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In these days of social media and digital marketing, direct mail may seem old fashioned. But it still works—and insurance agents can get great results from a strong direct mail campaign. In fact, it might even work better than it did in the past. As more companies focus on digital marketing, your mailing has more of a chance to stand out.

Here are some tips for making sure you get the most out of every direct mail campaign.

Size matters. Executing an entire direct mail campaign can seem costly compared to a digital marketing campaign.

However, there are lots of ways to keep your costs down. One way is to choose a small postcard campaign as your first. Go with a 4x6 postcard, reduce your mailing costs, and send it out to a highly targeted list. If you get great results, scale it up!

Your list needs to be high quality. Because of the higher up-front costs of direct mail, it’s especially important to make sure every mailer is going to the right person. Ensure your contact information is up to date, the demographics of your recipients are the right ones, and that these are motivated buyers—based on their previous history of doing business with you, how they originally got in touch, what they’ve expressed interest in, and other key information.

It's also essential to be sure the people on your list need the type of insurance you’re advertising. It’s a waste of time and money to try to sell renter’s insurance to a homeowner, for example, or boat and yacht insurance to someone who doesn’t have a boat.

Make it clear what action you want the recipient to take. What do you want people to do when they receive this mailer, if they react to it as planned? Call you for a consultation? Go to your website for a free quote? Sign up to your newsletter? Each action has its own purpose—and fits in at a different point in your sales cycle.

Invest in your copy and design. Great design is eye-catching and ensures that your mailer catches the recipient’s attention. Branding consistency is also important. But it’s just as important to invest in your copy. You need writing that persuades people to take the action you want them to take.

Your opening message should resonate with your recipient in an emotional, compelling way. It’s a tall order, especially when you have a small space in which to work. That’s why it’s so important to work with a professional.

A well-crafted direct mail campaign can still pull in outstanding results—even now, in our age of digital marketing. Invest in your design, branding and copy, make sure your list is well targeted, and try a smaller mailing before investing in a large-scale campaign—and you should be able to hit on a winning formula.