Direct Mail do's and don'ts

[taktikz]

Direct Mail is said to be worthwhile for some industries and I'm giving it a shot. That being said, it's been a pain in the ass to even get an estimate for using our own lists and design.
I'm thinking of just doing the mailing in-house, but wanted to see if there were any suggestions for service providers, techniques, etc.

Note: sending out flyers first

 

[Michael]

One thing I learned was to not send mail out on rubbish day. People are more inclined to check their letter box and then throw half the shit straight into the bin.

Another tip I picked up was to customize each letter you send out. Make it very personal so they think you took the time to help their business out. If they advertise in your local paper, cut out their advertisement and attach to the letter you're sending. Hit 'em in the feels.

 

[propipper]

We've done EDDM (Every Door Direct Mail) campaigns as well as direct mail (with a bulk permit) and I've gotten help from a local US Postal Service rep in my area. A couple of things:

1) On your flyers, put the important information where the mailing address is on. 99% of mail carriers, when they put the mail in your mailbox, they will put the side with the address up. If you're in the US, take a look at your mail next time in your mailbox and you'll see this is true. Most people like to use the other side to put all the juicy stuff, but you're running a big risk of someone not even turning the mail piece over and just throwing it away.

2) Depending on who you're targeting, EDDM is a good service. Very cheap and you can blanket people in a zones (not zip codes, but zones within a zip code). I mail to businesses so I know all the zones that have 90-95% businesses in my area (and other cities) so I know my mail is targeted.

3) Are you using your own bulk mail permit or someone else's? If you're sending out a lot of mail, you may want to consider getting one. I don't know if this is the same everywhere else but the post office holds monthly luncheons to explain everything going on, new information, etc. There are also a lot of people from big mail houses so you can pick their brain. Just tell them you're a small PR company and you're doing this for your clients. If you "act" small time and tell them you're not competing with them, they'll tell you everything. It's weird. I was almost taken a back because we're so used to the tight-lipped mentality of IM but you can get a lot of information from them - for free.

This is called PCC and you can learn more about it here.

If you do get an indicia, be sure you know the design requirements. The bulk mail unit (business unit) has templates they'll give you that you can put over your mail piece so you can follow the guidelines.

If you can shed some more light on targeting, etc. without giving too much away, we may be able to answer more specifics.

Good luck mate.