Direct Mail vs. Email Marketing: Pros, Cons, and Which To Use

With more channels to promote your business than ever before, you may wonder which ones will build your brand and drive revenue most effectively. You want to invest in the methods that will bring you the highest return on investment (ROI). 

Direct mail and email marketing are both popular choices for marketers. But, what’s the difference between the two when it comes to marketing your business? 

This page will break down email marketing and direct mail. Here’s what we’ll cover:

• What’s the difference between direct mail and email marketing?
• Direct mail vs. email marketing pros and cons
• Should you use email marketing or direct mail?
• How to create an effective email marketing strategy

Keep reading to find out more about their benefits, differences, and which will deliver the best results! And, if you want to learn more about digital marketing, remember to sign up for our newsletter for more free insights.

What’s the difference between direct mail and email marketing?

Direct mail and email marketing both encourage target audience members to engage with a company, though they take different approaches. Direct mail uses print materials like brochures and catalogs, while email marketing sends mass commercial messages online.

Direct mail vs. email: Pros and cons

While each mail strategy has the same goals, such as increasing conversions, building brand awareness, and driving revenue, each has unique pros and cons. Let’s take a look at the specifics: 

Direct mail pros

Direct mail is a traditional advertisement method that many businesses find safe and familiar. People tend to see physical mail as professional and trustworthy, which leads to a high “open” rate. These print materials are typically created with great attention to detail, which also builds confidence among recipients.

Direct mail cons

While direct mail is eye-catching, it doesn’t always lead to conversions. Since it takes significant time, effort, and cost to produce, direct mail tends to have a lower ROI (which is also hard to track with this method). 

Additionally, you can never be quite sure if the person you’re trying to reach still lives at that address or if they’ll throw it away without opening it. Direct mail has earned the unfortunate nickname “junk mail,” so you risk people viewing your company negatively for sending unsolicited messages.

On top of that, direct mail can be seen as wasteful, which doesn’t bode well for audiences concerned about sustainability. You also spend more money and don’t know whether those resources even made it to the recipient.

Email marketing pros

When done strategically, emails offer a host of benefits. Marketing through emails is:

• Timely: Reach audiences at a specific time of day or send messages based on triggered events, such as a subscriber’s birthday, or after they view a product page. Emails ensure recipients see your emails at exactly the right moment with minimal effort on your part.
• Targeted: With emails, it’s easy to target certain audience members. You can segment your customers by buying or browsing habits, as well as demographics like age or location. Email marketing ensures everyone sees content that is relevant to them.
• Dynamic: It’s easy to link or embed videos, polls, buying options, and other engaging content within your emails. These inclusions allow recipients to easily interact with your messages while gaining value.
• Personalized: Email personalization is a huge perk of this strategy. They’re addressed to specific individuals, so you can trust your message is going to the right person. It’s also possible to customize emails to contain the recipient’s name and cater content to their specific buying or browsing history. 

Email marketing cons

People are constantly bombarded with emails, so if your messages don’t provide value, your recipients won’t give them another thought. Poorly crafted email campaigns come across as impersonal and unprofessional, hurting brands more than helping them.

Email marketing requires dedicated effort to produce favorable results. You have to invest more time and be consistent with your emails to see results.

Should you use email marketing or direct mail?

If it’s possible, a combination of direct mail and email marketing is one of the best ways to reach a massive audience and create as many touchpoints as possible. However, if you have to choose one or the other, email marketing is the way to go.

Both direct mail and email marketing have risks, such as people throwing mail away before reading it or emails ending up in spam folders never to be seen, but both have benefits as well. 

Emails have a much higher ROI than direct mail (and it’s easier to track), thanks to the minimal time and resources required to create, distribute, and maintain an email campaign. You’re more likely to reach your intended audience, achieve your business goals, and stay within budget with email marketing.

How to create an effective email marketing strategy

While email marketing is more effective than direct mail, it does require a well-planned strategy to increase conversions and drive revenue. Check out these three tips for creating quality emails.

1. Add value

Emails work best when you add value and earn trust. People receive countless emails every day, so you need to prove your emails are worth their time to open and read. Make sure your subject lines are truthful, and be sure to include links on descriptive anchor texts, so your recipients know what to expect when they click on your email.

Since segmentation is easy to do with email marketing, you can create relevant messages for your customers, helping them feel that you genuinely understand their interests and pain points.

2. Provide flexibility

Your audience will need to opt in to receive emails, which is actually a major benefit of email marketing. When customers opt in, they show they’re interested in hearing what you have to say. 

Users are more likely to convert because they have purchased from you before or are highly interested in what you have to offer.

Emails offer flexibility, which builds customer satisfaction and loyalty. Let your customers know they can subscribe and unsubscribe whenever they wish.

3. Adjust campaigns

Emails are easy to adjust, even while campaigns are in progress. They let you send messages quickly, responding to market conditions, customer sentiment, breaking news, and other events. When you stay on top of your email campaigns, your content will remain relevant and useful to subscribers.

It’s easy to track metrics with emails, so take advantage of those monitoring features to boost conversions. You can easily review open and click-through rates and identify where changes are necessary to help more subscribers become loyal customers. 

Optimize your email marketing strategy with WebFX

When emails are done right, with data and customer needs driving your decisions, you’ll increase revenue and achieve your business goals. If you’d like some assistance with your digital marketing efforts, WebFX is here to help! 

Call us at 888-601-5359 or contact us online today to get started with our email marketing services!