MailWays

IN THIS ISSUE

• 12 DM Tips
• Boost Profits
• Be Customer-Driven
• Non-Profits, Read Carefully
• Press Box
• Our Favorite Charities
• How Are We Doing?
• Hold That Thought

The Press Box

Find out what's new at:

Dominican Sisters of Amityville

LaMantia Gallery

Get FREE publicity for your company/organization.

Send us news about your events, promotions, awards, important changes, achievements, etc. We will post the information on our website through a link in this space. Email your information
in a Word document
to Phyllis Abrams at filisa@optonline.net.

Be sure to put
“Bi-County Press Box”
in the subject field.
Deadline: the 15th of each month. This FREE service is only for clients. Space is limited. We will make every effort to accommodate all submissions. Posting will be at the sole discretion of the publisher.

Go to www.americanmail.com & www.bicountymailing.com

Click on “Our Favorite Charities”...
It's our way of supporting good people
who do good things.
Every little bit helps.

Please visit their sites.
They could use your support!

How Are We Doing?

Check out our clients' testimonials on www.americanmail.com
About Us - Direct Mail References page. We've included their company logos, as well as links to their websites when possible.

If you're a client, and would like to be listed on our testimonial page with your logo and a link to your website, tell us how we've helped you improve your business, email

greg@americanmail.com

HOLD THAT THOUGHT...

Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.

Margaret Thatcher

12 Direct Mail Tips You Should Remember

1) Clearly define your target market: Determine what people want to hear, not what you want to tell them.
2) Include a personal letter in your package: One-to-one communication improves response.
3) Lead with your offer: Create a strong offer. Make it clear, simple and to-the-point.
4) Turn your features into bottom-line benefits: Show how your widget will save time, increase profits, improve competitiveness, boost efficiency, etc.
5) Highlight benefits with graphics: Use colors, a distinctive font, bullets, brackets, etc.
6) Offer choices with guidance: Clarify the readers’ options and show them that any choice is a win-win decision.
7) Keep choices simple: Giving your readers too many options will distract them from the benefits you’re really selling.
8) Enclose an action device: To bring the order home, use a simple order form, discount coupon, 800 number, etc.
9) Don’t get cute with your design: Don’t make your readers work to read your message.
10) Don’t send conflicting offers: Clean your mailing list so an individual doesn’t get more than one test offer for the same product on the same day.
11) Nix the jargon: Write to your audience, not yourself.
12) Don’t take anything for granted: Do the math for your readers. Don’t tell them they’ll save “half our regular fee”. Tell them they’ll “save $500”.

For more direct mail tips, click here.

Boost Profits by Using
Less Expensive Formats

Don’t want to spend money on an elaborate direct mail package? There are plenty of alternative formats you can test.

• Self-mailers – They cost less and are good for a quick read. They also help speed response by looking urgent and newsy. Make sure you have a strong headline in bold type, a clear offer and a reply mechanism such as a tear-off reply care for easy response.
• Invitations – They signal exclusivity. An “invitation to buy” on high-quality paper with an RSVP works best for offers targeted to higher-income prospects, professionals and C-level executives.
• Imitation Envelopes (Designed to look like telegrams, overnight packages, etc.) – They can attract attention and lead recipients to open your envelope.
• Postcards – They are best for generating inquiries for familiar products/services. Remember to use a clear benefit headline and make a strong, tangible offer.

For more marketing tips click here.

Non-Profits, Read Carefully

Since the last postal rate increase, several not-for-profit organizations have been denied the “automation” rate even though their mailings were barcoded. Here’s why.

Two possible issues could be at work: Either the barcodes did not pass United States Postal Service (USPS) inspection, or the mailings contained a response vehicle (either a card or envelope destined to be mailed back to the organization) that was not “automation-compliant”. Here’s what you should know:

• The USPS puts your mailing through a MERLIN machine that measures various criteria, including correctness, clarity, size, etc., of the USPS Postnet barcodes. If barcodes fall below a certain level of accuracy and quality, you may be denied the “automation” rate.
• Response cards or reply envelopes must have the appropriate postal markings including FIM marks and a USPS POSTNET barcode. Therefore, all automated mailings that include any type of response vehicle (either card or reply envelope) must also have those vehicles imprinted with the appropriate postal automation-compatible markings.

For more marketing tips click here.