With the growing focus on the environment, more and more companies are turning to eco-friendly solutions – one of which is sustainable direct mail marketing.

Direct mail marketing is a form of advertising that uses physical mail to send information about a company's product or service to consumers' homes. This form of marketing is cost-effective and has the best response rate relative to other customer reach channels.

What's more?

When run properly, a direct mail marketing campaign can be environmentally friendly, making it a great way to reach people that matter to your business while playing your part for the planet's health.

This article covers the direct mail marketing definition and some of the best ways to make your mail campaigns eco-friendly.

What is Direct Mail Marketing?

Direct mail marketing is a strategy businesses use to send mail, typically promotional materials or advertising, to potential customers. Direct mail aims to encourage recipients to purchase the advertised product or service. It's an effective marketing alternative to digital channels.

Why Is Direct Mail Sustainability Trending?

Sustainability has become a hot topic in the direct mail industry. With consumers demanding greener alternatives and companies striving to be more environmentally friendly, eco-friendly direct mail has become an increasingly popular marketing tool.

Here are some of the reasons why eco-friendly direct mail is trending right now:

It's good for business

Today, consumers are more interested in buying from companies that support environmental initiatives. A 2019 NeilsenIQ report revealed that 73% of consumers are willing to change their buying preferences to reduce any adverse effect on the environment. 

People are now more conscious of carbon footprint and pollution. Hence, using eco-friendly solutions in your business will endear you to many consumers and help your bottom line.

It's good for your brand image

Eco-friendly campaigns can help you build a positive reputation and increase trust from customers who want to see companies taking action on environmental issues.

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Businesses want to be on the right side of history

If you want to attract new customers and keep existing ones, you need to offer eco-friendly products or services that appeal to millennials. Why? Because the younger generation is more environmentally conscious than ever before, and they're putting their money where their mouths are.

Businesses actually care about the environment

The implications of non-eco-friendly practices are well understood everywhere. Therefore, some businesses actually care about the environment. It's not something they're doing to save their reputation.

What Can I Do For a Sustainable Direct Mail Campaign?

Direct mail is a proven way to reach your target market, but it does come with some environmental implications. You can help reduce your carbon footprint by taking the following steps:

• Use less paper. Make sure you use the minimum amount of paper needed for your design. For example, if you have a two-sided flyer, don't use two sides of one sheet of paper. Instead, use one side and fold it over to make a double-sided flyer.

• Print on both sides. When printing your mailer, use both sides of the page by printing on one side of the page and then flipping it over before printing on the other side. This can save up to 50% in paper usage!

• Use recycled paper whenever possible. When possible, choose recycled paper products over virgin ones. This will help cut down on resource consumption and reduce the amount of waste after printing and shipping.

• Reuse materials whenever possible. Reusing materials instead of buying new ones will reduce waste disposal costs and fuel consumption associated with transporting new products to warehouses or stores around the country (or world). Before throwing away old flyers or brochures, give them one last chance by using them as packing material.‍
• Use clean address data to prevent failed deliveries. Finally, you can reduce your direct mail campaign carbon footprint by using clean address data to prevent failed deliveries. Cleaning up your mailing list is crucial because it helps you avoid the cost of poor address data. If you don't do so regularly, non-subscribers may receive mailings meant for your customers by mistake and throw them out, putting out a lot of unneeded materials in the environment.

5 Tips on Providing an Eco-Friendly Direct Mail Service

Direct mail marketing services are a great way to promote your business name and engage customers. However, if you're not careful with your direct mail campaign, it can not only be a big waste of money but also cause adverse effects on the environment. 

Here are some tips on how to keep your direct mail efforts eco-friendly:

1. Reduce Mail Volume By Targeting Recipients

The first step toward an eco-friendly direct mail campaign is reducing the number of people receiving your message. 

If you're sending out a general announcement or promotion, send it only to those who may be interested in what you have to say. People want personalized communications, so you should find a way to target only the customers who are ready to hear from you. Connecting direct mail marketing software like Inkit Send may help. Such an automation solution enables businesses to send custom marketing mail based on real-time triggers (e.g., video replay, app download, click, etc.).

2. Choose Your Raw Materials Carefully

Use recycled paper materials, envelopes, and boxes instead of new ones. It's important to show customers that the products you use are not only made from recycled materials but also have a low carbon footprint.

3. Send Postcards Instead Of Letters Or Catalogs

If you send several mail pieces every day, consider switching from standard letter-size envelopes to postcards. This is one of the best direct mail marketing ideas you can adopt. Postcards are easier on the environment and save money on postage too!

4. Encourage Recipients To Recycle Your Marketing Materials.
   Include a request that recipients recycle your marketing materials after using them. This can be as simple as writing "Please recycle this envelope. Thank you!" on the back of the envelope or including a separate note asking recipients to recycle the letter they just read.
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5. Partner With A Direct Mail Provider That Cares About Sustainability.
   Lastly, when researching direct mail marketing companies and direct mail marketing software, make sure that they care about sustainability just as much as you do. You want to work with someone who has experience in this area and knows how to promote environmental awareness within their business practices.

At Inkit, we understand how important it is to keep our planet safe for future generations. This is why we make sure to use only sustainably sourced and recyclable materials in our reach enablement processes. 

We support a mail automation tool that enables businesses to increase mail efficiency and sustainability by sending only trigger-based messages. You won't waste any mail piece with it.

With Inkit, you can easily build and deliver customer communications at scale without worrying about the environmental implications because we care, just as you do.

Want to reach the people that matter to your business with automated direct mail marketing that is efficient and eco-friendly? Try Inkit Send today.

‍Sign up for a free trial.

Final Thoughts

As a marketing channel, direct mail is becoming more and more eco-friendly. It's not just a trend. It's a necessity. Customers demand environmentally friendly products and services, and the companies that can provide them will be rewarded with loyalty. Fortunately, there are ways to make your direct mail more eco-friendly without sacrificing the quality or effectiveness of your campaign. And we have covered some of the top ones in the article. Hope you find them helpful as you plan your next campaign.