Thanks for the research and info Steve. I know direct mail has a low response rate, but I've really known how low. I've seen things like 2% and I've also seen 0.5% Obviously it's going to vary with how the mail is written and designed and what the offer is for. It should also depend on the frequency of the same offer. I would expect the first time someone receives a direct mail offer that it would have an extremely low return rate, but I would also think that repeating that same offer to the same people slowly increases the return.
My only experience with direct mail is a single postcard we sent out in a previous web design business. I think we sent out about a hundred to a list a small business owners we built through a local chamber of commerce. I can't really remember how the copy and design was, but I assume both were ok, though probably nothing special. Our return was exactly 0%. We weren't expecting a lot, but we had hoped one or two people would respond.
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