Grow Your Small Business with Direct Mail

Direct mail seems to be a thing of the past. But it isn’t and it still works. In fact, it outperforms digital marketing by a staggering 600%.

The total mail volume attributed to direct mail has grown year by year, making up a whopping 57% of mail in 2014 (page 71 of the DMA Statistical Fact Book). The companies sending direct mail are tapped in to its powerful benefits that other channels like social and email can’t provide on their own. They understand that with better targeting, direct mail is well worth the investment, boasting a 4.4% response rate in comparison to email’s 0.12% response rate (according to Direct Marketing News).

There are lots of direct mail options for growing your business. You can stay with tried and true formats, or branch out into more unique pieces to get even more attention. You can also add different attributes to your direct mail piece to increase engagement and drive better results.

Direct Mail Postcards

Postcards have been in use for a long time, and they stick around for a reason–they work. These small, flat mailers are a budget friendly solution for small businesses looking to try direct mail marketing. Don’t let the low cost make you think postcards aren’t high dollar enough to get the job done.

Among all types of mail pieces, postcards are the most likely to be read, with 51% of all recipients reading them (page 73 of the DMA Statistical Fact Book). Simple tweaks like special effects or a well-crafted message can take your postcards to the next level to increase engagement rate and response.

Every Door Direct Mail

Every Door Direct Mail, or EDDM, is a United States Postal Service program that allows you to have flat mailers delivered to specific neighborhoods using carrier routes. You don’t need to have a list of these addresses, you just choose a route and the US Post Office delivers your mailers to every house or business (or both) on the route.

EDDM is great for local businesses like retail, health clinics, restaurants, real estate, or any other business with a broad enough offering to appeal to entire portions of your local community. You can select who to target based on residence type, median income, age and more to make sure your offer reaches the right audience.

Door Hangers

While postcards are a great option, there are some other distinct printed pieces that really grab the attention of potential customers. One of the most unique options you have are door hangers. Door hangers are exactly what they sound like, a piece of advertising for your business that hangs from a potential customer’s door.

Door hangers never go into the mailbox, so they aren’t shuffled in with the other direct mail pieces. They really standout–you simply can’t ignore them. They are so effective they run the risk of upsetting some customers – so make them relevant. One popular use is to print coupons on the door hanger. They are great for restaurants or local retailers targeting a specific geographical area.

Stickers and Magnets

When you think direct mail, stickers and magnets may not immediately come to mind. But they’re some of the most appreciated print pieces your customers can get. What makes products like these so valuable is their staying power. While postcards and flyers are great, they get tossed quickly.

Magnets, however, get put on a fridge and seen every time your potential customer goes to grab the milk. This is extremely important as most potential customers need to be exposed to your brand at least seven times before they can recall it. Stickers pose the same benefits. Not only do these having staying power, they’re interactive. As the recipient peels the plastic layer off the back and decides which item to adorn with the sticker, they’re having an experience with your brand.

Grow Your Brand With Sensory Marketing

The power of direct mail lies in the form itself. Every fold and fiber creates a tangible experience that makes more of an impact than skimming an email on a screen. Marketers call this sensory marketing. It’s the art of tapping into a person’s senses to create an experience.

The more senses you can engage, the more powerful the experience. While email and social are convenient, they only access a person’s visuals. Direct mail, on the other hand (quite literally) stimulates a person’s sense of sight, touch, and hearing. If you go the extra mile with scented inks, you can even engage their sense of smell. Talk about an all-encompassing brand experience.

Grow Your Business with Custom Print Effects

Custom print effects like metallic inks or scratch-off interactions are a great way to get your print piece noticed and rise above the competition. You can choose from an array of effects to create a distinct mailer. This can be as simple as a custom fold that elevates your piece above a flat mailer, or a die cut that creates custom shapes instead of a standard straight edge.

Some of the most popular custom effects today are foil printing and embossing. These effects communicate a fresh, modern feel and an understanding of contemporary design. You can learn more about all of these custom print features here.

No matter which pieces you choose, direct mail is marketing your customers will find hard to ignore. It demands interaction. If designed well, it stands out in a sea of digital noise. When you are ready to grow your business with direct mail, Printing for Less can help. Put our 20 years of experience to work for you!

Direct Mail Service Options

Navigating postal regulations and marketing your business with direct mail can seem like an overwhelming undertaking. Fortunately, a little knowledge can go a long way toward demystifying the mélange of mailing service options for successful marketing campaigns.

Making Cents out of Direct Mail

The good news is you don’t have to tackle the mailing process on your own. Many of the tasks can be accomplished with state-of-the-art mailing service production equipment and software. And the best news is that it can actually save you time and money to get expert help with your mailing project.

From securing a target list to personalizing your greetings, mailing services go beyond just addressing and delivering your pieces to the post office. Professional print and mail houses can do the bulk of the execution on your mailing, leaving you to concentrate on the target market, messaging and timing of your direct mail campaign. To make it even easier and faster, find a printer like us that also mails for a one-stop shop.

You’ll find the following types of mailing services available to help make your mailing a breeze:

• Mailing List Rental – Rent a list of names and addresses for single or repeat mailings
• List Processing and CASS Certification – This service cleans up the duplicates and identifies any potentially undeliverable addresses in your mailing list. Learn more in our related article about address quality and why a clean mailing list is the foundation of a successful mailing.
• Addressing – Tired of messing with address labels and licking stamps? For just pennies a piece, we can ink-jet the destination address, return address and mailing indicia all at once using high-speed addressing machines.
• Variable data – Customize your mail pieces with personalized greetings, offers or sequential numbering either during or instead of the addressing process.
• Inserting and tabbing – The latest technology makes it easier than ever to insert cards, letters or multiple pieces into envelopes and tab or seal folded brochure mailers.

Postal Services Simplified

Have you wondered just what the difference between First Class and USPS Marketing Mail (formerly known as bulk mail or Standard) mail really is? It’s more than just the cost of the postage and speed of delivery. Your local post office is a blur of industrial automation. To make it easier to handle and sort your mail, the USPS offers incentives for making your mail piece machine-friendly and waiting a few extra days for delivery.

For help with laying out your mailing piece to comply with postal regulations, see our U.S. Mail Layout Guides or give us a call today for a free consultation at 800-930-2423.

Mailing Service Endorsements Serve You

While the term may not be familiar, the concept should be. Service endorsements are instructions to the USPS on what to do with your mail if it can’t be delivered. Two of the most common endorsements are:

• Return Service Requested – The mail piece will be returned to the sender with a sticker showing the new address or reason for non-delivery
• Temporary Return Service Requested – The undeliverable mail piece will be forwarded to the new address if the recipient filed a temporary change-of-address request

There is no charge for these services if you mail with either First Class option. For Standard or USPS Marketing Mail, (formerly known as Standard Mail or bulk mail), you’ll receive the returned piece and pay a First Class rate plus a nominal charge for the service. If you want to reach more of your recipients and keep your addresses updated, these endorsements will serve you well.

Size it Right for the Best Postage Rates

Size matters when it comes to sorting mail with machines. The USPS^® has grouped mail into four size types. While there are complex calculations used to determine the size of your mail piece, here are a few guidelines that relate to most business mail:

• Postcard Rate – 4 ½ x 5 ½ and 4 x 6 postcards qualify for this postage rate
• Letter Rate – at least 3 ½” high x 5″ wide but not more than 6 ⅛” high x 11 ½” wide
• Large Envelopes and Flats – bigger than a letter but not more than 12″ high x 15″ wide
• Packages – for everything else. If your mail piece isn’t a postcard, letter or flat, then it’s considered a package.

Thickness and shape also factor into mailing service rates. If you’re using an especially thick paper or non-standard shape, your piece may not qualify for lower rates. Discuss your needs with our mailing services team to ensure that your design will meet your mailing budget.

Personalized Printing and Direct Mail

Personalized Direct Mail

Call Them by Name

There is magic in a person’s name. Seeing or hearing our name attracts and demands our attention. Put a name in print and its persuasive power is multiplied. That is why personalized direct mail is such a powerful sales and marketing medium. And with today’s digital printing technology, the scope of personalization is limitless. Marketers have the power to personalize every aspect of every piece in the direct mail campaign. That includes pictures, pitches, charts and graphs, and anything else that might cater to the individual. Research shows the greater personalization, the better the results. “Sixty-one percent of consumers in a recent InfoTrends study stated a preference for direct mail, nearly triple the amount who preferred receiving ads via e-mail,” DM News reported. “The study investigates consumer behavior and preferences and reviews print provider expectations and plans as well as the plans of those who generate these documents. Within this category, personalized direct mail with messages and offers designed to reflect the consumer’s needs and interests were most favored.”

Personalized Printing Secures a Law School’s Future Success

One of the nation’s top private law schools needed to boost enrollments. Its marketing agency recommended a personalized direct mail campaign. The twist: prospective students would receive business cards, linking their name to a specific legal career, thereby demonstrating the lucrative possibilities for prospects who attend the law school. A total of 15,000 high school seniors with superior SAT scores received the mailing. Over 9% of them responded, more than filling the school’s freshman quota. The personalized direct mail campaign was so successful it was repeated by the school the following year, and it looks to be a perennial promotion for the institution. “The campaign is the ultimate in capitalizing on the persuasive power of personalization in print,” said a spokesman for the marketing agency. “It went way beyond calling the students by name. The promotion demonstrated how the law school would affect their futures for the better, in a communications medium they can touch and feel.”

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Bulk Mailing

Officially called USPS Marketing Mail, but also known as commercial mailing or business mailing, bulk mailing is a cost-effective way to get the word out about your product, service, or event. The advantages of using bulk mail include a significantly lower price-per-piece, ability to target specific demographics, flexibility in the types of formats, and incorporation of samples or coupons. Bulk mail also has a proven track record for desirable ROI.

If you know anything about bulk mailing, you know the devil is in the details. There are a few deterrents to getting started on your own. For starters, there is a significant learning curve in understanding the USPS process requirements. The USPS also requires an upfront investment of money for the mailing permit and annual mailing fee. The need for pre-sort software is another potential barrier for small businesses. This is where we come in.

PrintingForLess.com will not only provide you with the highest quality in custom printing for your mailer, we will handle all of the mailing for you, including acquiring any targeted mailing lists you need. No need to get a permit or bar-coding software. Let us help you achieve your goals with bulk mail by taking out all the guess work and hassle.

Let’s take a look at some of the specific products that are designed to work well within USPS bulk mailing guidelines. You can visit our mailing templates page to download layouts that are USPS commercial mailing compliant.

• Booklet Mailers: Booklets or catalogs can be as large as 8.5 x 11 and are perfect for newsletters, brochures, catalogs, and product booklets. What a great way to put your product or service in the hands of potential customers. Include a call to action that encourages further engagement, moving the customer toward the sale.
• Self Mailers: These are brochures or flyers in various sizes and formats that close with a sticker tab for more secure mailing which qualifies them for the USPS automation rates. This option is ideal for event announcement, company or product brochures, and letters.
• Post Cards: A great way to announce an event, incorporate business reply mail, or advertise your business, post cards are a great marketing piece. You can go with the standard 4 x 6 or a jumbo size 6 x 11 to really grab attention.

We have mail list services that can assist you with targeting the demographic base you want to hit with your advertising campaign. Our bulk mailing services coupled with our commercial quality printing will deliver the results you are looking for.