Author Archives: Mailways

Personalization

This week we’ll examine the different ways you can personalize a mail piece to make it stand out more to potential customers. This can range from a simple “Hello John!” on a postcard mailing to matching personalized inserts to the name on an outer envelope, or even using a personal URL to link your mailpiece to your website in a more striking way.

[Note: Any mail containing personal information specific to the addressee must be sent First Class or Express Mail, not Standard Mail]

Printing something as simple as the person’s first name in larger print separate from the address will often draw attention and make your mail piece stand out from the rest of the mail in the mailbox. This can be done on the inkjet after the postcard is already printed, or the whole thing can be printed together on a digital press to allow for more options of color and style.

Another common option for personalization is to fill out known fields on a form to make it easier for the recipient to respond. You can fill in their name and address, and then leave a spot for corrections in case something has changed. The easier it is for the person to respond, the better response rate you will get.

Lastly, personalized URLs can be placed on a piece to get more traffic to your website. A personalized URL allows you to link the person to a web page designed specifically for them: different demographics can get different offers or have web pages styled differently within the same mailing. This serves a variety of purposes: it shows that your company keeps up with new technology, it drives traffic to your website, it allows you to track how well your mailing is doing, and it allows you to track who has responded, which we’ll touch on more next week.

That wraps up this week, have a great New Year’s Eve!

List Sanitization

Last week we covered the types of lists you might use to create a mailing. This week we’re going to cover the types of sanitization needed to make those lists acceptable for mailing. The three most common are Coding Accuracy Support System (CASS), National Change of Address (NCOA), and duplicate removal.

For a mailing to receive automation discounts and carrier route discounts, it must be processed through CASS-certified software. This software takes each address and translates it to a USPS-acceptable form. For example, “45 South Main” might need to be changed to “45 S Main St” to qualify for automation discounts. At the same time, Zip+4 and delivery point data is added to the address for the automation processing. After the list is corrected, there is a certificate produced showing that the list complies with CASS requirements which must be presented to the postal service with your mailing.

Another requirement for all mailings containing actual names (as opposed to “Resident” or “Our Friends At”) is that they be compared to the National Change Of Address database maintained by the USPS. This database is updated every time someone notifies the post office that they have moved, either through the USPS website or by filling out a change-of-address card. Unlike CASS, there is no certificate for NCOA, but additional postage will be charged if your mail is tested and has too many missed address updates.

Outside of postal requirements, there is additional processing you may wish to have done. The most common is duplicate removal. When lists are merged from different sources (e.g. if you’re mailing to residents of a town, your existing customers, and sales leads you’re working on), there’s a very good chance you’ll end up with the same people in the list multiple times. The two most common ways to purge these duplicates out are by household (so only one goes to each address) or by name (so that an address may get multiple copies for different people).

Types of Lists

This week we’ll cover the various types of lists you’re able to mail to, and when each type of list might be appropriate. We’ll go over lists which cover specific demographics, list that saturate geographic areas, and lists provided by the customer. Each type has its own benefits, so it’s important to discuss with your mailer which type might be best for you.

The first type is a resident saturation list. As its name implies, it saturates entire carrier routes or zip codes by hitting every single residential address. Because it hits a very dense area, it gives some of the best postage rates available. It can easily be targeted at the carrier routes closest to your business (neighborhood mailings), or hit entire cities, states, or regions.

There are a couple situations where resident saturation lists work well. One situation is when you’re not sure of the demographic that might be interested in your product, or if you know the demographic but it’s too diverse to target specifically. Another situation is if you’ve been doing a lot of targeted mailings and they’re starting to stagnate: mailing to everyone in the area might drum up business from people you hadn’t even considered targeting. Where it really shines, though, is pushing people over the edge after they’re already considering buying your type of product. If they’re hungry, a menu from your restaurant will help make you their top choice. If they’re considering colleges, mailing to them might spur them to apply to yours. If they’re considering a gym membership, yours will be the first one they think of. Do any of these situations sound like they might apply to your type of business?

The second type of list is a targeted demographic mailing. If you’re looking to mail something to males between 24 and 36 who make between $50,000 and $150,000 per year, we can target a mailing to this demographic. These lists are compiled from various public records as well as credit reporting agencies, and can be very specific. A few examples are age, income, home value, ethnicity, children, cars owned, and length of time at current address. These are just a few, and your mailer will be able to give you more information.

Targeted demographic mailings are particularly useful if you’ve got a very strong grasp of who your customers are. If you’re running a daycare, you don’t want to waste mailpieces on people who don’t have children or whose children have already grown up. By spending slightly more money on the list, you can ensure you’re not wasting money mailing to the types of people you know your product or service doesn’t apply to.

I’ll also mention quickly that we offer a hybrid between these first two types of lists which has become a popular way of selecting mailing areas. We’ll take your existing list of customers, run a report on which geographic areas your existing customers live in, and hit those and similar carrier routes with saturation mailing. You get the benefit of the great postage rates saturation mail offers, while also hitting areas that you know your customers are coming from. If you’re interested, mention “birds of a feather” when you call. That’s all for my sales pitch, I’ll get back to types of lists now.

The last type of list commonly used is a customer-provided list. This is any list provided to the mailer by you, the customer. It can be a list of your customers, sales leads, vendors, friends, or any combination of these. It’s the actual people you’ve already had contact with, rather than just a faceless demographic we’ve generated for you. There are far too many uses for this type of list to name them all, but we’ll give you a few examples to give some ideas.

The first example is any type of mailing where there is information that pertains specifically to the recipient: invoices, legal notices, appointment reminders, bank statements, and many more. You already have the information that the customer needs to receive. In this case, you’d be providing the list of people to mail to along with the actual information they’re being sent: their amount owed, their list of bank charges, etc.

The second example is any mailing where you’re giving out general information to a specific audience. If you’re sending out an alumni newsletter, you’ll be providing the list of alumni who are going to receive the newsletter. If you’re holding some sort of event, the list will be all of the people being invited to the event.

The third example is more general. If you’re sending out a sales flyer, the information is intended for anyone who wants to look at it, but providing a list of your existing customers is a great place to start. You can even combine the two and mail to a specific demographic or area, but also mail to existing customers who fall outside of that target.

Logistics

This week we’ll cover the logistics involved in dropping your mail at the post office. First we’ll give you a quick overview of the process. Then we’ll cover the facility types that you can drop the mail at, the postage discounts associated with each one, and the timing involved to help you hit the correct in-home date for your mailing.

Once the postal paperwork is completed, the job is ready to be brought to the post office that the permit is held at. For a small job or one mailing to a local area, it is usually left there to be processed by the USPS. However, on larger jobs hitting areas outside of the local post office’s jurisdiction, the mailing is often cleared at the origin post office (i.e. the post office where the permit is held) and then trucked to one or more processing facilities. This helps speed up delivery and also allows you to save money on postage. Discounts are given depending on the type of facility the mail enters the system at.

The first type of facility is the Origin Post Office the mail is being verified at. These offer no destination discounts unless they also qualify as one of the facilities listed below, but you can still get large discounts for things like sortation and automation. This is how many small mailings are done, especially if the mail isn’t all going to one region.

The second type of facility is a Destination Delivery Unit (DDU). DDUs are the post offices that the mail carriers work out of, and are in every town across the country. Only Carrier Route Flats qualify for a DDU discount, because this type of mail is already bundled the way the carriers will be delivering it. Dropping these types of pieces off at the actual post office that the carriers will be working from allows you to get the best postage rate because the USPS does not have to do any trucking before delivery. It also gives the best response times because mail dropped at a DDU will often be delivered the next day, which is important for time-sensitive mailings such as newspapers and flyers.

The third type of facility is a Sectional Center Facility (SCF). Each SCF covers a small geographic area, usually covering anywhere between one and ten three digit zip codes. For example, the Portland, ME SCF covers any zip code starting with 039, 040, 041, 042, 043, 045, or 048. For a mailing hitting a large number of addresses within a single SCF, it’s usually worth it to truck the mail to the SCF to get a postage discount. Some large mailings may even hit dozens of SCFs across the country.

The fourth type of facility is a Network Distribution Center (NDC). NDCs cover larger geographic areas, with a total of 21 of these facilities in the country. Moderate-sized mailings often don’t have enough mail to be worth going to each individual SCF, but might have enough to be worth going to one or several NDCs to get a slightly lower postage discount than SCFs offer.

In addition to the postage discounts mentioned, dropping mail at the various facility types offers speedier delivery time on the mail. Standard mail doesn’t have any guarantees on delivery time, but the USPS does have targets it tries to hit. As we’ve already mentioned, a DDU can often get mail delivered the day after it’s dropped off, but the more accepted standard is 2 days. SCFs have a standard of 3 days, and NDCs have a standard of 5 days.

All of this information goes into deciding the best time and location to drop your mail. Call your favorite mailer to get your mailing planned today!

Mailpiece Design: Envelope Inserts

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Since it’s a short and likely busy week, we’ll keep our topic relatively light. Last week we mentioned envelopes, which are a great way to put together a fairly standard mailing without having to worry about too many postal regulations. This week we’ll examine what you can put in these envelopes.

One format we see often is a survey and return envelope. It’s a great way to see who’s actually interested in your product or service, and also find out more about them and their needs. Once you’ve put the letter together, you can supply an envelope for them to return the survey in. For a better response rate, you can have your mailer affix stamps to the return envelope or help you set up a Business Reply permit.

Another popular format is an addressed letter in a window envelope. This has the benefit of having a personalized letter, but without the downside of having to pay to have matching done between the letter and envelope. This format is very common for invoices and renewal notices. On these types of mailings, you can also have the addressed letter perforated to have a tear-off stub that the customer can return with their check to make processing easier.

If you have booklets already printed but they’re a little out of date, you can have them inserted in a 9”x12” envelope and then include a cover letter explaining any changes or updates. Some of our customers will preprint catalogs to get a good bulk printing rate, and then include one or more sheets with deals of the month or other specifics applicable to certain regions.

Lastly, never underestimate the power of a simple letter in an envelope. For letters that need to look professional, use a permit imprint or have it metered. If you want it to look more personal, have your mailer affix stamps instead. Everyone loves getting a letter in the mail!

If you’re traveling today, drive safe! There will be lots of traffic on the road!

Mailing Decisions: Letter or Flat

When designing a mail piece, the first decision you’ll need to make is whether to mail it as a letter or a flat. We’ll cover the differences between the two, and then give some examples of when each type of piece might be the appropriate choice.

Letters cover everything from 3 ½” by 5” by .007” thick postcards up to 6 ⅛” by 11 ½” by ¼” thick envelopes and mini booklets. Anything over this, up to 12” by 15” by ¾” envelopes, magazines, newspapers, and over-sized postcards, gets mailed as a flat. Automated letters provide the best postage rates possible. Non-automation letters (such as unsealed folded pieces) receive postal rates that are comparable to flats, and are only recommended in a few cases, mentioned below. Flats, while having higher postage rates, do have the advantage of being able to convey more information and be a more readily noticeable piece in a customer’s mailbox.

Letters are ideal for announcements that don’t require a lot of explanation: a store-wide sale, a monthly or yearly event people are already familiar with, or quick notice of change (e.g. a privacy policy change). These can be printed on a postcard-style piece, printed in a self-mailer, or enclosed in an envelope. Letters also work well for financial statements: invoices, tax bills, or vehicle registrations to name a few.

Non-automation letters are usually reserved for a very specific scenario (i.e. resident saturation mailings of menu-style pieces). In almost all other cases, it’s worth it to seal a piece with wafer-seals to get a substantial discount on postage. However, if you’re mailing at saturation rates (hitting every household in a carrier route or zip code), the savings in postage you’d get from sealing the piece likely won’t outweigh the cost of having the sealing done. We don’t often recommend designing a piece that doesn’t take full advantage of automation discounts, but since most people recognize the shape of a restaurant menu when they see it, it works very well as a mail piece. We also often have customers order extras on top of the mailing quantity so they can use them as take-out menus and get a better printing price for the larger quantity.

Finally, flats are a great choice when you have more information to convey. Magazines are a great way to keep your customers interested and informed of what’s happening in your organization. Catalogs and sales flyers give people a way to shop from home or bring people into your store. Flats also work well for sending out information to new customers or students: a car insurance company can send out a packet of new policy information or a college can send out a welcome packet of forms to fill out, informational booklets, school pride stickers, and more.

Before we finish up for the week, I’ll provide one warning about flats. Addressing requirements limit where you can place and orient the address on a flat, so please make sure any flat you design follows these rules:

On a bound piece, the edge considered the top is the edge at the top when the bound edge is oriented to the right (see bound piece below) when facing the address side of the piece. On an envelope, the top half is either of the shorter edges. Once you’ve determined the top, the address must be entirely within the top half of the piece, and must not be read upside-down in relation to the top edge. The images below show where the address may be placed on a bound or enveloped flat.

Flat addressing

When you’re ready to design your piece, give us a call! We can help you ensure that the piece is oriented correctly and eligible for all available postal discounts!

Welcome!

This is the beginning of our weekly series on mailing. Check back each week for useful topics which will help you avoid costly mistakes when planning a mailing or designing a mail piece. We’ll cover topics ranging from shapes of mail pieces and sealing methods to the actual messages and which type of mailing list might work best for you.

This first week we’ll jump right into a topic which often causes headaches for people who are new to mailing: folded self-mailers. A folded self-mailer is a style of mail piece where a sheet or multiple sheets are folded together and then wafer-sealed or glued to create a self-contained piece ready for mailing. They are great for advertising since they tend to be more eye-catching than a standard #10 envelope, but there are quite a few regulations to keep in mind when designing them. Orienting or sealing them incorrectly can result in additional postage cost or the piece not being mailable. We’ll keep things basic for now with a single sheet of paper folded and sealed. You’re not limited to these designs, but they’re a great starting point for a first-time mailer; always consult your favorite mailer or the USPS on any piece designs!

The most important thing which must be considered when designing a folded self-mailer is that the final fold must always be on the bottom or right edge of the piece when looking at the address panel. If the final fold is on the bottom and multiple folds are used, the last fold should form the back (non-address) panel to avoid needing extra wafer seals (figure 1). If the folds are done in two directions (quarter-folded), the first fold should form the lead (right) edge and the second fold should form the bottom edge (figure 2).

Figures 1 & 2

If the final fold is on the bottom and you’ve followed the rules above, your piece will only need two wafer seals on the top edge within 1” of the left and right edges to be eligible for all machinable and automation discounts (note: these simple standards are for the recommended 70 lb. paper stock; newsprint or other stock may require additional tabs). If the fold is on the lead (right) edge, the tabs will go on the trailing (left) edge within 1” of the top and bottom of the piece (figure 3).

Figure 3

The USPS now requires all tabs to be non-perforated but you still have the option of translucent wax tabs (easier to open) or clear plastic tabs (less noticeable on the piece). The tabs required are 1” diameter for pieces under 1 ounce and 1.5” for pieces over 1 ounce.

These designs should be enough to get a mailing started, so call us when you’re ready!