Get A Free Digital Impression with Informed Delivery

When you send a letter-sized piece of direct mail, the United States Postal Service scans the front of the mail piece as part of their standard automated processing.  Now, those digital images are being used within email notifications that are sent to registered users of Informed Delivery®.  Think of Informed Delivery as a notification feature provided by the USPS, that allows a mail recipient to digitally view all their letter-sized mail that is scheduled to arrive that day, in advance.  And the best part is, it’s entirely free to the consumer.

Over the last 9 months, there has been a wild transformation in marketing due to COVID-19.  You’re seeing brands diversifying and expanding into new and emerging markets to stay afloat.  E-commerce and online retail technology have been widely accelerated to accommodate increased online buying behaviors that have stemmed out of necessity.  The need for marketing to be relevant, personalized, and timely is more important now than ever.

Informed Delivery bridges the gap between physical and digital mail.  Currently, there are over 34 million users in the U.S. registered to receive Informed Delivery notifications, and that number is increasing at a rate of about 1 million new registrants per month.  86% of people open their alerts every day, and even more impressive, Informed Delivery has an average of 7-8% click through rate.  With that said, Informed Delivery provides additional benefits to marketers when included with a direct mail campaign.  Here are 3 to consider:

1)  Opportunity to Engage with Customers in Real Time

When a piece of direct mail is scheduled to arrive in a consumer’s mailbox, they will receive an email that morning with a greyscale image, and a full-colored clickable image of the mail piece.  If a customer is interested in the offer, they can click the image, and arrive at your website, ready to receive more information about the offer, or make a purchase.

2) Additional Impressions Served to Target Audience

The clickable ad that’s served via email is a free, additional impression, and an opportunity to reach a recipient digitally, when you otherwise may not have access to their personal inbox.  Most sales are made between the 8^th and 12^th contact.  This gives you one extra impression, at no cost.

3) Fuses the online and physical experience of direct mail

There are endless studies that show the benefits of integrating digital and offline channels in a marketing campaign.  This is a free and easy way to reach more of your target audience, and give them a more cohesive experience.