If you build automated marketing campaigns using HubSpot, Sailthru, Iterable, Drip or the likes, you can add direct mail without sacrificing scale, personalization or automation. You just need the right direct mail platform.

Are you a digital marketer who is wondering what to look for in a direct mail platform? You’ve come to the right place.

However, before we get into how to choose a direct mail platform, let’s talk a bit about why so many digital marketers are starting to look into direct mail.

Why Digital Marketers Should Send Direct Mail

Digital marketers face serious challenges that a lot of people just don’t want to talk about. The sheer saturation of digital ads, along with quality issues (read: clickbait), have resulted in a massive sense of digital advertising fatigue among consumers.

Modern consumers are tuning out banner ads and social posts, and ignoring promotional emails. Even with great content, it is extremely difficult to get past the mental ad-blocker.

The average consumer is just really, really, overwhelmed with digital ads.  

Direct mail offers you a way around this problem. In fact, direct mail’s average response rates beat digital by a landslide (by a factor of 10-30), according to the Direct Marketing Association. And, done well, direct mail can reinvigorate your online funnel, preparing consumers to welcome your online messaging.

Find more stats on direct mail performance here.

Of course, most digital marketers aren’t too familiar with offline marketing channels. And sending direct mail the old way may seem sluggish and manual to growth hackers. That’s where modern direct mail software providers come in.

Direct Mail Platforms: 3 Features Growth Hackers Need

If you’re a digital marketer looking for a direct mail software service, the following features should top your list.

1. Direct mail CRM integrations. To truly automate direct mail, you’re doing to need to integrate direct mail software with your CRM. A direct mail integration allows you to trigger direct mail just as you trigger emails. CRM direct mail integrations also enable smart segments and targeting, as well as tracking and data capture. Find a growing list of Inkit’s direct mail integrations here.
2. Dynamic content insertion for direct mail. Dynamic content insertion and variable data printing are incredibly important in direct mail marketing. Personalization and customization is the key to success in postcard marketing. Just as you add personalization to your email marketing campaigns, you should personalize your direct mail pieces. Make sure to choose a direct mail platform that offers variable data dynamic content insertion.
3. No minimum batch sizes or order minimums. If you are considering a direct mail platform that requires minimum batch sizes, run far away. Casting too wide a net can deplete your direct mail marketing ROI. Your direct mailers should be customized and highly targeted just as your digital ads, and this means you need to be able to run 1 or 100,000 pieces—without any kind of upcharge or penalty—at any given time.

Ready to Compare Direct Mail Platforms?

Inkit modernized direct mail to make it the fastest, most effective way to connect with customers offline. This means you don’t have to focus on fulfillment or logistics of direct mail campaign planning. Simply create or upload your direct mail piece to our plug-and-play builder and personalize, trigger and automate sends right from your CRM. We designed our software to enable digital marketers to make quick, effective customer touchpoints offline.