3D mailers, box mailers, dimensional mailers—no matter what you call them, they produce an extremely high response rate.
Due to their bulk, size, and the curiosity that’s created, dimensional mailer immediately rises to the top of the mail pile.
The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) came out with a report a few years ago that stated that the response rates for dimensional mailers were around 8.5% for B2B and 3.5% for B2C while the response rate for a flat mailer was around 1.38%.
Going Dimensional
The per-piece cost of a dimensional mailer can be a little to a lot more expensive than the traditional flat mailer. However, if you’re targeting the right demographic, your ROI will be exponentially higher.
The quality of the list that you mail to is what will make or break your campaign. It doesn’t matter how good of a 3D direct mail package that you put together, or how much money you spend on it. Simply put: if your list is no good, then your direct mail campaign will fail. A good list can mean the difference between a high ROI or mediocre results.
Save Money by Strategizing
You can save significant money on bulk direct mail campaigns by carefully pre-planning the execution. For example, you can create a smaller mailer, which will save in postage costs. Or you can send out your mailers via standard instead of priority mail. Flat-folding formats (where a 3D mailer is flat normally, but “pops up” when opened) can save money as well due to less bulk.
You can also boost your ROI by not having graphics printed on the outside of the box (which costs extra money). A few other tips that can help you save money:
- Use labels that can be applied to the box
- Select an experienced print shop that can print quality mailers as well as advise you on the various marketing aspects.
- Some people use a flat mailer and put a bulky item inside that makes it stick out. There are hundreds of thousands of items that you can use to accomplish this purpose.
Choose Your Item Carefully
Most dimensional mailers contain a premium item or a gift that’s intended for the recipient to keep after they open the package. Instead of selecting a generic item that won’t get used or kept (e.g., personalized golf ball), try to match the item to the person receiving it.
The item should also compliment the package and overall context of the mailing. This is why it’s best to leave the design and execution up to the professionals at AlphaGraphics as they can put together a mailer that is cohesive with your brand.
You can also personalize the item or the letter inside with the name of the recipient and other personalized info using variable data printing.
Putting It All Together
A typical three-dimensional mailer will include the following:
- Outside box
- Premium item
- The packaging on the inside
- Outer sleeves or labels
- Inserts (e.g., business card, postcard, sell sheet)
Unless you’ve done this before, it’s best to get a professional 2nd opinion from an experienced printer such as AlphaGraphics. If you’re spending money to put together and mail a 3D mailer, you shouldn’t skimp on the design and execution part.
AlphaGraphics can help advise you on the do’s and don’ts of dimensional mailers and give you tips that could help increase the chances of success for the campaign and ultimately drive up your ROI.
The CTA
Without a doubt, the most critical element of a successful bulk mailer is the Call to Action (CTA). Your entire campaign will be all for naught if you don’t include an easy-to-understand CTA. It could be an offer, a free trial, or consultation. You could also ask them to visit your website to sign up for your next event or mailing list.
In this day and age of online marketing, you should have a website that is mobile-friendly and can easily capture people’s information via a contact form. Once you have their email address, you can create a drip email campaign that will align with where they are in the buyer’s journey.
Dimensional Mailer Printers in New Bern
If designed and executed correctly, dimensional mailers can bring a massive ROI to any marketing campaign. If you’d like to learn more about dimensional mailing or have any questions about a mailing campaign you’re about to create, give us a call. To learn more about how AlphaGraphics of New Bern can produce and design your next project, you may
email us,
request a quote or call us at
(252) 633-3199.