What if your next direct mail campaign simultaneously activated an interactive email campaign – without any additional cost? What if I told you that doing so could also earn you a discount on said campaign’s postage? With Informed Delivery, the USPS is offering B2C marketers exactly that opportunity.
What is Informed Delivery?
As many marketers are still unfamiliar with Informed Delivery, it’s helpful to give a brief overview of what the program entails before sharing our reasons why you should use it.
Informed Delivery is a free service from the USPS that allows residential consumers to subscribe to receive a daily email that previews their household’s mail being delivered that day. While not exactly a new program, Informed Delivery has really gathered steam over the past year or so with over 16 million current subscribers and more than 500,000 new subscribers signing up monthly.
For marketers leveraging direct mail, Informed Delivery offers a unique opportunity. For letter-size pieces, any mailer using full-service Intelligent Mail Barcodes (IMb) can create Informed Delivery campaigns that include a ride along image that triggers a call to action with a link to the brand’s website or designated landing page for immediate engagement. To further enhance your program you can also include a full color representative image of the mail piece versus the black and white scan of the address side of the piece. Note: In the case of flats, Informed Delivery uses the representative image.
 |
| Source: USPS |
5 Reasons to Use Informed Delivery
With omnichannel now the expectation and not the exception, Informed Delivery is proving to be a powerful tool to seamlessly deliver this cohesive experience.
Here are five reasons why you should use Informed Delivery with your next direct mail campaign.
- Increase your presence and extend your audience.
Source: USPS November 2018 User Survey
Informed Delivery combines these elements to transform your direct mail piece into an interactive campaign that delivers tremendous value. With 82 percent of subscribers opening their Informed Delivery email in the morning, consumers are showing tendencies to respond and interact with brands before they even receive the physical mail piece later that day.
What’s more, Informed Delivery is extending your audience as 40 plus percent of people who receive the Informed Delivery emails are not the same person as who retrieves the physical mail itself.
- Earn a discount on your postage.
Spending less to get more is virtually unheard of today. Not only does Informed Delivery provide a corresponding email touch point at no additional cost, but the USPS is giving a discount to use the service. For campaigns executed this year from September through November, the USPS is giving a two percent postage discount. The registration window to participate in this promotion runs through November 30.
- Re-engage lost or lapsed email subscribers.
Many brands today are struggling with email fatigue and lost subscribers due increasing data privacy laws. With an average daily open rate that exceeds 65 percent, Informed Delivery offers brands a way back into the recipient’s inbox via a highly engaged email that reaches consumers by simply knowing their physical address.
- Segment and test ride along creative.
Because of IMb Serialized it’s easy to apply different ride along campaigns to your various customer groups. The content within these campaigns can mirror that of the physical mail piece or highlight a different message/offer altogether. Or perhaps you want to leverage A/B testing to identify what appeals most to your audience.
- Track and measure performance.
Easily view campaign results on the Informed Delivery dashboard. Data points included number of mail pieces delivered, number of emails delivered, email open rate and click-through rate. Take your measurement one step further by using different offer codes and landing page links than the physical mail piece to track channel performance in terms of conversions, order value, etc.
With benefits including reaching a wider audience, access to email engagement data and, of course merging physical and digital channels, Informed Delivery is too great of an opportunity for direct mail marketers to pass up.
At SG360°, we strive to help our customers get the most out of their direct mail activation. When it comes to Informed Delivery, we help guide you through the process to create the simple assets needed and can even manage the campaign initiation on your behalf.
Want to learn more about Informed Delivery or discuss adding the free service to your next campaign? Let’s talk.
Related Articles:
3 Strategies for Reducing Your Direct Mail Postage Costs
Take Your Direct Mail Beyond “Hello John” With Variable Printing
