Direct mail, by the numbers

Sometimes, the best way to create a case for direct marketing is to turn to the numbers. Although online marketing and the advent of social media have replaced direct mail in some instances, we’ve still found direct marketing to be a strong, widely used and results-driven medium—one that has also stood the test of time. 

That’s why this month, we’ve decided to focus on a few interesting statistics, garnering inspiration for from USPS’s Deliver magazine. Within each issue, Deliver features a handful of great stats that might help you build a foundation for your next postcard, personalized mailer, brochure or other innovative endeavor. In this post, we’ve compiled a few of our favorites to create a resource for our readers to turn to when in need.

So, let’s dive in! Did you know …

… global direct mail advertising is expected to grow $25 billion by 2015? (According to the online business information site CompaniesandMarkets.com.)

… the average cost, per lead or order, of catalogs is $47.61? (According to the Direct Marketing Association’s 2010 Response Rate Trend Report.)

… the response rate for letter-sized direct mail sent to house lists in 2010 was, on average, 3.42 percent? (According to the same DMA report.)

… that 79 percent of U.S. households either read or scan advertising mail sent to them?

… that 47 percent of U.S. households read catalogs? Only 19 percent discard them without reading!

… affluent households (those earning $150,000+ annually) intend to respond to 2.3 weekly advertising mail pieces?

… 85 billion pieces of direct mail were received by U.S. households in 2009.

What interesting stats do you have to share about the direct mail industry? Have you seen incentives to typically increase open rates? What about segmentation and personalization?

We’d love to hear your numbers, too. The more we share with each other, the more successful our campaigns can become.