Direct mail. I’m not talking about the digital but the physical. You know, old skool — the kind that lands in your desk’s in-tray and not your computer’s inbox.

Is there still a place for printed mailers?

When your inbox is continuously stuffed to the brim with notices and click-me links, a physical piece of mail can sometimes come as a welcome relief. Print can be a novelty, something that stands out from the digital clamour. I can remember the days when I was getting excited over an email popping through, no matter who it was from. Much of the paper post was getting speed tracked off the desk and into the wastebasket. Nowadays that has all been turned on its head. So I was looking to create something that would exploit the rekindled novelty of the paper mailer.

The problem with many printed mailers is the issue of personalisation. Generic is rarely satisfying for the recipient, primarily if your business is based on a custom service. So for me, the solution was to produce something that could be tailored to each client. A traditional bound brochure was not going to cut it. I needed the flexibility of digital but with the permanence and credibility of print.

format choice

So I drew inspiration from Pantone’s colour swatch books, recognising the format would allow swapping out pages rather than being tied to a permanent bound brochure. DL (third A4) size was used as a balance between allowing the pages to fan out nicely and having enough room to display images and text. Trial and error were made on the selection of binding post/screw and in the end, I settled on white plastic 3mm capacity to anchor the pages in place.

A 6mm hole punch was used to punch through the corner along with a round corner cutter to finish off. Depending on the weight of paper/card that is used for the pages 5 or more can be bound with the 3 mm deep binding screw/post, obviously greater capacity could be added if a 6 mm or more was used.

The swatch book was then packaged in a black card DL size box to upscale the presentation and finished off with a full-colour sticky label on the lid.

Finishing touches

So there you have it. A fully customisable, physical direct mail solution. Print as many pages as you want. Select the most relevant ones for the client you are sending it to. Add an intro letter pasted the inside lid of the DL box (I quite like the retro style implied by doing this and reminds me of the time when you would get a board game with the instructions on the inside of the lid). Throw in a business card and an invite to browse your website, and you’re good to go.

While you cannot guarantee a response from the mailer, you will have IMHO a greater chance of standing out from someone’s overstuffed email inbox, not least by the fact of the slight novelty form factor but mainly for the target customisation of the content on the pages.