Direct mail can be a very profitable marketing channel for the small business owner. With much emphasis on website and search engine marketing, many companies have forgotten the power of a strong direct mail package to pull in quality leads and convert prospects into customers. This article outlines four tips for ensuring direct mail success.

There are basically two types of direct mail lists; rentals lists and house lists. The reason you rent a list is to bring new prospects into your business. A list rental, when purged of any existing prospects or customers, is a list of suspects. A suspect is someone you think might be interested in your products or services, but you aren't sure.

Your goal for any suspect mailing is not to sell – it's to convert them into a viable prospect by building up their trust and confidence. If you immediately put on the hard sell for a suspect, chances are good that you'll be ignored. Good suspect mailings will give away a free report, product sample or service trial in exchange for contact information like an email or address.

A house list is simply your current list of prospects, first-time buyers and repeat buyers. You should split your house list into these three areas and come up with the most compelling offer for each group. Your house prospects have shown an interest in your products and services but haven't made that all important first purchase. Make them a deal they can't refuse. For your buyers, concentrate on upselling and cross-selling complementary products.

If you can't track it, don't do it. Make sure your direct mail piece contains a way to track whether the customer took action. If you don't do this, you will never know if your mailing had an impact.

Here are three suggestions for tracking your direct mail promotions.

1. Mail a postcard that contains a promo code that must be brought into your retail store.

2. If your business is web based, use a unique promotion code that must be entered at your website when redeeming the offer.

3. If you are referring people back to your website, send them to a special page your regular web visitors can't access.

Remember, the more you can track and measure, the more you can adjust in order to create a more effective mailing the next time.

What exactly is your call to action? Make it clear to your customer what it is you want them to do and make sure your offer is clear and compelling. Below are some ideas to get you going.

- Free product trial

- Discount on product or service for limited time

- Free consultation

- Free report for download at your website

Make sure you capture everyone's contact information so you can add it to your database. On your website, this can be as simple as having them fill out a contact form before redeeming the direct mail offer.

Direct mail is a great way to supplement a strong ecommerce marketing program. In addition, using your website to capture new suspect contact info is a great way to combine direct mail and web communication channels.