CASL and Direct Mail Marketing: What You Should Know

With the recent introduction of CASL—Canada Anti-Spam Law—digital marketers will have to be careful when targeting prospects and customers. The new law attempts to not only curb the relay of unsolicited emails to prospects, but also control all commercial electronic messages (CEM) that businesses intend to send out.

While this may seem like a serious setback for marketers who are largely dependent on digital marketing, it may actually promote lead generation and boost sales as companies redirect their budgets to alternative proven marketing strategies, such as direct mailing.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when making the shift from email to direct mailing:

• You can still send emails, text messages, instant messages, and other forms of digital content, provided the recipients have given their consent, and you can prove it. The contact information may be obtained through an email signup form on your blog, website, or social media page.
• The emails must contain an unsubscribe link that is easy to find and valid for 60 days. Your name, business, phone number, email address, and web address must be clearly visible. Moreover, the content must be relevant to the subject line.
• Sort out your current email list by removing any email addresses you’re not certain about how they were obtained, and consider using a signup form for your subscribers to reconfirm their opt-in status.
• Consider using a Customer Relationship Management system to obtain a list of client and prospect addresses. Since this may take a bit of time, you may purchase a direct mail list for the region you’re targeting.
• Create personalized mail pieces depending on the attributes of your target to ensure the message is relevant to the recipient. Rather than simply distributing your mail items to all addresses in a given area, customize the message for a subset of your target recipients, such as your loyal customers, former clients, or prospects, and give them a memorable message.
• Use direct mail to build your email list. Ideally, direct mailing should be used as part of a larger marketing strategy for maximum impact. You could use mail pieces to direct recipients to your social media page, a local event, or your website, where they can opt-in to receive commercial or promotional emails from your business.
• Keep in mind that many marketers will be switching to direct mail marketing. To standout from the rest, get creative with your mail pieces, by using unique themes, unusual packaging, or coupons and discounts.

With stricter email marketing rules posed by CASL, direct mailing offers one of the strongest and most cost-effective ways to reach customers and prospects, build your email list again, and reduce the risk of incurring severe penalties for spamming.

Interested in adding direct mail marketing to your advertising mix? Please call our Toronto mailing house at 1-866-486-0423. Troi spells success, one letter at a time!