Looking To See What Others Use For Direct Mail Marketing

[Jesse R.]

It seems there are many options for Direct Mail Marketing. One is you buy the list from a list source and you can either have them mail it if they have that type of service, or there’s the option of finding a direct mail fulfillment center and having them send out your list. Or there’s the other option of making your own mailers and then mail merging the list yourself. And then there’s REI software like realeflow and other sites similar that can basically do all of the above on their site. So my question to you is what works best for you in sending out mass mail ie...postcards,yellow letters? Let me know a good system that works for you. Because I would like to hear what works the best.

[Ryan Dossey]

@Jesse R. Great question! So here's my take. We do all of our stuff in house but I wouldn't recommend it for most people. The cost to get the equipment, maintenance, running it yourself (or hiring staff), and the learning curve are NOT worth it for most people. 

While I love the simplicity and integration of something Real E Flow I feel like you're losing out on a few things. 

When you work with  a mail house you're getting access to that person as well. When I was getting started @Jerry Puckett was the defining piece of my success. He's remained a great friend and mentor ever since. 

You also miss out on their expertise. They've sent more mail than you'll do in your entire life. This is where it comes to trusting the experts. Being able to get advise on lists, design, copy, frequency, etc is HUGE. 

In my opinion the trade off (cost) for their expertise and availability is WAY worth it. (Not to mention the time savings!) If you haven't stuffed and sealed thousands of pieces of mail while binge watching netflix I can tell you it's not fun. 

Personally  I don't like postcards. They end up in the trash of most sophisticated investors. Whatever you do... Do something different. Whether it's in your design or in your copy you want to stand out.