Direct mail will always work to some degree. But there are some instances where other forms of advertising, such as magazine, newspaper, television or radio, will work more to your advantage.
One example came to light recently. A group is trying to locate individual investors to back a rising and promising sports figure (a person, not a horse). They need $500,000 and are willing to sell shares in minimum $10,000 blocks.
Where do you find these high-risk investors? A list of people who read sports magazines will generate a lot of young, average income non-investors who couldn't spare $100, let alone $10,000. A list of high income individuals will eventually yield the needed investors, but you'll need to spend all your money just to find the one in 50,000 interested in backing your venture. At an average cost of 50 per mailer, you're going to lose your shirt fast.
A better method would be to advertise in USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times or one of the few broad-spectrum investment papers or magazines. Investors look through these publications daily, so you're going to get the readership you want. And the average reader is going to have, or know someone who can get, the type of money to invest at the risk level this venture is going to require.
At a cost of $2,000 to $5,000 (or less) for the ad, you're going to get several dozen bona fide requests for more information. Instead of spending several thousand dollars to develop each lead, your cost per inquiry will be down to about $100 each, assuming you've created the ad with enough drawing power to catch the right prospects' eyes. And at $100 per inquiry, you should be able to generate enough investment money to make your efforts worthwhile.
Direct mail is a worthwhile venture for most selling efforts, but occasionally there's a better avenue. This is one of them.