Is direct mail dead, or still alive and kicking?

DM dead?

Remember DM covers a pretty wide area from simple one-page sale's letters to catalogers sending out millions of catalogs per month. Dead? In the last two-years I've had major consulting jobs with two large DM firms that are raking in millions. I get many DM mags and trade journals that show a great many companies making a lot of money off DM.

DM too expensive? Sure it could be...heck anything can be too expensive (for a variety of reasons). I know there are a lot of places in the world that are a heck of a lot more expensive to do DM in than the U.S. and they are having success also.

Personally I like a combination of DM, space ads and Internet order processing. But to do it right you need to invest the money...Not a lot, but some.

Take care,

Mike W.

> I've read opposite opinions about this in
> recent times....

> On the one hand, I've read that direct mail
> is dying or dead. I think I read Bill Myers
> state this on his membership web site. He's
> a very experienced direct marketer, both
> online and offline, so if he says it, I
> listen.

> But on the other hand, I just read the
> opposite opinion, in Gary Halbert's most
> recent newsletter, which he put online on
> his web site.

>
> http://www.thegaryhalbertletter.com/remote_docs/newissue.html
> The part I'm talking about is near the
> end.

> Here's what he says....

> Know what I think? I think, in this
> "Age-of-Anthrax"...

> Direct Mail Is Still The "Jackpot"
> Way To Produce Fungolas!

> For one thing, as far as competition goes,
> it has thinned out the weak (cowardly)
> members of the herd. Gary Halbert is a
> legendary direct mail marketer. He's the
> creator of the historic "Nancy"
> letter which Gordon wrote about recently
> right here. The direct mail letter which
> made big money being sent to a PHONE BOOK
> list!

>
> http://www.sowpub.com/cgi-bin/forum/webbbs_config.pl?read=6751
> So what do you think?

> Has the internet, combined with the fear of
> anthrax, killed off direct mail as a
> promotional medium?

> Or has the lower competition in fact made it
> a better medium than ever?

> - Dien Rice