Direct mail and e-mail remain the most commonly used media by direct marketers, with more than half using each, according to The Direct Marketing Association’s recently released 2010 Response Rate Report. Marketers spent $149.3 billion on direct marketing in 2009, accounting for 54.3% of all ad expenditures in the US, according to the report. One reason why direct mail continues to be a go-to strategy for direct marketers is that improvements in printing and database technology as well as analytics have allowed direct mail and other offline media to deliver consistent response rates. The response rate for a letter-sized direct mail piece was 3.42% for a house list and 1.38% for a prospect list in the 2010 report. This compares with response rates of 3.33% and 1.71%, respectively, in the 2006 report. Catalogs also continue to be an effective way for retailers to reach existing customers, according to the report. Response rates for catalogs sent to a house list went up in 2010 to 4.92% from 3.56% in 2006. For those sent to a prospect list, the response rate was 0.84% compared with 1.74% in 2006. While telephone marketing had the highest response rate of any direct marketing mechanism covered in the report, it also had the highest cost per order or lead. Catalogs, on the other hand, had the lowest average cost per order/lead, which was $47.61. The cost per order/lead was $47.69 for inserts, $53.69 for e-mail and $75.32 for postcards. Of the specific industries reviewed in the report, the publishing, media & entertainment and retail segments had the highest volumes of direct mail use while financial services and nonprofit respondents strongly preferred direct mail over other media. The DMA's Response Rate Report is based on a survey of marketers and marketing services suppliers that had 473 respondents. The report covers direct mail, email, paid search, Internet display ads, telephone marketing, mobile display and SMS ads and DRTV.