Interesting Facts About Sales Letters and Direct Mail:

o Canadians receive, on average, 300 pieces of direct mail each year, which is less than
half the amount Americans receive.
o Canadian response rates are significantly higher. The US Direct Marketing association
(DMA) puts the figures at 3-4% average response in Canada, as compared to 1-2% in the
USA.
o 95% of all households search through their postal mail daily and 63% said they enjoy
getting catalogs and mailings.
o Direct mail readership is on the rise: 76% of adults surveyed read direct mail, up from 72%
in 2002.
o With limited Canadian TV & radio stations, direct mail is the largest grossing media
with 22.4% of Canadian advertising dollars. A survey by ADMA suggests that 74 per
cent of people are happy to receive information from companies.
o When receiving a piece of direct advertising, 46 per cent of people acted on a personally
addressed piece of mail, 26 per cent on an email and 24 per cent on non-personalized mail.
o Consumers like direct mail. Almost half bought something in response to a mailing
piece last year, compared with 16% for e-mail, according to a Yankelovich survey.