Today was no exception. I have been talking for years about the importance of applying direct marketing techniques to Internet marketing (and to search marketing in particular), and I think I always assumed that folks with direct marketing skills were being snapped up by savvy interactive marketing firms.

Sad to say, my experience today leads me to believe that online marketers are missing the boat.

I spoke to several direct marketers this morning who are looking for new positions. It looks like the cost of direct mail and catalogs might be starting to shrink the investment in traditional direct marketing, which I expected, but what I did not expect is that these experienced direct marketers might have trouble moving over to the new online world.

If I ran a digital marketing company, I would jump at the chance to hire direct marketers to run my Internet marketing. I am always hearing people complain about how expensive these skilled online marketers are, and how tough it is to find them. A smart interactive marketer would hire a few direct mail veterans and train them in a couple of months and have a much lower-priced crew of very loyal Web marketers.

Direct marketers understand in their bones what Internet marketing is about—response. And they understand the idea of measuring everything. And experimenting and testing until you get the best conversion possible. They just need to be shown how to translate all that experience into the online world.

I don't know why no one is doing this. If you never thought of it before, now you've lost that excuse.