Posted by steve on December 10, 2002 at 16:42:08:
Astrobrite is brightly colored (flourescent yellow, orange, hot pink etc.) 8 1/2 x 11’ paper that you can buy at Office Depot or Office Max. If you have your mailpiece printed professionally, all print shops will have it in stock.
Stamps vs. metered mail marketing question - Posted by Brian (CA)
Posted by Brian (CA) on December 09, 2002 at 18:28:31:
I am currently hand addressing all the letters I’m sending to distressed sellers as well as using a normal 0.37 postage stamp. I don’t mind the extra work, and I’m well aware of the savings available through bulk mail as well as mail merging, but the question is
Are people more inclined to open mail that is hand addressed rather than labeled?
Are people more inclined to open mail with a normal postage stamp rather than a bulk mail licence stamp?
I’m working on the assumption (from my experience on the mail-receiving end) that both of the above are true, however I have yet to see any data to support or refute either of these. Just wondering if I am wasting my time/money.
Thanks,
Brian
Re: Stamps vs. metered mail marketing question - Posted by steve
Posted by steve on December 10, 2002 at 11:35:09:
We own and operate a mailing service company that sends out about 6 million pieces of mail yearly (including our own REI pieces - about 700 per week). Here are some basic facts about direct mail marketing.
Analyze how you handle the mail you receive. What gets opened? What gets trashed without a second glance? Personally, I usually don’t open every single piece of my mail. The return address on envelopes (I.R.S., gas company, my bank statements) will determine what gets looked at.
The envelope acts as a barrier between your message and the person you send it to.
A post card, even if it gets trashed, will always get looked at. If you really want to get noticed, send a jumbo card on Astrobrite. You can go as large as 6 1/8" x 11 1/2" for the same postage as a letter.
Post cards or self-mailers (my preference) cost less buy to and are cheaper to process. Calculating in the cost of the additional postage, you can send about 33% more mail pieces for the same cost if you don’t use envelopes.
The post office won’t volunteer this information but bulk mail permits can be shared. Find someone else or several other people who mail and split the $175 annual fee, or if you belong to something like the Chamber of Commerce you should be able to use their permit at no additional cost. Personally any slight possibility that someone might open my mail simply because it has a stamp on it is not worth the additional effort but, for what its worth you can also get bulk mail (the post office now calls this presort standard mail) stamps that look O.K. and will cut your postage cost by more than half.
Spend some time with the bulk mail (now called business mail entry) clerk at your local post office. Bring coffee and donuts. You’ll learn more than you ever wanted to know about direct mail.
Re: Stamps vs. metered mail marketing question - Posted by rm
Posted by rm on December 09, 2002 at 20:45:50:
Yes and yes.
BUT…
all of the best marketing people will tell you that there’s only one way to really find out, and that’s to test.
Have you tracked your numbers? Do you know how many mailings it takes to generate a response?
If not- start paying attention.
Only when you know your numbers cold do you have a control to compare your tests to.
That said, if you match the right message to the right market, it really doesn’t matter HOW you deliver the information.
If you’re sending out a significant amount of mail, at some point, you have to figure out a better way than you’re doing it now.
If you’re sold on handwriting, how about hiring a school-kid with good handwriting?
I agree… - Posted by Brian (CA)
Posted by Brian (CA) on December 09, 2002 at 20:20:00:
I agree that intuition tells you that a hand-written stamped letter will more likely be opened, but does anyone have some data? I’m sure some university or marketing group has done a study and I’d like to see some statistics.
Thanks for the posts.
Re: Stamps vs. metered mail marketing question - Posted by Travis (Dallas)
Posted by Travis (Dallas) on December 09, 2002 at 18:40:13:
The “experts” say that a hand addressed envelope with a regular stamp will get opened and the label/meter type will probably get tossed.
But…it sure is alot of work…
Re: Stamps vs. metered mail marketing question - Posted by rm
Posted by rm on December 10, 2002 at 21:10:36:
Good stuff.
One caution re: point #1.
You are not the target.
It’s dangerous to assume that your prospect thinks, operates or sees the world as you do.
Often difficult to separate yourself from the business, but it’s important to realize that we are not marketing to ourselves.
In many cases, foreclosures being one good example, many of these people are not at all like us; and even if they are like us under normal circumstances, they’re under inordinate levels of stress, which can severely alter the way they operate.
And, yes, this applies to things as mundane as how they sort their mail.
Re: Stamps vs. metered mail marketing question - Posted by James Buster
Posted by James Buster on December 10, 2002 at 16:34:12:
What’s Astrobrite?
Great advice, thanks Steve (nt) - Posted by Brian (CA)
Posted by Brian (CA) on December 10, 2002 at 13:46:13:
nt
Re: I agree… - Posted by Tim Fierro (Tacoma, WA)
Posted by Tim Fierro (Tacoma, WA) on December 09, 2002 at 23:32:19:
And I think a large part of opening a letter is based on the individual opener. He/She may want to see everything coming in, or only some of the letters. When in desperate situations you will have people who won’t open anything and just toss it all out because their world is crashing down on them. Others who are losing it all, may be looking for that one envelope that says there is hope.
So there is a certain amount of intuition that would allow you to believe that an individual is just as much a part of the gamble as the writing on that envelope.
Re: Stamps vs. metered mail marketing question - Posted by Nate(DC)
Posted by Nate(DC) on December 10, 2002 at 01:05:28:
But who said YOU have to do that work…why not hire some local kid or stay-at-home mom @ $6/hour to do it…
NT
Re: Stamps vs. metered mail marketing question - Posted by Trevor
Posted by Trevor on December 09, 2002 at 19:39:41:
Hi,
I would have to agree. A hand written envelope is more personal so the odds are greater for it not being trashed.
Trevor
Re: Stamps vs. metered mail marketing question - Posted by steve
Posted by steve on December 11, 2002 at 07:59:23:
My point was that, when it comes to mail, most (not all) people do judge a book by its cover and that if they see no compelling reason to open an envelope after scanning it, it will get tossed. If you want proof, check the trash can in the lobby of your post office next to the P.O. boxes and see how much of the mail is unopened.
I just wanted to illustrate that your mail should be as visually interesting as possible to get someone’s attention for more than 2 seconds. It’s much easier and less costly to do this if you use a mailpiece that doesn’t require an envelope.
Again, use the mail you receive personally as a guide. I could retire tomorrow on the money these companies spend in ten minutes on mail piece design. One thing you don’t see on solicitation mail is a plain envelope.