Q4 2022 Direct Mail Volumes Surpass 5 Billion

This month's edition of the SeQuel Standard features the biggest direct mail trends from Q4 2022, and how to balance the risk and reward of campaign testing to limit risk, increase reach, and stay in the game.

Direct Mail Volume & Trends Report: Q4 2022

Early industry data shows direct marketers mailed more than 5.6 billion pieces in Q4 2022. This brings 2022’s total marketing direct mail volume to 33.5 billion pieces – a slight decrease of 0.4% from 2021 volumes. The USPS reported delivering a total of?127.3 billion units ?of mail in 2022.

“This year’s total direct mail advertising volume is slightly under 2021 totals,” said Patrick Carroll, Director of Sales & Strategy at SeQuel Response. “As consumer demand for various products and services varies, it is common to see numbers change across industries. So, the volume of mail isn't necessarily decreasing much; rather, it's being divided differently among the sectors. It just goes to show that direct mail can work for all different kinds of brands as different industries are getting a chance to shine. Last year opened new doors for many brands, and we expect direct mail volumes to continue to shift as the world around us does.”

Learn more about this quarter's top mailers, channel trends, and creative insights on our infographic found here .

As Seen on AdWeek: Balance the Risk and Reward of Campaign Testing

There are no free moves in performance marketing, only tradeoffs.

As a marketer, you’re under constant pressure to push the envelope in terms of growth and ROI, with the added squeeze to deliver immediate results. You’re spending hours carefully electing which channel and strategy to test—a significant challenge when you have hundreds of both to choose from.

Enter the performance marketer’s dilemma. To find the perfect balance of short-term growth and long-term plays, you must test. Frequent and broad testing (whether that be channels, offers, creatives, lists or price points) will increase your odds of securing higher sales rates, lower CPAs, increased lifetime value and more. The tradeoff: Increased testing means higher costs, greater risks, longer turn times, and sometimes, failure. This gets especially tricky in?times of uncertainty .

Want to keep reading? Click here to find out how shifting your testing strategy for growth can help you navigate the direct marketer's dilemma.

Subscribe to?The SeQuel Standard ?to never miss the most recent direct response marketing news.