Insurance agents have been using direct mail to market to leads for decades. But that doesn’t mean it works for everyone.

In fact, the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) found that direct mail designed to generate leads only garnered a 1.43% average response rate in 2005. That means for every hundred mailers you send out, you’ll be lucky to get just one response.

Industry reports pin the lagging results on the flood of direct mail advertisements currently bombarding consumers. With so many offers filling their mailboxes, your prospects are simply tuning it all out.

In response, many insurance agents are abandoning direct mail in favor of internet leads. Is it the right choice for you?

Internet Leads And Direct Mail Face Off

Here are 4 basic ways the two marketing strategies stack up.

1. Are Leads Interested? The best leads actually need insurance, and are interested in hearing your offer.
   1. Direct Mail: The lead gets your unsolicited direct mail piece… along with a whole lot of offers for credit cards and loans.
   2. Internet Leads: Your lead goes online to find insurance information and request a rate quote. If they match your pre-set criteria, their info is instantly sent to you.

2. Turn-around. The time between the launch of your campaign and when a lead responds leaves them wide-open to your competition.
   1. Direct Mail: If your lead does respond, it can take them days or weeks after you’ve begun your campaign.
   2. Internet Leads: You get a lead seconds after they requested an insurance quote online.
3. Reliable Lead Generation. To keep your business growing steadily, you have to have a steady flow of incoming insurance leads.
1. Direct Mail: The response rate for your direct mail is tied to your offer, the design, the copy and the timing. Just one mistake can make your entire campaign a bust.
2. Internet Leads: Your lead generation company does all the marketing work for you. All you have to do is select how many leads you need.
4. Return On Investment. This is what really determines the success of your campaign.
   1. Direct Mail: How many policies are you able to credit to your last campaign? Did you write enough to cover printing and postage costs AND still see a profit?
   2. Internet Leads: With a small cost per lead, you can pay for your entire campaign just by writing one policy.

Would you like to learn more about how to create an effective campaign with internet leads? Talk to a Lead Specialist now.

You can keep learning the latest marketing strategies for insurance agents by checking out our Insurance Marketing Resources.