In the world of advertising, many and various strategies and techniques are used to promote a product or service. One of the common and most effective ways of advertising is through direct mail. In the United States, direct mail is the third largest medium of advertising, attracting 20 percent of all U.S. advertising dollars. Direct mail is a letter of advertisement or promotional material directly sent to people that can be a potential consumer through mail or postal system. It also includes advertising circulars, catalogs, CDs, credit card applications, and other commercial promotional materials delivered to homes and businesses. Many advertisers find and consider direct mail marketing as the most effective of all types of advertising media because of the response they receive from targeted customers. Because advertisers are most likely directly speaking to possible people who will buy their product or service, the recipient of that mail finds it personal that would create an immediate response. Though direct mail cost through postal system is the most expensive form of advertising, many advertisers believe that the expenses are justified. Direct mail has also entered the internet technology. Using the same techniques, advertisers obtain a low cost and easy way of sending ads to a large group of people.
In the advertisers’ point of view, the key to successful direct mail marketing is the mailing list. The mailing list usually consists of names and addresses of people who share a common attribute like age, location, income, profession and shopping preferences. Advertisers target a specific group of people and try to suggest or offer a product or services that are likely their common in their interest through direct mail. A targeted mailing list can be more economical than contacting and sending an ad to many and different kinds of people who will just ignore it. It also enables the advertisers to focus on a specific interest of that group of people so that they can make the ad more relevant and more elaborating to them than sending a direct mail to everyone with a general concept. Bulk mailing is a popular means used in direct mail advertising. Bulk mail refers to a volume of mail processed for mailing at a reduced rate compared to the regular postage rate. But in order to qualify for these rates, these mails should be sorted and packed according to location which reduces the handling required in postal mailing.















