Last month we shared the story of the Keys Lewis Keyes family (Click2Mail: It’s a Family Affair), who uses direct mail to reunite their family. In our interview, Ethel Renix said that the reason the family reunion committee uses direct mail is because they’ve found it the best way to reach multiple generations – and because with Click2Mail, it’s easy.
The Keys Lewis Keyes aren’t the only ones who have come to that conclusion. More and more retailers are using direct mail to reach people across generations.
For a while, businesses were clamoring to get on the email marketing bandwagon. Consumers were signing up for email deals and retailers were flooding their inboxes with one deal after another. It was great – at first. But eventually, the deluge got old.
Today, consumers hit the delete button by default, and it’s difficult for marketers to even get past spam filters into the inbox. That’s not to say email marketing has no place in your marketing toolbox, but direct mail comes with many benefits that email doesn’t. It’s tangible and tactile (which creates a different response in recipients’ brains). It’s permanent. It reaches across generations. And, with Click2Mail, it’s easy.
There are some style points you’ll want to keep in mind if you’re communicating with a multi-generational audience (these are true for mail and digital). For one, avoid using colloquialisms and making pop culture references – unless they’re so ubiquitous you know every recipient will get it. For example, inviting your audience to like you on Facebook or follow you on Twitter is appropriate and engaging because 89% of 18-29 year olds and 82% of 30-49 year olds regularly interact through a social network (according to Pew Research). Referencing the “Harlem Shake” or “Gangnam Style” on the other hand, is not.
The best of both worlds – How Click2Mail makes mailing across generations easy with digital tools
Mail My Doc™ – If you think about sending mail the “old-school” way – finding a printer, contracting with a mailhouse, learning the postal rules, or doing it all yourself – then mail does sound hard. But with Click2Mail, mail is easy. In fact, we’ve developed a number of tools that make mail literally as easy as digital. One of those tools is Mail My Doc, our new Google add-on that allows you to create mail directly from Google Docs. Mail My Doc by Click2Mail turns Google documents into high quality physical mail that is printed overnight, prepped and mailed the next business day via First-Class Mail.
Email-to-Mail™ – Like Mail My Doc, Email-to-Mail makes mail just as easy as digital. In fact, with Email-to-Mail, mailing is literally the same process as sending an email. All you need is a Click2Mail account and an email account. You can include whatever you want printed within the body or as an attachment in the email. Send it to Click2Mail and voila, we take care of the rest!
Mobile Marketing – Click2Mail makes it easy to reach multiple generations, and multiple preferences (within every generation, there are people who prefer digital communication and people who prefer mail), through mobile/mail integration. Using Click2Mail you can easily set up a high-quality, user-friendly mobile website. Then you can use QR Codes to link your mailers to your mobile website. All the mail recipient has to do is scan the QR Code using a mobile device and they are immediately directed to your custom mobile website.
So with Click2Mail it’s easy to send mail that will resonate across generations. And, no matter what generation you’re in, there’s a tool that makes mail easy. Whether you prefer to use Mailing Online or like the convenience of mailing directly from Google Docs or your email system.
Direct mail works across generations. Even better when it’s integrated with Mobile Marketing or easily accessed in Google through Mail My Doc. To get started on a new mailer or mobile marketing campaign, visit Click2Mail.com.
