Should I re-mail a successful direct mail piece to the same list?

Re-mail the Exact Same Piece

You’ve done a direct mail campaign and it’s a hit. Do you mail it again to the same list? Yes, but when?

The rule of thumb is to re-mail the exact same piece to the same list again 8-10 weeks later and you’ll typically receive 40-60% of the response of the first mailing.

Let’s say breakeven is a 1% response rate. The first campaign pulled 4%. If a follow-up mailing does half as well, you’re still at double break-even. That’s a safe bet.

Sticking with the 1% break-even example, if the second drop pulls half the response of the first, you’re still at 2%: twice what you need to make it worthwhile. A third mailing, timed properly, could be a 1% response, which is still a hit.

So, out of one creative effort, you got three profitable drops. That’s a great return on your ad dollar.

Now, how do you re-mail it? The simplest way is to mail it again exactly as it was, no changes whatsoever.

Here’s another way that works well: add a special message to each repeat drop.

You can say “second notice”, “last chance”, “in case you missed it the first time”, “deadline extended to August 1”. That little phrase is a good addition. It personalizes it and alerts the prospect that something is new or important.

Now, how do you add these “special” messages? You can print the message in what appears to be a person’s handwriting, in dark blue, in the upper right corner of the letter’s first page. You can also use a preprinted Post-It.

If you just don’t have time to make special changes or additions to your mailings, there’s another way: put the whole original package inside a new, larger envelope and include a short cover letter reminding the recipient to take a look at it.

Re-mailing a Flop

You’re staring at the results of a direct mail campaign you had high hopes for… and it’s a flop. Do you re-mail it?

If your best effort lands far below break-even, the problem is likely the product, not the promotion: the topic just doesn’t suit that audience.

So you’re probably better off NOT re-mailing a flop. Cut your losses early. Don’t keep throwing good money after bad, and look for a new idea.

Let’s be realistic: outside events don’t account for everything. A tragedy like 9/11, or a stock market crash or a hurricane can depress response, but they rarely stop it altogether.

If other people are selling but you’re not, the problem is your mailing… not a problem with the economy. Tweaking your timing alone won’t solve that.

You MAY be able to salvage something. Check which lists did even passably, then re-test just those and similar lists. (Don’t bother re-testing the losers.) Try to remember you’ll still be in the hole, so the question is: how deep?

To make your numbers, you have to test many lists. In business-to-business mailing, even when you’re going into a fairly narrow target niche, the best list can still pull five or more times better than the worst, even though they look the same.

And what about price? Most markets are price sensitive, though some markets aren’t. Have you tested enough different prices to know what your best price is?

But cheaper isn’t always better. Sometimes a price that’s too low can signal low value and hurt sales.

Maybe it’s not the copy at fault, but the package itself. Copywriter Gary Bencivenga has found that testing format (what size envelope you use, what it looks like) can lift response as much as, or more than, a copy change.

To see what works with short copy, test your #10 letter against formats proven to do well with short copy such as a postcard, a double postcard, and a self-mailer.

For long copy, test your #10 against the following proven long copy formats: #11 and #14 envelopes, 6 X 9 and giant 9 X 12 packages, plus catalog, magalog, digest, tabloid and bookalog formats.