You’ve heard of the “dopamine effect?” The “experts” (psychologists, etc.) say that it’s what is to blame for addiction—anything from alcohol to a “Like” on one’s Facebook post—and how people go back to these things over and over, in hope of getting that same pleasurable feeling again.

Simply, dopamine is a chemical in the body which is said to affect our emotions, movement and the sensation of pleasure. The theory is that when certain things happen in life, dopamine is released in the brain, and it makes you feel good or it motivates physical activity.

The “experts” say that the dopamine effect is what’s behind “smartphone addiction,” “social media addiction,” and “video game addiction.” (We suspect that the experts might be addicted to identify new addictions.)

The dopamine effect may or may not be a real thing. For our purposes, it’s just a handy analogy to describe the feeling of pleasure we experience when we get something we want.

Perhaps people just like what they like and so they want more of it. We’re not sure. But one thing we are sure of is that people don’t visit their mailboxes everyday because they’re addicted to getting another bill.

And most people do check their mailboxes daily. The U.S. Postal Service found that 98.6% of Americans bring their mail in and read it every day.

Why? Perhaps it’s the same reason that they check Facebook 20 times a day to see if anyone liked or commented on that video they posted of a German Shepherd saying “I love you.” They need that “hit” of attention, recognition, and communication.

So, dopamine or not, there is an addiction problem and it’s rampant—a national epidemic.

The only humane thing that a responsible marketer can do is…send more direct mail to people.

Direct mail doesn’t just help promote your business; it makes people feel good, too. It brings them pleasure and happiness.

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Yes, that was all a bit tongue-in-cheek.

Look at it this way: Americans are out there, every day, picking up their mail. A recent Postal Service report called “The Mail Moment” found that Americans spend up to 30 minutes a day going through their mail and reading it.

So send them something. You’ll make their day, and it’s an opportunity for your business to truly be seen.

Some of our clients are addicted to the flexibility of being able to design and mail postcards wherever there’s a WiFi connection. Log on to ProspectsPLUS at www.prospectsplus.com/pei, to access our customizable design templates and prospect-targeting tools.

Our other clients are addicted to our full-service outlet, Opportunity Knocks. Give us a call at 1 (866) 319-7109 and let’s discuss your customers and your marketing goals. We’ve created successful postcard campaigns for thousand of businesses in nearly every industry.