Blogger Archive

The good ol’ folks in the direct mail world have been living and breathing PURLs over the past few months. They’re supposed to be the “next best thing” when it comes to direct mail. Not sure what PURL stands for? You’re not alone, but we’re trying to change that. A PURL is simply a personalized URL (www.briansumner.com, for example). The belief is that prospective students who receive a direct mail piece will be more inclined to check out a web site that has their name included, therefore turning into leads. The results have been interesting. We tested PURLs on a couple of campaigns in the past two months and to our surprise, the non-PURL control pieces have outperformed the PURL pieces. And when I say outperformed, I mean the non-PURL pieces have more than doubled the response of the PURL pieces. Any ideas on why the non-PURL pieces are flourishing and the PURL pieces aren’t? That’s a good question and we have our theories, but we’re going to continue to test PURLs in different methods to see if they truly are the “next best thing” in direct mail. In the meantime, we’re curious what you think. What is your opinion on seeing your own personal website on a direct mail piece? Will seeing this make you interested enough to check it out?

In my previous blogs, I’ve talked about how direct mail can be an effective advertising avenue if used in the right circumstances. For example, postcards can be a gold mine if used to push some sort of event being held by the school (an open house or carnival for example). Now I’d like to push everyone to make sure they are tending to their old leads by remarketing to them. Remarketing is a great way to reconnect with individuals who have already expressed an interest in furthering their education. Too often it seems that previous leads that fail to convert to starts fall by the wayside. Don’t be one of those schools that forget about past leads that didn’t convert. Maybe the time wasn’t right when those leads first contacted you. Maybe your school offers new programs that your old leads might be interested in. There are many reasons to make sure you follow up with old leads in an attempt to get them to start. We have found that the typical response rate in our industry for standard search mailings is .3%, which is less than half the return we see on remarketing drops. Think about it, you’re mailing a piece to an individual who has already expressed an interest in your school. Another positive to reaching out to your old leads is you don’t have to pay for a new list. You already have your list, so that’s money you don’t have to fork out. In addition, you’re not sending pieces to random people on a bought list. This is a great time of the year to also make sure you are remarketing to high school students. A lot of high school kids are still trying to figure out what they’re going to do next year, so why not get your school fresh on their mind? Again, these are kids that have expressed some kind of interest in your school, so hit them again while they’re trying to make their future plans. In conclusion (I haven’t said that since 10th grade English), make sure you’re not forgetting about prior leads that didn’t convert into starts. The average response rate for remarketing drops is more than double the average for standard search mailings and you know you’re hitting individuals who have already expressed an interest in your school at some point.

How can I think of direct mail at a time like this? It’s the beginning of spring, and you know what that means – NCAA madness. I know I’m supposed to give some facts about direct mail and how it can improve your school’s overall marketing plans, but I’m still trying to get back to a normal heart rate after the Jayhawks of Kansas eked out a victory over the Salukis of Southern Illinois. Hey, a win’s a win no matter how ugly. But I give the Jayhawks credit for grinding out a victory. Just like every sports fan, I have a few opinions after reflecting on this game. #1 – The defense of the Salukis is incredible. I hope we (the Jayhawks) never face a D like that again. #2 – The zebras were terrible – for both teams. Hey, what does it mean when the shot-clock hits zero and the ball is still in Julian Wright’s hands? It means it’s a shot-clock violation. Call it once in awhile (We’ll let it slide for this game, though.) #3 – Our free throw shooting is atrocious. #4 – UCLA’s free throw shooting is awful, too, and it looks like they will have a home game against us in two days. (Where’s the justice in that?) #5 – Julian Wright can be great, but he really scares me, especially when his lanky body dribbles up the court. I love you, Julian, but you have guards for a reason, so get ‘em the ball! #6 – Sasha Kaun, you’re a beast. Throw the ball down, big guy. #7 – Rod Stewart, I see you have a concert in Kansas City next month. Can my mom get some tickets? #8 – Brandon Rush, you’re 12 for 15 from the field the last two games. Your mom wants you to be more aggressive and shoot more (and so do the rest of the KU faithful). #9 – There are WAY too many TV timeouts in basketball, but at least I don’t have to hear Ron Franklin and Fran Fraschilla during the tournament. Seriously, Ron, it’s Sherron Collins, not Sharon Collins. #10 – Somebody please check Greg Oden’s birth certificate. There’s no way he’s under 45 years old. So there you have it. KU pulled out an ugly one, but they live to see another day and I’m sure I’ll have some more opinions after the next game. My time is up. Peace out, I’m outta here. Oh, and don’t forget to do more direct mail.

I’m sure most of you are familiar with the Do Not Call Registry, but have you heard of the ‘Do Not Mail’ Bill that several states are attempting to pass through legislation? I’m guessing most of you aren’t up-to-speed with that one, but all of us direct mailers are keeping a close eye on the outcome. Why? Because if these pass, I’ll be out of a job – maybe. As of right now, 10 states have filled out these bills to put through legislation: Connecticut, Colorado, Hawaii, New York, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Texas and Washington. This registry would work in the same manner as the Do Not Call Registry. Every mailing that goes out will need to be scrubbed against this registry. The exceptions are non-profits and politicians (they get away with everything). Let’s be honest here, the reason the Do Not Call Registry was established was because people were tired of getting sales calls during dinner and American Idol. Direct mail doesn’t have that same intrusive nature that telemarketing phone calls have. If you don’t like a piece of mail that arrives in your mailbox, it doesn’t interrupt your dinner or your television schedule. All you have to do is throw it out (I prefer to recycle, but whatever). So other than me keeping my job, why else is this registry a bad idea? To start with, how do you think a lot of new businesses establish a customer base? Or how do established businesses retain their existing client base? Direct mail is a way of life and it has been since 1872 when Aaron Montgomery Ward mailed his first catalog*. In addition, the affect on the post office could be detrimental. If I haven’t been completely obvious, my opinion is not a favorable one for this new registry. The reasons and explanations go much deeper than what I explained above, but it’s still early in the game and I’m just touching the tip of the iceberg. Stay tuned for more on this, and in the meantime, you can write your local congressman to express your displeasure in this bill. Okay, hold off on this until you hear more from me. *this information courtesy of The Rocky Mountain News

You know what I’d like to see more people in the career education business utilize – postcards. Yeah, I said postcards and I mean it too. It’s one of those advertising avenues that I believe can be very successful, but only if used in the right situations. If you’re trying to generate an immediate response from a perspective student, either through a BRC, phone call or e-mail, then the standard letter package should be your first choice. In that situation, I’d recommend the standard letter package every time because a postcard just doesn’t elicit a quick response. So what is the right situation to use a postcard? I recommend sending out a postcard to promote any special event that your school might be having. Whether it be an open house, an information session or a carnival, people will look at your postcard in the mail. According to the Direct Marketing Association 2006 Statistical Fact Book, 41% of respondents said they read postcards that they receive – the highest percentage among any other piece of mail (the next highest was Catalog Not in an Envelope at 35%). Think about it, how hard is it to look at a postcard? You thumb through your mail, you see a postcard, you look at the front, you turn it over, you look at the back and then you’re done. With a letter, you have to open it. Let’s face it, we’re lazy and the two seconds it takes to open a letter is asking a lot. With a postcard, you’re able to catch the reader’s attention and get your message across without the reader having to exert much energy. It’s a win/win. We get our message across, and they don’t have to break a sweat. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying to only use postcards for special events. Feel free to use them at any time, just don’t expect much, if any, of an immediate response. Leave the lead generating to the standard letter package. But if you’re looking at driving people to any type of event at your school, always remember the power of the postcard.