The first step is to track your direct mail campaigns. The rate of return on investment from a direct mail campaign can be anywhere from 0.5 to 2 percent. This means if you send out 100 pieces of mail, you can expect 2-4 of your customers to respond and about half that number to actually make a purchase. You can increase the value of your mailing by targeting a specific audience, exposing them to your company more than once and crafting a very specific call to action. Use this easy formula to calculate your specific monetary return.

1. Multiply the sale price, number of mailings, response and conversion rates.

2. Subtract the cost of your campaign (how much it cost you to print, design and mail it) and divide that total by the campaign cost. You’ll get a real number to tell you whether or not direct mail is effective for your business.

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