WHAT WORKS BEST WHEN MAILING POSTCARDS?
Studies have shown that Direct Mail is still the best way to reach your customers or gain new ones. Studies have also shown that receiving a postcard in the mail is more effective than a digital advertisement attached to an email. Let’s look at the best ways to maximize your Return on Investment (ROI) when using Direct Mail Marketing.
The most important concept when planning a direct mail campaign is finding your Target Demographic. It is important to make sure your mailing list is accurate and you are targeting the people that you feel would be most interested in your product or service. There are many different types of lists from which you can choose. To find the right type for your mailing, let’s look at what will make sense for your business. Is it something Everyone can use? For example, everyone likes pizza or movie coupons. If you are offering an item similar to these, you can mail using the post office’s Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) program. EDDM is an affordable “blanket” advertising technique that lets you map your marketing mail audience by age, income, or household size. You can use the EDDM mapping tool to choose the ZIP Code and carrier route that will target your best possible customers, both current and future. You can look on the map and find the neighborhoods you want to reach. You can mail out anywhere between 200 and 5000 pieces a day for only $0.187 each. This is one of the most competitive postage rates, but you must mail to the whole carrier route that you choose. You cannot break it up and choose certain streets.
If you are offering goods or a service that is a little more specific, you may need to refine your mailing list. There are companies that compile lists based on people’s lifestyles. There are consumer lists or business lists you can purchase. It depends on whom you are looking to market.
Consumer lists will help you find people that you feel would best be in need or want of your service or product. A targeted consumer database from a reputable company will be compiled and updated regularly to keep you up to date with the most useful information. They will be multi-sourced with demographics, lifestyle, and geography selects for whatever you may need to help pinpoint your best prospects. There are many selects you can choose to narrow down your list to avoid spending money on postage for people that you know will not be buying from you. If you are looking to open a daycare center in a neighborhood, you would want to filter out those houses without children. You can pick those homes with pets if you would like to send out a mailing for coupons from the local pet care store. There are endless numbers of ways to filter your mailing list. It is always worth the time to drill down to the people you feel will fit your audience.
If you would like to find a business list, those are available also. There are lists with business SIC codes and every other high demand business file selection that you could think of to help find your best target grouping. You always want to take your time to look through your list to find the best prospects for your job. You want to look how often the list is updated by the company to make sure it is current. You do not want to mail to closed companies or mail to a company that has changed its name. It does not reflect well on you. Data companies spend a great deal of time and effort to make sure their lists are up to date and current. They take care of the hard work for you. It has been said “don’t reinvent the wheel.” The information is at your fingertips, save yourself time and money and drill down your list to the most compatible leads for what you are offering.
Once you have found the list you feel will best serve your needs, you will be ready to purchase the item you will be mailing. You will want to do this after you find your list, so you know that you have the correct number of pieces to order. You don’t want to leave anyone out and just as important, you don’t want to waste money on over printing postcards you will not be able to use.
Let’s talk about the size of the card you want to print. Postcards come in many different sizes. Each size is important for different reasons. If you are announcing a Grand Opening of your new business, you will want something grand. You can mail a 6” x11” postcard for the same price as a 5” x 7”. The 6” x 11” will make more of an impression on your audience. The 5” x 7” or 5.5” x 8.5” can be very useful if you want to announce something like a relocation or new phone number. There are always the smaller postcards, 4” x 6” or 4.25” x 6” that can be used for reminders for appointments or renewals. There is a perfect size for all your needs.
Another important consideration when mailing is what postage class you should choose when mailing out your postcards. If you are a Non-Profit organization, you can file with the post office and receive discounts on your postage. This is worth the small amount of time and effort it takes to apply. Just contact your local post office and they will give you all the information you need to apply. You can save $0.10 each or more, depending on where you enter your cards into the mail stream. If you are not a non-profit organization, you must choose between First Class or Marketing Mail. The only difference is the amount of time it takes for the cards to reach the mailboxes. The post office guidelines for first class are 3 to 4 days and 4 to 10 days for marketing mail. It just depends on how much time you need to get your message out. The handling is the same with both classes and they will all be delivered to your audience.
• First Class mail price is between $0.257 and $0.280 for postcards 4.25” x 6” and smaller.
• First Class mail price for “letter” size mail larger than 4.25” x 6” and smaller than 6.25” x 11” is between $0.383 and $0.459.
• First Class postage for a “flat” size postcard larger than 6” x 11” and up to 12” x 15” is calculated by weight starting at $0.486 to $0.799 and going up by each ounce.
• Standard Marketing Mail price is between $0.256 and $0.302 each for postcards smaller than 6” x 11”.
• Standard Marketing Mail for pieces larger than 6” x 11” and up to 12” x 15” is $0.405 to $0.652 each.
The post office is a wonderful business to partner with in your mailing campaigns. They are very helpful when you have questions and always eager to help when you are having trouble. They know they are there to help you grow your business.
The more you know, the more you can save when mailing postcards. There are many “tricks” you can use to keep your postage prices down as you work to get your sales up. Take the time to study up, and watch your profits soar. Direct mail can be complicated at first, but once you become knowledgeable, everything will begin to make sense.
Please look at the informational videos we have posted on our homepage and let us know if there is any way we can help you make your business more profitable. We want to educate you on what works best when you are ready to enter the world of direct mail marketing. What better way is there to reach a large amount of people for marginal costs. You must try and see what ROI you can generate for your company.