Direct marketing is partially about having a complete profile of your customers so you can understand their needs, their demands and the best way to sell to them. In a mailing campaign, it's possible to boost success by taking the time to break your lists into different demographic groups and target them based on interest or past buying history.

Bob Frye writes for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that direct mail has most recently proven its prowess when it comes to stirring people's interest in outdoor sports. He points to data from the National Shooting Sports Foundation about its campaign to get New York license holders to renew their credentials. With 50,000 licenses about to expire in the state, the group sent a reminder and received a return of 2.3 percent, or $47,786 in revenue, Frye says.

More companies are now trying out the tactic. Frye notes that the recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation is working with agencies at the state level to spur more anglers and boaters to renew their own expired or unused licenses with a direct mail campaign.