Marketing Execution Blog | Marek Group

What is Informed Delivery & How Can it Enhance Your Direct Mail Campaign?

Written by Tyler Spalding | 7/3/24 1:43 PM

The Marek Group specializes in providing insights and solutions to elevate your direct mail campaigns. Delve into Informed Delivery and explore how it can transform your direct mail strategies.

Understanding Informed Delivery

In today's fast-paced digital era, businesses must innovate to keep their direct mail campaigns engaging and effective. One such innovation is Informed Delivery, a powerful tool that can revolutionize your communication with your target audience.

So, what is Informed Delivery and how does it work? Informed Delivery is a free service provided by the United States Postal Service (USPS). It allows individuals to preview their incoming mail and manage their packages digitally. Users receive a daily email with grayscale images of the outside of their letter-sized mail pieces, enabling them to stay informed about their incoming physical mail.

Integrating Informed Delivery into your direct mail campaigns offers numerous benefits. Firstly, it provides an additional touchpoint with your customers, combining the tangible impact of physical mail with the convenience of digital communication for a more comprehensive brand experience.

Secondly, Informed Delivery can boost customer engagement. The ability to preview mail pieces before their arrival piques recipients' curiosity, increasing open rates and overall response rates, which ultimately enhances campaign effectiveness.

Additionally, Informed Delivery offers valuable tracking and reporting features. By analyzing engagement metrics such as opens, clicks, and interactions, you can gain insights into your campaign's effectiveness. This data allows you to refine your strategies and optimize future mailings to better connect with your target audience.

Informed Delivery is a game-changer for direct mail campaigns. It bridges the gap between physical and digital marketing, enhancing customer engagement and driving superior results. By leveraging this innovative USPS service, you can outpace the competition and deliver exceptional brand experiences to your audience.

Optimizing Your Direct Mail for Informed Delivery

Designing mail pieces that complement Informed Delivery is crucial for capturing recipients' attention. Since Informed Delivery provides a digital preview of the physical mail, creating visually appealing and attention-grabbing designs is vital. Use eye-catching graphics, vibrant colors, and concise yet compelling copy. A well-designed mail piece stands out in the digital preview, enticing recipients to open the physical mail.

Personalized ride-along content is another critical element when optimizing your direct mail for Informed Delivery. Ride-along content includes additional marketing messages or offers that accompany the digital preview of the mail piece. By customizing these messages based on recipients' preferences or purchase history, you create a personalized and targeted experience. Personalization boosts engagement and enhances the overall customer experience, making your direct mail campaign more effective.

Utilizing data is also key to expanding your market reach through Informed Delivery. By analyzing customer data, such as demographics, purchase behavior, and geographic location, you can tailor your direct mail campaign to specific target segments.

For example, customize the digital preview and ride-along content based on the recipient's location or previous interactions with your brand. This level of personalization and relevance increases response rates and generates better results.

Steps to Implement Informed Delivery in Your Campaign

Implementing Informed Delivery in your direct mail campaign can significantly enhance your marketing strategy and improve your results. Here are the key steps to get started:

1. How to get started with Informed Delivery: Begin by creating an account on the USPS website. Once your account is set up, you can easily configure your Informed Delivery campaign and start leveraging its benefits.

2. Integrating Informed Delivery with your existing direct mail marketing strategy: Informed Delivery complements your traditional direct mail efforts. To integrate it effectively, include a grayscale image of your direct mail piece in your Informed Delivery campaign. This ensures that recipients signed up for Informed Delivery will see a preview of your mail in their daily email notifications from USPS.

3. Best practices for using Informed Delivery effectively: To maximize the impact of Informed Delivery, consider these best practices:

  • Ensure the grayscale image is visually appealing and representative of your direct mail piece.
  • Include a clear call-to-action in your Informed Delivery email notification to encourage recipients to take action.
  • Coordinate the timing of your Informed Delivery campaign with the delivery of your direct mail piece to maximize its impact.

By following these steps and implementing Informed Delivery in your campaign, you can leverage this innovative solution to enhance the effectiveness of your direct mail marketing efforts and achieve better results.

Measuring Success and ROI with Informed Delivery

When implementing Informed Delivery in your direct mail campaign, tracking key metrics is essential to measure its success. Analyzing the impact of Informed Delivery and calculating the return on investment (ROI) provides valuable insights into the effectiveness of this innovative marketing tool.

One key metric to track is the click-through rate (CTR), which measures the percentage of recipients who click on the digital preview of your direct mail piece within the Informed Delivery email. A higher CTR indicates greater engagement and interest from your target audience.

Another important metric is the conversion rate, which tracks the percentage of recipients who not only click on the digital preview but also take the desired action, such as making a purchase or filling out a form. A higher conversion rate signifies that Informed Delivery is effectively driving recipients to take the next step in your sales funnel.

Additionally, it's crucial to analyze the impact of Informed Delivery on your overall direct mail campaign performance. Compare the response rates and conversion rates of Informed Delivery recipients with those who only received traditional direct mail to determine the incremental lift provided by this digital enhancement.

Calculating the ROI of using Informed Delivery helps you understand the financial benefits of this marketing strategy. To calculate ROI, consider the cost of implementing Informed Delivery, including additional design or production expenses, and compare it to the revenue generated from the campaign.

A positive ROI indicates that Informed Delivery is not only enhancing your direct mail campaign but also delivering a profitable return.

Let us do the work for you - integrate Informed Delivery and other digital resources into your direct mail marketing strategy with The Marek Group's HyprMail technology—offered through our HighNote division—to incapsulate a true omni-channel approach to direct-mail marketing.