Direct Mail Can Be An Agent’s Best Friend

Direct marketing may seem like a supplementary or last resort style of insurance marketing. We all hate getting “junk” mail, but the statistics from the direct mail industry show it is still a very successful and profitable business.

There are a few downsides to direct marketing to keep in mind before you start your campaign. It will cost you around 15 times more then email marketing, direct mail will often take 4-6 weeks to produce results, and there is the associated overhead concerned with designing and planning a direct mail campaign.

However, there are distinct advantages to direct mail marketing for insurance agents. You can generate traffic for your agency website, drive foot traffic to your agency location, target customers who aren’t online or do not shop online, create brand recognition for your agency, and many other great advantages.

The Campaign Itself

To get the most out of your campaign you need to try to find the best lists of potential clients to mail to. When you contact these companies like SalesVantage, InfoUSA, USAData, etc… to buy your lists, make sure you keep these three things in mind:

• Know Your Demographics - Be as specific as you can with the demographics of the people in your area you would like to contact.
• Save Some Money - Request that your mailing list be in walk sequence. This will provide the direct mail addresses in an order that doesn’t require the post office to sort them. This will allow you to drastically reduce your postage rate on your mailings.
• Make Your Lists Personal - Do not send bulk “Current Resident” mailings unless you absolutely cannot afford the extra fee associated with getting the resident’s names. The more you personalize, the better your response rates will be.

The Direct Mailer

Beyond demographics and addresses, the must important part of your direct mail campaign is the mailer itself. There are several key tips you need to keep in mind with your direct mailer.

• Keep it Personal - You cannot just take a bunch of advertising materials, stuff them in an envelope, and expect the customer to respond. Your letter or postcard needs to be as personal as you can possibly make it. You need to come across as a caring, considerate sales person who is actually trying to help out.
• Show the Benefit - You need to communicate the benefits of your service immediately. Use the first few lines of the mailer to show the benefits of your service.
• Create a Sense of Urgency - If you do not create a sense of urgency your mailer will get tossed onto a shelf or the mail pile in the kitchen. Phrases like “Call us Today!” work well, but try to use phrases like “if you respond by XYZ date, you will get” or “the first 20 people who respond get XYZ gift”. Making them an offer or using a contest can increase response rates dramatically.
• No Bright White Business Envelopes - Try to stay away from typical bright white business envelopes and go with a more personal off white color. Or even better, try a non standard shape, size, or color. Consider putting a graphic or image on the outside of the envelope.
• Print Their Address - Print the address directly onto the envelope if you can. The more you can make it look like a real human being did it and less like a massive direct mail distributor, the better your open rate will be.
• Don’t Skimp on the Info - Supply as much information as you can fit reasonably. The more information you provide the more comfortable the potential customer will be in contacting you. Make sure you show the prime benefits, testimonials if you can, and your available insurance product lines.
• Sales Letters Work Great - If you are considering doing a letter instead of a postcard, you may find a higher response rate through a well written personal letter. The key to any good sales letter is a solid headline. Make it short and to the point.

Here are some additional tips to keep in mind during your campaign.

• Test Before You Launch - Send your direct mail ads to friends and family. Gauge their reactions and ask them for feedback. Don’t just send out a direct mail campaign without at least testing it on a few people.
• Don’t Send Your Direct Mail Only Once - Continue sending to your direct mail addresses until you have sent it three times without receiving a response from the customer.
• Don’t Go It Alone - There are plenty of highly reputable and successful companies out there such as Valpack, InfoUSA, or SalesGenie. These companies can give you mailing lists based off of exact demographic requirements that you specify. If you can’t afford one of these companies, there are still a lot of helpful companies that can help you print and distribute your direct mail like Click2Mail for example.

Share This