Electronic Direct Mail (EDM) Marketing: Clearing What, How, When and Where

Do you know 99% of the people visit and check emails on a daily basis and 58% of those do this early in the morning before doing something else ( Stats by Hubspot). That’s the main reason why email marketing has an average ROI of $36 for every $1 spent? Welcome to the world of Electronic Direct Mail (EDM) Marketing, which is more focussed, where strategy meets results! Here you can not imagine return on investment (ROI) because of its focused targeting.

In this complete guide, we are going to uncover what exactly EDM marketing is and how it remains a powerhouse in digital marketing, directing customers to engage and convert like no other technique. Are you ready to explore its potential?

Let’s move forward on the topic of EDM marketing.

What is EDM Marketing?

Electronic Direct Mail is a type of email marketing that is a highly targeted strategy focused on delivering specific and highly personalized messages directly to a potential customer’s inbox. Unlike general email marketing, EDM marketing integrates email campaigns with other online marketing channels such as social media, SMS and websites in order to create strong and impactful customer journeys.

In 2023 a total of 347 billion emails were sent and received each day and this can increase to 407 billion in 2027 (Email Users Stats by Statista). These stats show that all kinds of marketing techniques which involve email platforms have a bright future. As email marketing has an average open rate of 20 to 25%, thus it makes EDM marketing a crucial tool for businesses to build relationships, engage with customers, generate leads, and boost up sales.

Benefits of EDM Marketing

EDM marketing is beneficial for all kinds of businesses either small or large. As it is a lengthy process and is executed after a critical research thus it provides solid end results.

Here are some common benefits of EDM marketing:

• It offers an average ROI of 3600% to 4200%
• In EDM Marketing relevant messages are sent to highly potential customers which gives a professional look
• It provides targeted reach and engagement 
• It collaborates with other digital channels like social media, websites, and SMS which offer more seamless marketing experience 
• It gives measureable analytics like opens, clicks, conversions and engagements
• Highly specific emails in edm generate more leads
• It offers strong customer relationships
• It is also said to be the remarketing technique in which conversion rates are higher
• EDM marketing is environment friendly, unlike traditional direct mail marketing
• It has less chances of being spammed or blocked
• High specific and focused marketing keeps your brand a top of mind, enhancing brand awareness

How to Set Up an Effective EDM Marketing Campaign?

In the online field if you don’t have a proper strategy then you can not take benefits. Proper road map is very useful before launching an edm marketing campaign.

Steps involved in an edm marketing campaign are given below:

Research

Research is a key process in setting an edm campaign;

• Define your goals and find the best performing competitors
• Who is your audience and what he wants
• Understand the pain points of your audience with real time data from competitors
• Keep an eye on the updated trends in online marketing
• Analysis of previous campaign if you are remarketing

Building List

Once you have done the research on do’s and don’ts of audiences then it can help you build the prospects list easily. Here is how you can build it effectively;

• Search on social media and find those profiles which have shown interest on relevant products somewhere
• Separate the prospects list of those who clicked but not purchased, purchased but not provided feedback, checked and added the item in cart etc
• Contact the competitors or use collaborative resources to get potential prospects for the list
• Provide something in free and make it compulsory for the customers to enter details and emails
• Use the list building feature in selected tools

List Segmentation

You can not send the same email to all the prospects because every prospect has different behaviors, needs and demands. Rules of segmentation are;

• Separate the audience by location so that you can target them by giving sale offers
• Focus on needs and wants
• Write pain points and find the prospects accordingly
• Segment the prospects having same interests and demands
• Those who like discounts or improvements

Create an Email Marketing Campaign

The most important step in edm marketing campaign is showing the best possible written email.

Here is how you can craft one for better representation;

Compelling Content

• Try different subject and use the best one
• Use images in the content
• Select the best tool for your campaign run
• Avoid offering impossible things, this will make them feel unsafe
• Use clear CTAs for better conversions

Trackers

This is very important to know about what is the best performing in your marketing campaign.

Things to track in an edm marketing campaign;

• How many people opens your email and interact
• Clicks on your inserted links
• How many purchased the item. i.e, conversion rate
• How many people ignored the email
• Number of people returning after first purchase

Retargeting Ads

The basic difference in email marketing and Electronic Direct Mail marketing is that edm marketing integrates with other digital channels by advertisement.

Here is how effectively you can use ad feature in edm marketing;

• If a customer clicks and do not buy then target it by discount ads
• Those who ignored, follow them up by sale offer ads
• Show more explaining ads to the cart customers
• Target more pain points in ads for those who engage on emails
• Run a social media ads campaign for those who belong to specific area

Sending SMS

EDM marketing deals with sending SMS messages to potential customers.

Here is how sending messages effect on overall campaign;

• People generally have easy access to SMS more than emails
• Send messages to those who don’t click on the inserted links
• Use a professional name for your number from which you will send the campaign SMS
• Remind audience about events and webinars
• Ask them for quick actions at the end of every SMS

Success Ratio in EDM Marketing

What is the success ratio in EDM marketing? It is the common question asked before every marketing campaign and it is more repeated in electronic direct mail marketing than any other because of its dependency on customers behaviors like opens, clicks, engagements, conversations and conversions.

EDM marketing is executed after having solid researched data. For example if a customer visits too many websites for buying a product and not getting fair price or if a customer adds a product in cart and you target them in your edm marketing campaign with the best price then there are high chances that your email will be opened and the customer will convert. Another example is if a number of customers engage on a relevant social media post and you target them accordingly, with this journey we can assume that it’s success ratio can be 80-90% in normal with highly specific and relevant edm marketing emails.

Common Mistakes in EDM Marketing

EDM marketing is very useful if executed properly. But there are several mistakes that can hinder the success for marketers in terms of gaining results.

The most common mistakes in EDM marketing are given below which must be considered during campaign set up;

• Neglecting Mobile Optimization: Not making emails and landing pages mobile friendly.
• Inconsistent Branding: Separate visuals, tone, or messaging across different channels.
• Ignoring Segmentation: Sending the same message to all recipients, without knowing their interests or behavior.
• Lack of Personalization: Using Weak content that does not stand before users.
• Overloading with Information: Including too much text or exhausting the recipient with useless details.
• Weak Subject Lines: Writing irrelevant subject lines that fail to capture attention.
• Not Testing Campaigns: Launching campaigns without A/B testing is a most common mistake
• Unclear Call-to-Action (CTA): Not providing clear direction on what action the recipient should go next.
• Poor Timing: Sending emails at times when the audience is unlikely to engage.
• Failure to Maintain List Hygiene: Not cleaning the prospects list to remove the inactive users or invalid addresses.
• Overuse of Automation: Relying too much on automated emails with no personalized tactic.
• Forgetting Analytics: Not checking the real time data for future campaigns.
• Ignoring Unsubscribes: Not providing an easy and clear way for recipients to unsubscribe from emails.

Difference between Email Marketing and EDM Marketing

There is a slight difference in edm marketing and email marketing. Both deal with sending emails to the relevant prospects but there is more focus in edm marketing as it integrates with other digital channels.

First let’s have a short discussion on both of them and then we will find their difference.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is a digital strategy focused on sending targeted messages to a group of people via email. Its primary goal is to build relationships with potential and existing customers, promote products or services, and drive conversions. Email marketing includes newsletters, promotional offers, announcements, and personalized messages.

Through email marketing we can have direct communication benefits with the audience, measurable results and high return on investment. It focuses on content relevancy and engagement to maintain a trustworthy connection with the recipients.

EDM Marketing

EDM marketing is a more vast marketing field than email marketing which integrates emails with other digital channels. The purpose of an EDM marketing campaign is to provide a seamless, multi-channel experience that reinforces the marketing message. Besides with emails, EDM also includes SMS marketing, social media ads, landing pages, and retargeting ads. The goal is to deliver consistent and cohesive campaigns that create stronger brand recall and encourage customer actions. EDM marketing influences a broader strategy which offers greater reach and impact.

Comparison

Scope

Email Marketing: Narrow, limited to email campaigns

EDM Marketing: Broad, involving multiple platforms such as SMS, social media, and web ads

Primary Goal

Email Marketing: Drives specific actions like sales, subscriptions, or engagement via email

EDM Marketing: Creates a unified campaign that enhances brand recognition and drives conversions

Channels Used

Email Marketing: Only email is used to reach and interact with customers

EDM Marketing: Emails are integrated with SMS, social ads, and landing pages

Personalization

Email Marketing: Heavily reliant on personalized content to connect with individual recipients

EDM Marketing: Personalization is applied but across multiple touch points

Automation

Email Marketing: Tools like auto responders and workflows handle email sequences

EDM Marketing: Automation involves multiple platforms to coordinate campaigns simultaneously

Analytics Focus

Email Marketing: Measures email metrics such as open rate, click-through rate, and conversions

EDM Marketing: Tracks performance across all channels to assess the overall campaign impact

Cost

Email Marketing: More cost effective as it involves just email tools and platforms

EDM Marketing: Higher costs due to managing multiple channels and tools

Campaign Complexity

Email Marketing: Simpler to design and execute with a single focus on emails

EDM Marketing: Requires more planning and synchronization across platforms

Engagement Strategy

Email Marketing: Relies solely on engaging email content

EDM Marketing: Combines engagement tactics like retargeting ads, SMS, and email to amplify results

Conclusion

After discussing the EDM marketing, its benefits, strategy, common mistakes, strategy and something more we came to the point that we can’t neglect the importance of EDM marketing in a business exposure or brand awareness. It derives better return on investment (ROI) and provides ways to interact, engage and connect with the audience in a professional method.

EDM Marketing FAQs

Here are some Frequently Asked Questions about Electronic Direct Mail Marketing: