Make Each Piece of Your Direct Mail Count

Let's start with the bottom line first: Your customers and prospects can't respond to your direct mail piece if they don't receive it. Sounds simple right? The good news is that it is, as long as you take the proper steps to ensure your addresses are correct, complete, and updated.

Most of us get tripped up on the 'updated' part. Since every piece of mail that doesn't reach your intended audience is wasted money (on postage, on printing and mail prep), commit to updating your mail list at least 3 times a year if not more.

What does this mean? Pay attention to the obvious: accurately entering new addresses by including all elements of the address: street number, proper spelling of the street name and city, secondary addresses such as suite numbers, and the most important is the zip code.

When you are trying to get a presorted postage rate, 'quality addresses' are rewarded with the deepest automation postage discounts.

The most common data entry errors that prevent my clients from getting the presorted rates are: wrong or missing abbreviations in the address, street name misspellings, missing the N,S,E or W in the street address, and transposed or missing numbers in the primary address number.

The biggest money waster if you've always kept your list 'clean'? They're the things you couldn't possibly know about: address changes. Forwarded mail is delayed, which may cause customers to miss the timeliness of your mailing. Making sure you have the most current addresses before you mail is simple, and the answer is NCOA. Make sure your mail house applies NCOA to your list, as it taps into a USPS database containing change of address notices submitted within the last 48 months. NCOA matches your mailing list against this file before your mail pieces are sent. When a match is identified, records with new addresses are updated and those listed as moves without a forwarding address are deleted. The result? A list with the highest chance of accuracy, timely delivery and minimal wasted postage.

I've found the most sophisticated mail houses include NCOA at no additional charge. But you MUST ask the question.

Direct Mail: Your List is EVERYTHING

Recently, I was thinking about doing a direct mail piece for my own business. A few weeks into working until midnight, I thought to hold off. But it got me thinking, after handling/advising clients about HOW to best send out a mailer, the most important part wasn't being discussed. You can mail all day, waste all the postage you want, but if you don't reach the right demographic, your chances of making a sale or generating interest in your product/service is basically nil.

It's always best to use an agency (like mine) when garnering new business. But the more information you have (and they don't always ask for it), the better list you get. For example, if you own a new restaurant, best to target certain zip codes first. Seems obvious right? Well, how about if you target those zip codes AND reach people within a certain income range or age? Always think about what you want in these categories: Age, Income, Homeownership, and Home Market Value.

Zip codes: You can give your list broker the zip code for your restaurant, but also give them a radius of 5 miles (for example) to work within. Remember, after you get a number of targeted address from your agency, you can always change the radius to either increase or decrease the number of mailers you want to send. Better to work with more and narrow it down.

Now, let's go beyond age, income, home value and home ownership vs. renter--we can help you further target your list in relation to lifestyle (magazines they subscribe to for example), household size (children or no children) and marital status.

You can always combine this new targeted list with your own database depending on what your pitch is.

Let your agency do the legwork--the amount postage is these days, you can't afford not to.

Direct Mail 101 Could Be 800 Paragraphs Long

Direct Mail. Sounds simple doesn't it? Well, think again. First, say you want to mail out 200 postcards that you need to reach people in 1-3 days versus 3-10 days. When you check out USPS, the cheapest rate is "standard" (bulk) rate. Why not go with that? Well, send it to a mailhouse and you will find all they will do is stamp it and mail it out. Could you have saved the money and done it yourself?

Despite the economy, customer service is not improving and mailhouses are still busier than ever. Your project of 200 postcards will take lower priority than the 20,000 direct mail letters the mailhouse has to stuff AND mail today.

Consider calling your agency first, as it will save you time and money. Anyone with real experience in direct mail will (and should) advise you of these things: First, if you have 200 postcards, consider printing 500 (as print costs are generally cheaper than postage) and mailing out first class mail.

Second, if you fall below the maximum size required for first class mail (4.25 x 6), it's even cheaper for you to mail a postcard at first class rate (versus standard mail)!

If you're just starting out and want to mail 50 postcards, consider skipping the mailhouse altogether and head towards your nearest post office.

If you do have 500 postcards, and can make the card fall within the size 4.25x6 or smaller, you should use a mailhouse to get automated/pre-sorted first class rates (they take your mail list and inkjet barcodes that comply with USPS standards). You will save money and time AND your cards will reach mailboxes in 1-3 days, sometimes even the next day depending on the zip code.

This is just an example. For all sort of mailers - at all sizes at all different USPS mail classes, even boxes - save yourself time and money by placing a simple phone call to your agency (make sure they specialize in direct mail first). Take advantage of your relationships.

Another thing to be filed under "What I wish I would have known"

Next up: Your mail list is EVERYTHING.