Design Your Direct Mail Campaign
Use this 10 step design guide to ensure that your project runs smoothly and efficiently.

1. Preplanning
   • Observe costs and results from past campaigns
   • Is there any Market Research on your product?
   • Define your campaign objectives, both qualitative & quantitative
   • Define “what success is & how will it be measured”
   • Ensure that all results will have measurable objectives
2. Getting Started
   • Develop timelines
   • Review resources
   • Configure your budget
3. Write the direct mail plan
   • Define target audience: Who to mail to? Remember: Junk mail is only junk if it is sent to the wrong people
   • Tactics: What types of tactics or activities are you planning to execute?
   • Call to Action: What do you want the recipient to do as a result of receiving this? This will allow you also to measure the efficiency of the DM campaign
   • Budget: Be as specific as possible (see Budget Now tool)
   • Review your plan with internal and external stakeholders. The more they understand your business and the complete picture of what you are trying to achieve, the better the end result.
4. Get creative
   • Develop the creative product (i.e. personalized letter, postcard, or other)
   • Will the creative appeal to the target audience?
   • Will it be with variable printing based on the list segmentation scheme?
   • Develop a detailed work schedule or project plan to make sure you meet deadlines
5. Final review
   • Validate the data: approve the lists, its keycodes and its segments.
   • Reminder: 80% of the value of the campaign is in the list selection.
   • Review & re-review the list selection to obtain maximum response
   • Get final approvals on the creative and its content
6. Request final quotes from Direct Mail Center
   • Quote on the creative
   • Quote on the mailing lists
   • Quote on the printing
   • Quote on the mail production
   • Quote on the postage
   • Add to Total cost of campaign
   • Review budget and actual figures…it’s still time to make adjustments
7. Ready? Set? Now, GO!
   • Produce & send the creative artwork to Direct Mail Center for printing;
   • Request proofs
   • Request additional printed pieces for other use if needed
   • Send the list of lists (LOL) to Direct Mail Center; do include your house list.
   • Send detailed instructions for the merge-purge, NCOA, etc.; including keycodes, mail drop date, etc
8. Direct Mail Center will process your printing, the production of the mail
   and will deliver it to the proper post office.
9. Post-analysis
   • Measure against objectives
   • ROI (Return on Investment)
   • Identify key learnings
   • Identify opportunities for future efficiencies
10. Do it again
    • Keep this experience and knowledge so can do it again soon.
    • Remember to use your key learnings so to refine the program and do even better next time.
    • Call Direct Mail Center early to schedule your next job.