In an era when online campaigns dominate, particularly for technology marketers, it's tempting to dismiss any facet of a proposed marketing program that suggests the target audience go "offline".

More and more, clients are requesting that all response options be limited to the Web, namely by:

• eliminating mail-back reply devices (a BRC, or similar) from direct mail, and
• offering "download only" options on the response Web page

First, reply cards. If you pre-personalize your reply card or reply form with the recipient's name and address block, as you should, then you're not only providing another option for that reader, but an alternative that's less work (and therefore more appealing) than going online, typing in a URL, and filling out an online form in its entirety.

Second, downloads. It's tempting to assume, once a person is at your landing page, that downloading your free software, or white paper, or whatever, is no great inconvenience. But not everyone thinks like you. And some subset of your audience, no matter how tech-savvy, may well prefer to check a box and request that the information be mailed to them hard copy. (Maybe they just have a slow connection, or the department printer is too far away, or their IT department frowns on downloads.)

This all harkens back to two fundamental truisms of direct marketing:

1. give your reader every possible option with which to respond, and
2. make that response as easy and convenient as possible