We presented a video on a previous post from Ford Saeks about direct mailing fundementals. Here is part two of that video series. We found it to be very informative. Enjoy.
Filed under direct mail, direct mail campaign, direct mail tips by on Aug 24th, 2009. Comment. 
One of my biggest irritations in dealing with the post office for the processing of discounted mail is that you are at the mercy of the mail clerk checking your mail. Everyone has good days and bad days. Also, everyone makes mistakes.
The most common mistake is in math. Any mail processed through a bulk mail acceptance unit – standard mail (bulk mail), presorted first class mail, first class mail, periodical mail, media mail, etc. – is checked by weight. To verify that the correct amount of mail is being received, the post office takes 10 pieces and weighs them. From this they determine the per piece weight and then multiply this figure by the total number of pieces there are supposed to be in the mailing. To this figure they add the tare weight allowances for any trays, tubs, lids or sacks plus cages or skids, if any.
As long as the final figure matches the actual total weight on the scale – within the allowance given by the post office – the mail can be accepted. If not, the mail will be rejected. There is an awful lot of math in this process. That means, there is plenty of room for math errors. If you know that everything was processed at your end properly, before taking the mail to the post office, you have the right to request a reweigh and a math review. Unfortunately, some people are capable of making the exact same math mistake twice when they are reviewing their own written numbers.
If you might be wrong because let’s say a printer used 2 different weights of paper, then you’ve got a problem. But, if you know you’re right, speak up and request a supervisor review.
Filed under Arizona mail services, bulk mail, direct mail costs, direct mail tips by on Aug 21st, 2009. Comment.
For sending standard mail – what used to be called bulk mail – the post office has only 2 sizes. Mail is either letter size or non-letter size. The dividing line is larger or smaller than 6-1/8” x 11-1/2” x ¼” thick. The aspect ratio (length divided by height) must also be in the range of 1.3 to 2.5. This latter criterion makes all square mail non-letter size.
One of the biggest changes the post office has made is in the acceptance and design of non-letter size mail – the larger pieces. And the consequences can be staggering.
It used to be that non-letter size mail could be designed in practically any fashion and receive some form of discounted postage rates. Not anymore. Now, mail must be laid out so the mailing address is in the top half of the mail piece. And, regardless of whether the mail piece runs horizontal or vertical, the top half is always defined by the vertical direction. That is to say, if the mail piece is a 9”x12” envelope and the envelope is designed so that the address runs across the 12” side, the top half of the envelope for post office purposes is still regarded by folding the 12” side in half.
The consequence for not following this design: pay full first class postage prices. There is no give on this issue. There is no in between postage rates available. And local post offices may not issue letters of exception. If someone wishes to get a letter of exception, they must send a request to a central processing facility in New York and this could take some time, time which most direct mailers do not have.
Moral: If you want to send non-letter size mail at discounted rates, be sure to follow the post office’s design specs.
Filed under US Postal Service, direct mail campaign, direct mail costs, direct mail tips by on Aug 12th, 2009. Comment.
We found a great video for you that talks about the benefits of direct mail and the successful strategies related to it. Enjoy!
Filed under direct mail, direct mail campaign, direct mail tips, targeting your market by on Aug 7th, 2009. Comment.
Generally speaking, it is not wise to bring a mailing into the Post Office for processing right before a holiday. The Post Office tends to run a skeleton crew the day before the holiday, especially when the holiday falls on a Monday or Friday as most of them do. The net effect of this is that if you bring a mailing in for processing, it will likely sit until the first working day after the holiday.
Further, when the postal employees come in to work the first day after the holiday, they start helping new customers and, to nobody’s surprise, the new mail is put on top of the mail that was brought in before the holiday. As is human custom, the mail that is worked first is the mail that is on top.
Therefore, mail that is brought in after the holiday is usually worked and processed before the mail that was brought in just before the holiday. Bottom Line: try to avoid bringing mail in for processing to the Post Office until just after the holiday. If you have the time, I highly recommend waiting until the second working day after the holiday – this ensures timely processing of your mail.
Filed under direct mail, direct mail tips, mailing schedule by on Jul 3rd, 2009. Comment.
When planning a mailing to take advantage of postage discounts, every piece must weigh exactly the same. The reason for this is that when mail is brought in for acceptance, it is weighed in as a total. Ten pieces are then counted and weighed. From this, the math is done to see if the total weight presented is within 1% of the weight calculated. Since you are allowed only a 1% margin for error, you really need to make sure each piece weighs the same.
Some of the items that can wreak havoc with this are:
The printer ran out of the desired paper stock in the middle of a job and substituted another. The paper might have the same desired look/feel as the original, but the weight is off.
A note pad is included with each mailing and the sheets are not counted out to be exac. Sometimes there’s 1 or 2 extra or under sheets. Remember, the post office calculates what the weight ought to be based on only a handful of 10 pieces – which weight are those 10?
Who doesn’t love their pet? We once had a client who’d written a book about pets and did a mailing to several thousand dog owners. Inside each envelope we placed a whole dog bone. Do you know that a fish variety and a liver variety weight differently? What a nightmare!
And then there were the Red Rocks of Sedona to send home. Like every single rock is going to weigh the same.
Or the spa that mailed small packets of lavender bath salts. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get equal measurements on that! This would not be a great idea anymore due to possible anthrax look-alike. You want to make sure whatever you mail can be received and not confiscated.
The bottom line – plan a mailing that can all be the same. There are plenty of ways to be unique without having to worry about weight.
Filed under direct mail costs, direct mail tips, direct mail weight by on Jul 1st, 2009. Comment.
The most important part of marketing your business is finding new ways to capture prospects and turn them into paying customers. We have given you some ideas, such as postcards but there is more to it than just mailing out something. You have to have a proven system.
In this post, we will go into a direct mail campaign. If you are a small business owner, this system works like a charm. This allows you to direct your prospects to a particular response mechanism. This could be in the form of a response form to fill out and send back, a phone number to call back to take advantage of a time sensitive offer, or direction to a website in order to purchase a product or service.
What you will need for a simple direct mail campaign:
1) a prospect list
2) a response mechanism (i.e. phone number, web page, form, etc.)
3) collateral materials
Purpose
It is most important to outline the purpose of your direct mail campaign. Do you want to expand your leads list? Do you want to retain current customers from your existing list? Do you want to make sales now? Once your purpose has been decided, then plan out your process accordingly. It is quite simple, really.
Additional Tips
Determine a timeline of your campaign. Make sure you have a way to measure results. Set a starting budget that would include postage, paper, printing, list rental, and any outsource services.
In today’s marketing climate, it has proven that coupling telemarketing as a response vehicle can dramatically raise salse conversion rates.
In future posts, we will reveal successful case studies of this simple method of effective marketing.
Filed under direct mail, direct mail campaign, direct mail tips, telemarketing by on Jun 26th, 2009. Comment.
We found a great source for hot tips when doing direct mail. Although many are common sense tips, we found the mailing to vendors as well as customers and measuring ROI to be our favorites.
You can find the tips here:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/marketing/guerillamarketing/article193436.html
Please make a comment here and let us know what best works for you on your direct mail projects.
Filed under direct mail tips, targeting your market by on Jun 15th, 2009. Comment.