Given the growing number of firms that use direct mail, it is important to develop methods to improve response rates. Better selection methods are useful for this improvement; determining the important characteristics of the mailing and constructing an optimal design is another way to improve the response. In this paper we focus on the latter. A framework is presented to obtain the optimal direct mail design. We propose and compare two ways of data collection, one in an experimental setting and one in a field‐experimental setting. Both approaches are illustrated with an empirical application for a charity institution, referring to the development of an optimal design of an envelope and a letter.
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