Online Taking over Direct Mail
Friday, January 25, 2008 at 03:03PM Traditional media still rule in most companies’ budgets. But the day is coming when that may no longer be true.
For example, Jeff Brooks makes the point in his fundraising blog “Direct mail: news of its death may be premature” that direct mail is changing, but that it is far from dead. He says:
“Online is coming up behind it. Fast. Nearly every nonprofit fundraiser is now raising meaningful amounts of money online. Even if they aren't trying very hard.
So you need to be thinking ahead. As a response medium, direct mail is losing ground to online. That change is likely to accelerate in the coming years. If you aren't getting good at raising money online now, you may find yourself suddenly in a world of hurt in the not-too-distant future.”
I believe that most of us in the direct marketing field concede that online is here, it’s growing fast, and we need to inculcate our deep knowledge of what makes people respond into this emerging medium. 
The rise and fall of various media normally causes no alarm to direct marketers. Direct marketing strategists are media agnostic. We routinely test in and out of media.
But here’s the rub. Do you think companies really care that you know how to make traditional media work? I contend that most companies do not see the intimate relationship between the direct marketing strategy and their desire to leverage the online medium.
Highly experienced direct marketing strategists, however, believe that online was made to order for direct marketers. Online represents the ultimate opportunity for CRM and one-to-one marketing. It embodies the ideal interactive medium direct marketers have dreamed about for years.
So what’s the problem? Here’s part of what I wrote to Jeff Brooks in response to his blog (with a few edits).
The productive copywriters in direct marketing and fundraising cut their teeth on direct mail and other traditional media.
Does their hard earned knowledge in traditional media make them obsolete now that online has become the media with tremendous expansion opportunity? Are these proven and experienced direct response copywriters really in the best position to help nonprofits or companies as a whole maximize the power of online marketing?
I think most organizations would say that they would prefer to hire someone with 3-5 years of pure online marketing experience rather than the proven direct response copywriter with 15+ years of experience who has little hands on experience with online marketing.
That seems to represent hiring managers’ typical mindset not only for copywriters, but at one degree or another, they also apply this philosophy to all direct marketing functional areas.
Your take on this?
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Reader Comments (5)
"I don't really get the web, so I don't bother with it."
I was a speaker about integrating online with direct mail at an AFP conference last year, when I heard someone at another lunch table say this.
It's not true that "most" organizations would prefer to hire someone with web experience. It depends on who the boss is and whether they "understand" the web. There's a definite disconnect between the old guard and the new guard. Who's in charge - or, at least, do they RECOGNIZE what's important to their constituents - is the issue.
I later learned that the person who "doesn't bother with the web" had been in the AFP "First Course in Fundraising," so she couldn't have attended my session if she wanted to.
For this year's AFP event, I offered to be a speaker at the "First Course," since the web should obviously be part of an introductory course. I was informed that the AFP "First Course" has strict syllabus guidelines from national...and online/web coursework is not part of it.
There's also very little about online/web in the CFRE exam, since it's, um, "irrelevant" to fund raising.
Ah, progress comes slowly.
You bring up a good point.
For some, change of any kind is difficult. And there are definitely direct marketing professionals working in the online medium as a specialty who do a great job. But I rarely meet pure online marketers who have good direct marketing backgrounds in traditional media applications.
As a direct marketer with over 30 years (I hate to admit it) in direct marketing, the inter activity and one to one marketing capabilities of the Internet are the ultimate weapons in my arsenal.
I not only integrate it. I consider it a vital medium. But it is still just another medium and not a standalone channel.
Here's the problem I see. Some online marketers have difficulty integrating traditional media because they do not really have sufficient backgrounds in the direct marketing strategy. Not only do they have difficulty integrating, but they see the Internet as the only viable medium of the future.
This hurts their effectiveness because they do not understand that direct marketing know-how transfers directly to the online medium. They also must learn more about the power of traditional media.
But to your point, I agree that this myopic vision runs both ways.
I understand and agree with this article. However, although I agree and would love to expand into a more online format, I simply do not know how to do it! I've searched through the local community colleges and universities for courses I could take, and there doesn't seem to be a wealth of information on the actual application. How does one transition into a more online direct mail?
I work at a small direct mail company, and we do a fair amount of business but not enough to hire another company to do this. I'm trying to do some research on the baby steps I can take. Any advice?
Authoritative resources for getting into the online business are somewhat sparse. This does not surprise me because the medium has not been around that long and the marketing applications are evolving at a rapid pace.
The Direct Marketing Association provides education and special Internet related councils. As a DMA member, you can join councils such as the Email Experience Council and the Search Engine Marketing Council. The DMA offers basic and even some advanced courses on the subject.
If you see online marketing, as I do, to be an extension of the direct marketing discipline, then build on the knowledge you already possess about direct mail. Direct marketing goes beyond direct mail by leveraging online, broadcast, print and all media as part of an over arching strategy to increase profits for your company.
One of my favorite email vendors is Vertical Response. This web based company provides a wealth of knowledge and excellent email support for beginners as well as advanced users. Check them out at http://www.verticalresponse.com/.
Please let me know if I did not answer your question fully.
Ted
The DMA tells us that Direct mail is still going strong, though clearly an effective online response option is needed. That's where Personalized URLs, or PURLs come in. They can provide the perfect blend of the tactile (direct mail) and the online experience, adding a layer of personalization that most users find intriguing and enjoyable.
PURLs (see www.timsblog.easypurl.com) can take the valuable data that an organization has on an individual and integrate it into a broad-reaching marketing campaign using direct mail or email marketing.
The results are impressive, with a trackable boost in response rates from 30-50% on the low side, to 200-400% on some sterling examples (usually campaigns goingto existing customer bases with a clearly defined objective integrating customer interests and buying patterns.)
It will become the wave of the moment over the next two years, with major corporations, institutions, and organizations mandating the use of PURLs on ALL direct marketing materials beginning in 2009.
Check out this technology, it really works well. I encourage anyone with questions to email me or request info through my link.
Tim Foster