Win Big Discounts on Mailing Services

Did you ever wonder how bulk mailing works? I get this question asked so many times. What’s the minimum I can mail? What is the cheapest way to mail? How does it all work? Take the Marketing Quiz # 1 and save up to 25% on Mailing Services. Click on the link below, save money and learn some interest facts all while having some fun!

http://www.postcardmania.com/quiz/quiz_mailing/

Why do I have to fill out so many forms?

We know that it may seem like there are a lot of forms, but each form serves its own purpose and tells us how many cards you want to print, how you want your card designed, what list and quantity to mail to, etc. These forms benefit you as they allow us to know exactly what you want for your campaign.

Can a Standard Class mailing really take that long?

The normal delivery time for a Standard (3rd class) mailing is up to 2 weeks, but we’ve seen these mailings take longer. There are many things that may affect a Standard Class mailing. During the holidays, the USPS delivers billions of pieces. The USPS treats First Class mail as a priority and handles all of the Standard mail after the First Class mail is handled. The postage rates are considerably lower to mail Standard (except in the case of the 4.25 x 6 card as stated above) and this is why it’s not treated as a high priority. Mailing Standard makes sense when there is no particular timeline for when your mail piece should arrive.

What is involved in doing a drop shipment?

As stated in an earlier blog, drop shipments are not for everyone. It really needs to make sense for a drop shipment to be cost effective. When we do a drop shipment, we process and address the mailing as we normally do, except after it’s verified at the post office, we bring it back to our facility. We have a relationship with a freight service that only handles drop shipments. We prepare the mailing for them and then arrange for them to transport it to the appropriate post office.

Why can’t exact postage be decided before you have the list? Who decides the range for postage and why is there a range?

Postage rates are determined by the US Postal Service. In order to get your exact postal rates, we must process your list and prepare the postal paperwork for the USPS. In order to do this ahead of time for a postage quote, we would need your list and your completed checklist. Your checklist tells us how to remove duplicates from your list and if you want to add “Or current resident/business” to the mailing.

Why do I continue to get returns after cleaning my list?

Statistics show that approximately 40 million consumers moved last year. When a consumer moves and completes a move update card through the USPS, it normally takes a month or so to get updated at the US Postal Service. If the consumer does not complete a move card, it will take much longer. This is why you will always receive some returns on a mailing. Many times you will receive returns long after the mailing went out as the USPS does not treat returns as a priority.

For more info, check out this earlier post http://mailingserviceswithmelissa.wordpress.com/2009/07/08/why-do-i-have-to-clean-up-the-list-i-ordered/.

Best, Melissa

Why do I have to clean up the list I ordered?

When you order a mailing list, it usually becomes your list for one year. For that time, you have the freedom to maintain and update the list which is definitely in your best interest. Deleting returns from your list will help to keep it up to date and reduce postage waste. If you need help, just call our Mailing Services Dept. and we can walk you through it!

What is the best way to handle returned postcards?

Returns are inevitable as there is no such thing as a perfect list. Our lists are guaranteed 90% deliverable, excluding vacant returns. You should remove any “undeliverables” from your mailing list before mailing to it again. This will help to keep your list up to date and reduce waste on postage costs.

Best,

Melissa

Attn: Marketing Director/Home Owner/Spa-goer – How to Address Direct Mail

One of the most important aspects of a marketing campaign is reaching the right person in the company or home. When you are mailing to a business, its not always possible to obtain a list of the correct contact names you want to target. However, it is very important for you to know exactly “who” you want to reach within the company and to include this in the addressing of the pieces.

When we market PostcardMania we are mailing to “Attn: Marketing Director”, this way the receptionist or person in charge of distributing the mail knows exactly who to distribute the mailing to. If you are leaving the decision up to the receptionist, I would say your chances of reaching the correct person has already dropped in half. If you are unsure of who to send the mail to, we can help lead you in the right direction or you can test out a few titles to see what works best for you.

This definitely applies to mailing to homes as well, except when mailing to a home you are much more likely to reach the intended person. However, you can use a title to your advantage by mailing to “Attn: Future Homeowner” or “Attn: Spa-goer”. It will catch the attention of the recipient as you can customize the title to best describe your intended recipient.

Best, Melissa

Why doesn’t everyone do a drop shipment?

When mailing to a concentrated geographical area and mailing over 10,000 pieces, it will most likely be beneficial to do a drop shipment. But because these pieces can only be mailed Standard 3rd class, it may not be beneficial for everyone as far as time and money to do a drop shipment.

If you think it would work well for you, we can give you a quote based on the area you are mailing to. When providing you with a quote, we will give you the postage, shipping and handling fees. All of these are taken into account before we determine if a drop ship mailing is right for you.

Best, Melissa