One of the things we're most proud of here at Mams is our commitment to producing environmentally-friendly direct mail campaigns.
As well as supporting the Two Sides Campaign, we also hold ISO 14001 certification.
Whether you're looking to engage Mams for your next campaign or want to learn more about how to make your direct mail activity more environmentally friendly, here's how you can do just that.
1. Don't kick plastic to the kerb. Don't use it at all!
There are plenty of direct mail companies who love to talk about how they use recyclable polythene or other plastic materials that don't have to go to landfill. However, many people assume plastic is non-recyclable anyway, meaning the material will often go to landfill regardless!
The best way to use any plastic wrap in an environmentally friendly manner is not to use it at all.
2. Use water-based, eco-friendly inks
As we're going to see as we go through this list, an environmentally friendly direct mail campaign is more than making sure you don't use plastic or the type of paper you use.
Every element of your direct mail campaign can be made more eco-friendly, from how you use data to what happens when your leaflet lands on a doormat.
Ink is perhaps one of the lesser recognised but significant components of your campaign's eco-footprint. Avoid using inks that are damaging to the environment in favour of water-based inks that are chemical and additive-free. The "ingredients list" for your inks should be water, colour pigment, and not much else. Using eco-friendly inks also means excess ink and cartridges can be recycled rather than ending up in a landfill.
3. Consider investing in postcard marketing
The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about postcard marketing?
They’re smaller, and a smaller leaflet means a smaller eco-footprint for your direct mail campaign.
The great thing about using postcards is that they're cost-effective while not compromising on quality. For example, if you use Mams for your postcard marketing, you get an excellent piece of literature created from the same sustainable paper that we use for our paper wraps and other postage types.
And who doesn’t love receiving a postcard?
4. Get innovative with your design
Are you already undertaking direct mail campaigns and have been doing so for a while? If so, think about the things you're doing within those campaigns.
Direct mail works; that's why people keep doing it after they've made a success of a handful of campaigns.
Yet, it is easy for success to breed complacency. We'd bet there's every chance your direct mail looks the same as it did a few years ago!
Can you change anything in your design to reduce your eco-footprint? Could a brochure become a one-sheet leaflet? Could you incorporate multiple mailers into one and lower your costs at the same time?
There's always an opportunity to get more from your direct mail campaigns. In this case, you'll be doing the environment a favour, too.
5. Clean up your data
Cleaning up your data won't just help you avoid a potentially massive fine for various GDPR contraventions. It'll help you make your direct mail campaigns more environmentally friendly, help you reduce costs, and improve your engagement rate, too.
Why?
A clean database means you only send direct mail to people interested in receiving it. If half of your mail volume is going straight in the recycling or landfill bin, what’s the point in even sending it?
Drop the vanity of saying you send so many thousands of pieces of mail if you know people don't want it. Far better to have 5,000 households that wish to receive your mail than 20,000 households that don't!
Keep on top of this by:
- Ensuring people know how they can opt-out of receiving your mail.
- Ensuring any GDPR or other data requests you receive digitally are applied to physical mail if applicable.
- Tracking engagement with your mail and automatically removing people from your database if you know they never engage. It's easy to personalise a leaflet so you can track precisely who reacts to it!
6. Take advantage of technology in all parts of your campaign
Technology has a huge role to play in making your direct mail campaigns more eco-friendly.
For example:
- Printers that use more advanced printers can create your direct mail more efficiently with lower wastage.
- You can use QR codes on your direct mail to reduce the size of what you send and connect people to your eCommerce store instead of sending them a 200-page catalogue!
7. Encourage your direct mail recipients to recycle your material
We hear you; it should go without saying in 2021 that people should be recycling as much as they can.
However, you can’t claim to be an environmentally conscious business if you’re not actively taking a role in encouraging your customers to do it!
It takes one line on your direct mail to encourage your customers to recycle - or to share your promotion with someone else if they’re not interested!
8. Get awesome at planning your campaigns
One of the hardest things to accept in marketing across any channel is that you don’t have to send something to every customer during every campaign.
Sure, you can use personalisation to ensure all your recipients get something relevant. However, you can plan different campaigns using audience segmentation if your databases are clean. This way, you don't spend time, money, or have the environmental impact of printing thousands of leaflets that you know aren't likely to be as effective when sent to specific segments of your audience.
9. Print on both sides of your direct mail
It’s pretty incredible that in 2021 there are still leaflets going through doors that don’t make use of both sides of the paper!
If your message only covers one side of the paper, can you send a postcard instead? Alternatively, find a nearby business that might be happy to split the cost and take a side each!
10. Check the eco-credentials of your direct mail partner
If you’re engaging a third-party company to design and send your direct mail campaigns, do your homework!
If you’re considering working with Mams for your direct mail campaign, you can read all about our eco-credentials here. If you’re concerned about your business’s eco-footprint, you need to make sure you choose to work with other companies who share those values!
How environmentally friendly are your direct mail campaigns?
How many of the points here have made you think about how eco-friendly your direct mail campaigns are?
There are likely many things you’re already doing to ensure your marketing is as environmentally friendly as possible, maybe even without realising! Still, even if there are only two or three points here that help you get better, you’ll save money, improve the ROI of your direct mail campaigns, and reduce your environmental footprint all at once!
Contact Mams here to discuss your next direct mail campaign and take the next step in reducing your business’s carbon footprint!
