How to get consumers to open your direct mail Marketing envelopes

Direct mail can be an extremely effective way to market your brand, products or services to your target audience, as long as you can get them to open your envelopes. So, how  can you make sure the recipient notices your envelopes and is enticed to open them? Let’s explore 6 great tips for making your envelopes your secret direct mail weapon.

Use Graphics that grab attention

One way to get people to notice your envelopes is to use striking images or graphics. You may want to show consumers a glimpse of a product or it may be a matter of simply using icons or symbols related to your brand. A picture speaks a thousand words so adding an image of a mop and bucket is a great way to communicate that your direct mail is about your cleaning service and is likely to attract more attention than text on the envelope which explains the same thing.

Create a design that doesn’t scream advertising

If your outer envelope looks too much like advertising or appears to be containing a message about something you are selling it is likely your direct mail will end up in the bin. Aim for a professional, business-focussed design which looks more like a letter. Don’t forget that information such as offers and teasers can be added on the back (the non-addressing side). That way the front of the envelope will still look like a standard letter.

Test Your colours

Try out different colour envelopes by keeping everything else about your direct mail the same but mailing two groups of envelopes of two different colours. That way you can see which colour achieves the best response results. It’s a good idea to use your brand’s colours however if your logo only contains black and white you might like to test a bright blue or even something luxurious like gold depending on your product or business. If you think that solid colour is too tacky, you can try adding just a splash or a few elements in colour on the outer envelope and test their impact.

Make it Highly personal

This is one of the best tips when it comes to direct mail envelopes. The more personal you can make your envelopes, the better. Try customising the copy and/or images to match the recipient’s preferences. Use any data you have in your database to tailor your envelope to their needs. If you can include an offer or even an image of products and people which are relevant to the recipient on the outer envelope, there is a much higher chance your direct mail will be opened.

Give Customers a sneak peek through the window

In the past window envelopes were generally used for business mail while closed face envelopes gave the impression of being more personal or private mail. This trend is slowly changing. Window envelopes are now being used by some brands to give consumers a sneak peek of the envelope’s contents — regardless of the product or service being sold. They can also help you reduce your addressing costs. It could be worth trying both to see which works best for your bottom line.

Experiment with Size and Format

Another way to make your direct mail stand out is to use an envelope that is anything other than the standard DL envelope size. Go smaller with greeting card-sized envelopes, or go bigger to get to command immediate attention and stand out from that stack of mail. Larger sizes such as C5 and C4 envelopes can really command attention and differentiate your brand from the rest of the back.

Direct Mail Solutions has a wide range of sizes available with our envelope printing services to suit your envelope preferences including:

DL Envelope – Ideal for A4 letters folded twice
C5 Envelope- Ideal for A4 letters folded once
C4 Envelope – Ideal for A4 unfolded letters
DLX Envelope
B4 Envelope

Envelopes can do so much more than simply keep your direct mail pieces intact until they arrive at your desired recipient’s address. The right envelope strategy can ensure that your direct mail not only reaches the recipient, but gets opened and read!