[richpuer]

Anyone ever try magazines like the homemag? Those glossy 60 page full color magazines full of all sorts of home improvement services , I.e. Windows shutters gutters kitchens cabs, etc...

My neighborhood gets three different ones and I pretty much see the same guys in all three of them. They are quite expensive to advertise in and normally get delivered to higher income zones.

Wondering if anyone here has tried them and what the results were like.

 

[Chris.Prato]

You might have better luck sending your own direct mail to the subscriber's of those magazines. You can purchase a list of those subscribers through any number of list brokers. You can even pare down the list further to only target affluent subscribers, for example.

This will cost you less than advertising in the magazines themselves and gives you more flexibility in who you target.

 

[gastek]

I throw those out without looking at them as I'm sure many others do.

People get so much "junk" mail that these days it's almost a waste of money to advertise this way. There are plenty of posts here that talk all about these types of campaigns.

 

[Chris.Prato]

Yes, a lot of people throw them out, but direct mail can be very successful with response rates of 0.5% or lower. A lot of it depends on your offer. If your service is high-ticket and targets affluent home owners, it won't take that many responses to recognize a profit.

There are also a number of tactics to increase open rate and reader engagement with direct mail.

I would advise not going this route without really doing your homework and looking at example campaigns that have been successful.

 

[libbycop]

Im on the fence about EDDM which i hear mixed reviews from..I know it needs to be a repetitive campaign and not a one time thing...

 

[cjsewell]

I have to agree with Chris.Prato, that it is definitely better to send your own direct mail and that it could be successful if done correctly.

Here I have 5 simple elements that should be in your direct mails to build your customers’ trust and communicate clearly to them who you are, what is your business and why do they need your services.

1. Attention-grabbing headline
It should not too long. You may want it to be in bold to capture more attention. Most importantly, clearly or specifically state why they need to read it or what products or services are you offering.

2. Images or Graphics
This should clearly and easily communicate and support the message.

3. Engaging color scheme
Have good color and contrast so that your mail will pop out and will make your customers read it.

4. Interesting and valuable content
This should continue what your headline started. Include benefits and what your offers are and have them into a bulleted form. And give your customers reasons to do the next steps.

If you can make it possible, always have your name or company name and logo because this increases your credibility as well as your customers’ trust.

Include a return address as well as contact information.

5. Call to action
Always include a “call to action” such as “call us today”, “visit our website”, etc.