Introduction
Any form of direct marketing, whether on or offline, means reaching out directly to customers by sending them promotional materials such as newsletters, ezines, email newsletters, and other correspondences. There is a difference between spam and direct marketing, which is that that people who receive your mailings will have opted-in to your mailing list, whereas spammers just send random messages to people who have not signed up to receive anything. Generating leads is one of the most important aspects of this type of campaign, as well as is being able to write good sales copy.
Costs
Direct marketing online is a low-cost way to inform opt-in clients of your products, sales, and company events in an educational and informative way. Costs can be almost nothing, especially with a free way to generate leads. Typically leads must be purchased or generated through marketing strategies, such as CPA campaigns, which promise a certain number of leads for a certain price.
Timeframe
Direct marketing can show results quickly, and within a few days, or a week you should see the results. Most of the efforts and time goes in collecting targeted list of audience who will be warm enough and be receptive to your pitch either online or through other means.
Execution Considerations
The key to any direct mailing campaign is having and updating a good leads list. Having a plan in place that will continue to generate leads, whether from a sign up page on your website, through an affiliate campaign, or through a CPA advertising plan, having good leads, and creating fresh ones to market to will assure your business of the vitality that any direct marketing campaign needs to survive. When writing the promotional materials, it's important to get to the point in the first couple of paragraphs, especially when sending emails. Newsletters and ezines are different, and rely on different formats which allow for longer articles, but with emails, if you don't get to the point soon, readers will tune out and will miss the message that you are trying to get across.
