United States Postal Service Full Service Approved
Part 3 in a series on the benefits of different mail media.
Highlights
- Proven high ROI
- Room for longer text
- Protect sensitive info
Letter mailings are the venerable standard of the direct mail industry. There are very good reasons for this: letter mailings are the most versatile mail medium, and they traditionally produce a high ROI.
Though a letter mailing can be used effectively for a vast number of purposes, they're advantages are most complimentary to formal or confidential communications. There are some bits of information recipients do not want emblazoned on a postcard or selfmailer for the world to see, and the best way to exercise discression in such cases is to seal your message inside an envelope.
That envelope is also good for getting your message past gatekeepers, a concern of many business-to-business mailers. If for instance you're mailing to company CEOs, a postcard or a selfmailer will often end up in their secretary's trash can. A letter, on the other hand, is more likely to be opened by the addressee.
While selfmailers tend to be obvious advertisements, letters look more formal. This can be of benefit when one of your mailing priorities is to convey an image of high quality. For example, a dealership specializing in high-end luxury cars may prefer to use a letter mailing to entice prospective customers to come in for a visit, or to inform existing customers of special offers.
Another advantage of letters is their capacity for information. Postcards and selfmailers offer limited space for text, while a letter can easily contain 5 double-sided pages. This makes the letter a logical choice for messages that won't fit on a selfmailer.
Whatever your mailing goals are, chances are a letter mailing will meet them. Whether you're looking to impress residential addressees or get your business-to-business message into the right hands, the letter mailing is a direct-marketing tool proven successful several times over.