Does Direct Mail Really Work?

The simple answer is YES and NO! There are several variables. When I owned a roofing company I lived by direct mail but roofed in an area where roof sales where not storm related! If you live in a hail belt area they are not as effective, but can still work.

The economy is changing and like other market segments the roofing trade is not immune. As times change, so should your message. Currently, I use direct mail to drive business to my lead generation website. Post cards are the best avenue for two reasons; cost and readability. They are cheap to send and the customer is forced to look at it. That is why your headline is the most important factor.

All business owners marketing their company have to be aware of the marketing equation: Interrupt, Engage, Educate and provide a Low Risk Offer. If you remember that, you will have more success.

Below is a sample... In states like Arizona and California it worked very well. In a state like Texas, most advertising and marketing experts would call it; an utter failure. But, with that being said, I did sell one job from it, for which, not only paid for the mailer but made me a very nice profit plus it drove lots of traffic to my website. Remember, it only takes one job to have a successful direct mail campaign.

Good point- that was a direct quote from a call in. Also, depends on your audience. I did take a chance and use the quote and tested another less risky headline (but with the same design) and got "bupkis". It's all about testing before investing. Test! Test! Test!

The one project we did get out of it (see below) was from a frustrated property owner who was tired of people "Blowing Smoke up...." (You can finish the rest)- Now, I knew I could not put that as my headline! Again- it wasn't a huge project but paid for the campaign and we made some money.