Direct marketing is a form of marketing that involves communicating directly with customers and potential customers to promote products or services without the use of an advertising middleman. It is a strategy that relies on distributing a sales pitch to individual consumers through various channels such as mail, email, social media, texting, phone calls, and targeted online display ads. Direct marketing is called "direct" because it generally eliminates the middleman, such as advertising media.

Direct marketing is designed to generate an immediate response from consumers, where each consumer response (and purchase) can be measured and attributed to individual advertisements. The call to action is a common factor in much of direct marketing. While some marketing techniques aim to increase awareness or educate markets about a companys products or services, direct marketings sole goal is to persuade the recipient to take action.

Common forms of direct marketing include brochures, catalogs, fliers, newsletters, postcards, coupons, emails, targeted online display ads, phone calls, and text messages. Direct marketing is an effective way for a company to build and maintain brand awareness and raise interest in products and services. It is also a powerful way to promote what a business does by reaching out to people without the distractions and oversight of a middleman.

Advantages of direct marketing include the ability to target specific audiences, measure the effectiveness of campaigns, and generate immediate responses from consumers. However, direct marketing is limited to communicating with people who have explicitly agreed to be marketed to, such as those who have signed up for email marketing campaigns.

In summary, direct marketing is a promotional method that involves presenting information about a company, product, or service to a target customer without the use of an advertising middleman. It is designed to generate an immediate response from consumers and is delivered through various channels such as mail, email, social media, texting, phone calls, and targeted online display ads. Direct marketing is an effective way for a company to build and maintain brand awareness and raise interest in products and services.