Hope Is Not a Strategy: How Digital Marketing Is Wasting Your Money

Mark Hale ‐ July 1, 2025

If you’re a small business owner trying to grow your customer base with digital marketing ads, you’ve probably said this at some point:

“We just need to get more people to click.”

And there it is—the silent killer of countless small business ad budgets. So many are out there hoping—maybe even praying—that someone clicks their ad on Google or Facebook.

But hope and prayer aren’t much of a strategy, especially in a cutthroat marketplace.

You find yourself staring at your Google Ads dashboard or Facebook Business Manager like it’s a slot machine in Vegas. You keep feeding it money…waiting for something—anything—to happen.

And just like in Vegas, cha-ching—the house always wins. Google and Facebook didn’t turn into trillion-dollar giants by accident. They got there because they count on business owners crossing their fingers, thinking, maybe this time someone will click.

Let’s be honest—who do you think these platforms are going to work harder for? Your small business? Or the advertiser down the street with a budget twenty times bigger than yours?

The reality is, most small business digital marketing ends up being nothing but expensive wishful thinking.

You run an ad.

You pay when someone clicks.

And you hope the person who clicked:

Lives in your area
Actually has money to spend
Is ready to buy—not just browsing
Isn’t a competitor or some bot racking up your bill

These days, half the clicks you’re paying for are tire-kickers. Some are bots. Others just “accidentally tapped” your ad. Cha-ching—more easy money for the house.

But here’s the good news: you don’t have to play that game.

Direct mail offers a way out for local business owners who:

Want to reach a specific, local audience with pinpoint targeting
Want to stand out in a noisy, hyper-competitive space
Want real, qualified leads—people who actually care

Direct mail delivers an average ROI of 29%. For local, service-based businesses, it can be even higher.

So why is everyone still chasing clicks like it’s 2009?

Instead of sitting around like a sad puppy waiting for someone to notice your ad…put your message right in your customer’s hands.

Direct Mail: The Lead-Generating Workhorse You Thought Was Dead Is Making a Comeback

No, direct mail isn’t flashy. It doesn’t come with a slick dashboard or a reel set to a trending song.

But you know what it does have?

Control
Precision
Results

With direct mail, you don’t cross your fingers hoping someone finds you. You go straight to them.

You can target:

Exact ZIP codes
Income brackets
Homeowners
Families
Even people who have just moved into your service area

It’s basically like putting a billboard inside their house—but way cheaper.

Why the Mailbox Still Beats the Newsfeed

Here’s a stat that might surprise you:

42% of people read or at least scan direct mail.
Compare that to banner ads, which average a 0.1% click-through rate.
And the lifespan of a typical social media post? About 5 seconds.

That postcard you sent?

It doesn’t disappear.

It sits on the kitchen counter for days.

It gets passed to a spouse.

It ends up pinned to the fridge.

That’s real visibility—not just a fleeting impression sandwiched between memes and political rants.

“But I Boosted the Post!”

I hear this all the time: “I boosted a post and got 1,300 impressions!”

That’s nice. But did anyone actually call you? Did anyone buy something? Or did you just spend fifty bucks entertaining strangers on their lunch break?

Digital marketing ads are great for creating a little activity, but that doesn’t always mean results.

Direct mail, on the other hand, is great at getting your phone to ring.

The Smart Move: Direct Mail + Digital Marketing

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you should toss digital marketing in the trash.

The smart play is to use digital marketing to amplify your direct mail.

Here’s what that looks like:

Send postcards to a targeted neighborhood
Use digital ads (like LeadRX) to follow those same people online
Stay visible in their mailbox and on their screen
When someone visits your website, follow up by mailing a postcard (yes, you can do that with Visitor Match & Mail)

Studies have shown that combining direct mail with digital marketing can boost response rates by 28% and lift conversions by up to 40%.