Q: We are hoping to go from the old newspaper insert of our Activity Guide to direct mail. I have experience in this area as I did the same thing about 10 years ago in Spokane, WA when we transitioned to direct mail there. I am experiencing some reluctance to this even though readership is down in the local newspaper (like everywhere else in the country). Anyway, do you have any statistics about success rates of going from a newspaper insert to direct mail from other cities? I need something to convince the budget handlers that this is the way to go right now.
A: Your instincts on how to distribute the brochure are correct. Even before newspaper readership declined, newspaper inserts were less effective in generating enrollments than were direct mail brochures. Direct mail is still the most effective way to get registrations. Most programs now supplement their direct mail activity guides with online promotion, but that is a strategy to support direct mail, not to replace it. Another factor to consider is that while newspaper readership is down, so is US mail. This is good news for direct mail distributors. It means your mailing piece has less competition for attention in the mailbox. The numbers vary on response rate to newspaper inserts. These tend to be more effective in smaller communities. You have not indicated whether your newspaper insert is a tabloid format. If so, this would be another consideration. The magazine style guides tend to have higher response rates than tabloids. Having said all this, I would like to caution you against making a complete switch from one method to the other. Sometimes, the change from one strategy for distribution to a different strategy does not work. Although response rates for direct mail are higher than for newspaper inserts, you should phase in direct mail. This will accomplish several things. Here is one way to proceed. Insert your guide as usual, but send out direct mail to a percentage of your market. Make sure the group targeted to get direct mail is representative of your customer base. Track the responses from both methods to see what the response rate is. This data will allow you to make the best decision on how to proceed with minimal risk.