there word out or coupon to a targeted audience within there area with out going through conventional methods. I'm always in search of a good local deal, discount restaurant to a neighborhood oil change

I've read these comments with great interest. I'm in agreement with those who support direct mail as part of their marketing strategy. Personally, I love direct mail. It allows the business to stand out from their competitors, depending on their approach. 
 
For instance, a company who produces direct mail campaigns sent a personalized card with an image of our website on the front cover and a custom message. I got such a kick out of it that a year later, I still have the card and am considering using their services for a future client.  
 
That kind of durability doesn't happen with digital, no matter how many email campaigns you do. However, if you conduct an email campaign with the follow-up being a hard-copy of a white paper delivered to the person (who filled in an opt-in form); how much more "stickier" could it be? 
 
A printing company recently met with me and the sales director gave their formula for a winning campaign: 40% the list, 40% the offer, and 20% everything else. If you have a relevant list, come up with a compelling offer, and integrate good humor and emotional connection, then yes -- you have a very good chance of success. (Which is a 1% - 2% response rate, but some go with the "break even" analysis.) 
 
Finally, as a copywriter, I believe copy makes all the difference in the world. Persuasive copy is always sought by both digital and direct mail marketers, making the difference between forgettable and memorable.

Postmaster General: "Halligan, I've been, uh, reading some of your material here. I gotta be honest with you: you make a pretty strong case. I mean, just imagine. An army of men in wool pants running through the neighborhood handing out pottery catalogs, door to door." - 161st episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. 
 
================= 
 
 
Postal Employee: "May I help you?" 
Kramer: "Yeah, I'd like to cancel my mail." 
Postal Employee: "Certainly. How long would you like us to hold it?" 
Kramer: "Oh, no, no. I don't think you get me. I want out, permanently." 
Newman: "I'll handle this, Violet. Why don't you take your three hour break? Oh, calm down, everyone. No one's cancelling any mail." 
Kramer: "Oh, yes, I am." 
Newman: "What about your bills?" 
Kramer: "The bank can pay 'em." 
Newman: "The bank. What about your cards and letters?" 
Kramer: "E-mail, telephones, fax machines. Fedex, telex, telegrams, holograms." 
Newman: "All right, it's true! Of course nobody needs mail. What do you think, you're so clever for figuring that out? But you don't know the half of what goes on here. So just walk away, Kramer. I beg of you." 
Supervisor: "Is everything all right here, Postal Employee Newman?" 
Newman: "Yes, sir, I believe everything is all squared away. Isn't it, Mr. Kramer?" 
Kramer: "Oh, yeah. As long as I stop getting mail!" 
-- 161st episode of Seinfeld. 

You're way off-base with this article. Direct mail definitely has a place in an overall marketing campaign. And compared to email, it is much more effective at lead generation and sales. 
 

You've really missed the mark with this one... This post is just not true for Rescue Mission ministries who get an average of 50% of donations via direct mail. DM is also very much effective for our new donor acquisition. Digital income is only about 5%. Yes, it is growing, but for charitable donations, its not there yet.

Hubspot, I look to you as a critical source of information and enjoy the content that you provide to me as a way to stay relevant to my b2b clients. However, I think your blog on the “Every Door Direct Mail” campaign by the USPS has missed the mark entirely and maybe you are a little out of touch with the actual small business owner.  
 
The fact is, @coleinformation/www.coleinformation.com, we work with a lot of small business owners—insurance agents, real estate agents & home services providers—all across the country who continue to use direct mail as a critical, viable form of advertising to not only reach their current customer base but also to find new customers.  
 
And the fact is, that direct mail—what you call “junk mail” continues to be scanned 80% of the time by consumers right before they (we hope) recycle it. As we all know, it takes seven impressions to make a sale—so through Small Business Marketing 101 webinars, we encourage our customers to use direct mail as one way to communicate with both consumers and prospects. It’s one way for them to engage with customers and when targeted is effective. I believe it should be included in an overall marketing approach that includes a similar message via digital advertising, social media sites and email.  
 
So while I do appreciate your comments, I think you should reconsider your post. Rather than putting down direct mail, educate small business owners on when its most appropriate as one way to get in front of their customers, engage with them or thank them for their business.  

Hi - Hard to believe some of the responses to Brian's cogent appeal.  
 
The Postal Service sponsoring JUNK mail is like an ISP sponsoring SPAM. Remember, sports fans, SPAM is a felony. It is also like the cable company forcing your TV to be ON all the time.  
 
There are very good reasons for robust firewalls between carriers and content. C’mon. 
 
Look, the real issue of “Every Door Direct Mail” campaign is a pathetic gimmick by the APWU (AFL-CIO), aka, the postal workers union, to stay alive, to be relevant.  
 
http://bit.ly/GSUBOk 
 
The USPS is also borrowing money to run dopey TV ads to perpetuate their comprehensive failures. Why postpone the collapse of the USPS? “EDDM” is a cheap and cynical election-year maneuver.  
 
Meanwhile, ask yourself why does the USPS have a monopoly on that little piece of real estate everyone has, their mailbox? The USPS is absurd. Private concerns could do a far better job. There are plenty of kids with bikes that would like a job. They don’t need pensions either. 
 
The silver lining in Halligan’s adjuration is a MAJOR entrepreneurial startup model. It is called hyper-local co-marketing. It’s a smartphone app that enables local businesses to prospect and sell to each other’s clients. Anyone interested can contact me. It is the next big thing. 
 
Finally, call your Senators today to pass S.1789.  
 
http://1.usa.gov/GSW5rC 
 
-j 
 

I am glad to see all the support of direct mail from others in the industry who read your blog. I have a number of direct mail clients and we are having one of our best years yet.  
 
I disagree that direct mail offers the worst ROI. I think that many companies use stale demographic data that produces poor results, so there is a perception that it is a waste of time. On the contrary, I have seen marketing dollars go up in smoke with hardly any return on investment with search and social campaigns. Even when online campaigns are highly optimized they can be much less profitable than the same investment in direct mail sent to the right response data.  
 
Online marketing is here to stay, but I believe postal will actually start growing again as more and more companies find that their online marketing dollars aren't producing all the profits they expected.

If direct mail doesn't work, then why do companies spend $50 billion a year on it?

Very disappointing Brian.  
 
 
 
You can't be that narrow minded. 
 
 
 
You have a good gig here. You've done a nice job coining and then promoting the whole concept of inbound marketing. 
 
 
 
But inbound is just one piece of the puzzle. Outbound direct mail is still a powerful marketing tool. I'm sure you know that - even if you don't like it.  
 
 
 
You and your company lose so much credibility with this type of self-serving post.

Reading the comments on this has be truly interesting. When I first read this blog I thought "I agree! Forget direct mail." But it's certainly true that different methods work for different companies. Clearly there is still a lot of support for direct mail. As the USPS continues to promote their campaign and other companies continue to use it it will be interesting to see which comes out as the better choice, if there ever one that does.

You lost me and any credibility if you had any. Out to fire people who wrote this BLOG with no thoughts and considerations for everyone, I do both, DM & digital side of it, this piece was done for bunch of seo sellers and telemarketers of seo companies, just self promotions and gloating.

Direct mail is "interruptive communications?" What an amazing, inaccurate statement. Compared to Internet pop up windows, ads getting in the way of my use of the Internet on almost any site I visit, those disruptive messages begging me to order a white paper or subscribe before I can read an article? I have ad blockers everywhere I can, but many of these interruptions still sneak through or force me to interact.  
 
Direct mail is not "interruptive" --- it takes 5 seconds to deposit unwanted postal mail into the recycle bin.  
 
The author of this piece may be a marketer, but certainly doesn't think "integration." Some of the most powerful campaigns utilize a mix that includes direct mail. 
 
Direct mail is still very powerful. What is going away (thankfully) are the "spray and pray" advertisers who thought direct mail was taking an ad and sticking a label on it, and perhaps buying lists that had no correlation to what they were selling. And, yes, those same types of people now inhabit the web, mobile and social media. Real direct marketers always knew better, and are still extremely effective.

I manage a business that still generates between $20 to $25 million a year and all of it comes in through the mail. Stop bashing the USPS because we need it to continue to exist. USPS is an organization with very high fixed overhead. They have not been allowed to manage their operation as a profit-making, commercial enterprise ... primarily because of interference from Congress. Not everyone wants to use the internet for everything. I still want all my credit card, bank and utility bills to come via the mail. The numbers on this do not support what you are saying. Until it is possible to rent small quantities of email addresses with geo coordinates attached to them, USPS will be the very best way for small, neighborhood businesses to reach potential. I agree with the other comment posted here that there is a lot of really dumb direct mail out there that is a total waste of money for the little guy but that is just the marketplace, not the fault of the USPS.