On Thursday I dropped off 15,000 mailers to our city post office to be delivered. On Friday morning I noticed the mail had run and sure-enough there was our 5.5x8.5 direct mail card. Apparently the mail isn't too bad around here!
So I just checked the website stats page to see if there was any immediate result ("was our card worth drawing some hits"). I'm pleased to report that our traffic jumped and we got 33% of our months traffic on Friday and Saturday (today). So, now if people enjoy the site I hope we'll see some guests.
A few things I've learned with direct mail:
1. You can't do it once and say "it didn't work". Direct mail must be done over and over. It more or less establishes presence.
2. If your piece sucks, it sucks. Don't send out garbage and expect it to work. If you don't have a designer, hire one. (I know one if you need him.)
3. Direct mail doesn't fly solo. To get people to respond to direct mail, it should be used in conjunction with other things. Especially for church plants, people need to begin to find a familiarity with us. Churches come and go (and they meet in unusual places) so you have to develop relationship with your community.
4. 6 to stick. They say it takes (I don't know who 'they' are either) six times for someone to see your add/image for them to respond.
5. Wait it out. People aren't going to jump at a mailer. A mailer is not your outreach savior. Get your face out and create some buz by what you do each week. Don't send out a mailer and sit on your blessed rear expecting things to happen. At the same time, don't freak out if you don't get people in the building THAT weekend. It takes time. We've seen people come after 6 months or more.
6. Think Tires- I don't 'need' tires very often. Most people don't believe they 'need' your church. The business that gets my cash is the one that can come to mind when I think "Hey, my tires are getting bald, where should I go?" Thats the same mind-set of someone who feels they are missing something in life. They think "I need something good in my life. What church looks like they'd be nice to me and my kid?"
I don't know if this works for you or not, it does me. There are other lessons I'm certain... I just wanted to get your brain moving. We are sending more mailers out by the way. This was the beginning of a new campaign for our move to a new location. I'll keep you informed. Please keep us in your prayers (or as I say "Toss one up for us, would ya?")
Our Most Recent Mailer:
Front Big
Back Big
The Company we use: Church Marketing Solutions
1 comment:
Good post. We have never done a mailer but I have thought about it, this gives me some more things to think about.
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