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DM News & Tips
Standard mail growing
The USPS reported a 4.9% increase in Standard Mail volume during the 4th quarter of 2006. First Class Mail showed no increase in volume from the prior year. Standard Mail has now surpassed First Class mail in total volume. Direct mail growth can be attributed to it being an effective medium for integrated marketing strategies. It also provides the measurable response data that is required with tighter marketing budgets.NCOA required in 2008
The National Change of Address (NCOA)
service helps reduce undeliverable mail. The
service updates addresses within your database
for residential or business moves. Currently the
USPS recommends cleansing your database
through NCOA every six months. Later in
2008, the USPS will require that NCOA
cleansing take place every 3 months for First
Class mailers. It will recommend the same
hygiene level for all other classes of mail. This
will reduce costs for USPS and improve ROI
for mailers.
Two color package improves ROI
The Alaska Travel Industry Association (ATIA)
has found less to be more. They cut back their
lead generation mailing to a simple two-color
#7 envelope package. This replaced their more
elaborate four-color, photograph filled 6x9
envelope control.
The new package is designed to look like an
official mailing from the State of Alaska. They
ask recipients to mail back a 4x6 BRC to
receive the four-color travel guide. Response
rates have been 9 percent to 15 percent on
rental lists and nearly 20 percent for the house
file. This has proven to be the most cost
effective mail package they have tested.
Showing less and reducing costs increased ROI significantly.
Researchers find DM great investment
A research team for the Print Council analyzed cost to sales ratios for direct mail. They found that direct mail marketers spend $167 per person to sell $2,095 worth of goods and services per person. That’s a return on investment of 13 to 1.Why is 8.5x11 the standard paper size? The Dutch invented a two up paper mold in the 1600s. They made the vat 44 inches wide to match the average length of a man’s outstretched arms, for ease of handling. The length of the two molds was 17 inches. This made two sheets of 17x22 inch paper. When cut in half, the sheet measured 17x11, or 8.5x11 when quartered. This size varied a little over the next couple of centuries. Then in the 1980s, President, Ronald Reagan made the 8.5x11 the official standardized paper size.
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