Hobbs/Herder Digital Print Services

Breathing New Life into Your Direct Mail Campaign

The key to keeping it fresh and effective is to stir things up and show your creativity. AdKards and AdFliers are just one way to see results.

Let's say your direct mail campaign is in high gear. Your farm receives three marketing pieces from you every month as specified in the Hobbs/Herder mailing plan. You're mailing your brochure twice annually. Everything is in place. But as a dynamic businessperson, you're always looking for new techniques to take your marketing to the next level. You know if you don't keep your messages fresh and keep the consumers guessing, you run the risk of losing their interest over a long period of time. So what do you do next?

Don't Stop Now
Well, a great way to take your direct mail campaign to the next level is by replacing one of your monthly PowerKard messages (Just Listed, Just Sold, Open House announcements) with an AdKard or AdFlier. These are print advertisements which have been converted to a postcard or self-mailer flier, and there are two easy routes you can choose to implement your AdKard or AdFlier campaign.

Custom Ad Series
The first — and most effective — approach to supplementing your direct mail is with a Custom Ad Series based on your existing marketing materials. These ads are designed to work in conjunction with the image developed in your personal brochure, and are not confined solely to use in print advertising — they are an ideal way to inject fresh energy to your direct mail campaign. They also allow you to expand the scope of your message by focusing on certain benefits of working with you, the services you provide and more emotionally-involving personal information.

A Budget-Conscious Alternative
A Custom Ad Series is the preferred method to creating your AdKards or AdFliers because it puts the focus on you and builds on the brand recognition you've already established. However, an economical alternative to a Custom Ad Series is to use Hobbs/Herder's CD-ROM, 100 of Our Best Ads. This contains 100 great ads that can be easily personalized by your printer or graphics professional.

Getting Started
Incorporating AdKards or AdFliers into your direct mail campaign is actually quite simple. Here's a sample one-year mailing campaign for a database of 2,500 names. This scenario uses three cards sent on a rotating basis for one year, which means you'll need 10,000 of each card or flier. This also means each household in your database will receive the same ad four times in one year. That's okay! Being repetitive is good – the key is to never let yourself get stagnant.

The best, most economical approach to printing is to print an entire year's supply at once. You then have the materials prepared and ready to be sent based on the following sample schedule:

(Remember: Your AdKard or AdFlier replaces one of your three monthly mailings.)

AdKard or
AdFlier #1 AdKard or
AdFlier #2 AdKard or
AdFlier #3
January February March
April May June
July August September
October November December

Printed AdKards are either 8.5" x 5.5" or 6" x 9". AdFliers are letter size, full-color on one side and black and white reverse, and should be folded into thirds for self-mailing purposes. Please call for print pricing.

Take Your Campaign to the Next Level
A great way to use your ads to their maximum efficiency is to mail them out at the same time you run the same ad in various print publications. That way, you build your image through repetition.

Now that you know what you need to do, the question becomes what are you going to do about it? If you're always looking for ways to improve your direct mail campaign and make it as results driven as possible, Contact us at 800.999.6090, ext. 668.