Direct mail is still a top marketing tactic for B2B Companies.Why is direct mail still important? It can get delivered to decision makers that might not open email, it can be personalized, it can break through the “clutter”, and it can now be easily integrated with digital media!
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When you’re planning a direct mail campaign, one of your first decisions will be what size mailpiece to use. That decision will affect how much space you have for your message and how much you pay in postage.Take a look at the three most commonly used sizes for direct mail.
Postcard Requirements. At least 5″ long x 3.5″ wide x 0.007″ thick. No more than 6″ long x 4.25″ x 0.016″ thickWhat you should knowPostcards are an inexpensive way to get an immediate message to customers—they don’t even have to open an envelope. First-Class Mail® postcards are a great value, too. You pay a lower price than for letters and get all of the benefits, such as forwarding and return services, that come with First-Class Mail service.However, when you send postcards via USPS Marketing Mail™ service (formerly called Standard Mail), there’s no price break. They cost the same as letters.
Letter Requirements. At least 5″ long x 3.5″ wide x 0.007″ thick.
No more than 11.5″ long x 6.125″ wide x 0.25″ thickWhat you should knowIf you use a standard No. 10 envelope, your piece is clearly a letter. But if you decide to create your own special envelope, or you design a piece to be folded to letter size, be sure to keep the letter dimensions in mind to avoid paying a higher price.Letters can be mailed at First-Class Mail service or USPS Marketing Mail rates. Unlike postcards, they receive a price break when sent at Marketing Mail rates.How can I tell whether my piece is 0.007″ thick? As a guide, an index card meets the 0.007″ guideline.
But if you’re in doubt, contact your local Business Mail Entry Unit. Flat Requirements. Have one dimension that is greater than 11.5″ long OR 6.125″ wide OR 0.25″ thick. Can be no more than 15″ long x 12″ wide x 0.75″ thick.What you should knowThe Postal Service uses the word “flat” to refer to large envelopes, newsletters, and magazines. The maximum size for a flat provides plenty of room to put lots of material in the envelope. But keep in mind that weight usually affects price—the greater the weight, the higher the postage, especially for flats sent as First-Class Mail service.
Size It RightChoosing the right size to fit your budget and needs can help you save time and money in the long run. You know how to address a letter. Or do you?You invest a lot of time and money in your direct mail campaign. That’s why it’s so important to be sure you’re not making address mistakes.
Automated mail-processing machines will be reading your addresses, and they don’t leave much room for error.Here are some dos and don’ts that can help make sure your mail reaches its destination. Do:. Use at least 10-point type, and simple fonts are preferred.
Left justify every line in the address book. Leave one space between the city and state and two spaces between the state and ZIP Code™. Use black ink on white or light paper. Use a PO Box™ address or street address—but not both.
If the address has a directional—for instance, NW for northwest—be sure to use it. Double-check ZIP Codes using the ZIP Code lookup tool on usps.com. Print addresses in all capital letters (preferred).Don’t:. Put anything below the ZIP Code line. Automated mail processing machines read addresses on mailpieces from the bottom up and will look first for a city, state, and ZIP code. Use patterns, prominent flecks, or shiny-coated paper for your envelopes.
Some types of paper interfere with the machines that read addresses. Use reverse type (white printing on a black background).
Let parts of the address slip out of view if your address appears inside a window. Cut off important information when using address labels. Apply labels at a slant. Use punctuation, with the exception of the hyphen in the ZIP+4 Code.By double-checking that you’ve addressed your mailpieces correctly, you can help make sure they arrive where they’re supposed to.
Mailpiece Design Analysts (MDAs) can assist with the mailpiece design and can provide technical assistance with using special papers. Contact the Help Desk for more information at. To create a successful direct mailpiece, at some point you may need to think like a machine—an automated mail-processing machine. That’s what will be “reading” your envelope or card for key information. Mistakes in design can mean your mail doesn’t qualify for automation discounts—or in the worst case, prevent your pieces from going through the mail at all.Here are three pitfalls to watch out for: Odd ShapesYou want your mailpiece to look unique to catch customers’ attention, but an odd shape may not be the best way to do that. Certain shapes like squares and tubes are charged a higher price because those pieces must be processed manually.
Such pieces are referred to as Customized Marketing Mail, or CMM.Speaking of odd shapes, don’t mail bulky, odd-shaped things like pens or bottle caps in regular letter-size envelopes. You’ll pay more in postage, and the items are likely to damage the envelope and be lost. Address MistakesThe delivery address must go on the front of the mailpiece, the same side as the postage. And on a letter-size piece, we recommend placing the address within the optical character reader (OCR) area.
This means the address should be within these boundaries:. 1/2 inch from the left edge of the piece. 1/2 inch from the right edge of the piece. 2-3/4 inches from the bottom edge of the piece. 5/8 inch from the bottom edge of the pieceA return address is required in some cases.
For instance, you’ll need one if you’re asking the Postal Service™ to return mail to you that can’t be delivered, or if you’re paying with precanceled stamps or a company permit imprint. The return address always goes in the upper left corner of the address side of the mailpiece.For more details, refer to the Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) 202.0, Address Placement, and 602.1.0, Elements of Addressing. Misplaced MarkingsWhen you look at a piece of direct mail, you’ll see several markings on the envelope or card. While they may mean nothing to your prospective customers, they are important to delivering the mail, and they need to go in specific places.
These include: PostagePostage, which can be paid with a stamp, meter, or permit imprint, goes in the top right corner. Information on the class of mail—for instance First-Class Mail®, Marketing Mail™, or Nonprofit—must be printed as part of, directly below, or to the left of the permit imprint, meter imprint, or stamp. For details on other options for price-specific markings, refer to the DMM 202.3.5, First-Class Mail and USPS Marketing Mail Markings. EndorsementsEndorsements are markings that tell the Postal Service what to do with mail if it can’t be delivered. For instance, you may want them to return it to you or provide you with address change information. For details on where endorsements can be placed, refer to DMM 202.4.0 Placement and Physical Standards for Endorsements.
BarcodesBarcodes contain a wealth of information that helps USPS® track and route mail more efficiently. To receive automation price breaks, your mailpieces must have a barcode.
For details on barcode placement, see DMM 202.5.0, Barcode Placement Letters and Flats. Consult a Mailpiece Design AnalystRegulations can be confusing if you’re just starting out. To be sure your design will work, it’s a good idea to work with a. An MDA is a specially trained postal employee who can tell you if the finished piece will be mailable and suggest ways to make it eligible for the lowest possible postage rates.By carefully following these suggestions and working with an MDA, you can design a mailpiece that is cost-effective and, most importantly, reaches your prospective customers. Additional ResourcesThe entire Domestic Mail Manual and other valuable postal information can be found on Postal Explorer® website at.
To create a successful direct mailpiece, at some point you may need to think like a machine—an automated mail-processing machine. That’s what will be “reading” your envelope or card for key information. Mistakes in design can mean your mail doesn’t qualify for automation discounts—or in the worst case, prevent your pieces from going through the mail at all.Here are three pitfalls to watch out for: Odd ShapesYou want your mailpiece to look unique to catch customers’ attention, but an odd shape may not be the best way to do that. Certain shapes like squares and tubes are charged a higher price because those pieces must be processed manually.
Such pieces are referred to as Customized Marketing Mail, or CMM.Speaking of odd shapes, don’t mail bulky, odd-shaped things like pens or bottle caps in regular letter-size envelopes. You’ll pay more in postage, and the items are likely to damage the envelope and be lost.
Address MistakesThe delivery address must go on the front of the mailpiece, the same side as the postage. And on a letter-size piece, we recommend placing the address within the optical character reader (OCR) area. This means the address should be within these boundaries:. 1/2 inch from the left edge of the piece. 1/2 inch from the right edge of the piece.
2-3/4 inches from the bottom edge of the piece. 5/8 inch from the bottom edge of the pieceA return address is required in some cases.
For instance, you’ll need one if you’re asking the Postal Service™ to return mail to you that can’t be delivered, or if you’re paying with precanceled stamps or a company permit imprint. The return address always goes in the upper left corner of the address side of the mailpiece.For more details, refer to the Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) 202.0, Address Placement, and 602.1.0, Elements of Addressing. Misplaced MarkingsWhen you look at a piece of direct mail, you’ll see several markings on the envelope or card. While they may mean nothing to your prospective customers, they are important to delivering the mail, and they need to go in specific places. These include: PostagePostage, which can be paid with a stamp, meter, or permit imprint, goes in the top right corner. Information on the class of mail—for instance First-Class Mail®, Marketing Mail™, or Nonprofit—must be printed as part of, directly below, or to the left of the permit imprint, meter imprint, or stamp.
For details on other options for price-specific markings, refer to the DMM 202.3.5, First-Class Mail and USPS Marketing Mail Markings. EndorsementsEndorsements are markings that tell the Postal Service what to do with mail if it can’t be delivered. For instance, you may want them to return it to you or provide you with address change information.
For details on where endorsements can be placed, refer to DMM 202.4.0 Placement and Physical Standards for Endorsements. BarcodesBarcodes contain a wealth of information that helps USPS® track and route mail more efficiently.
To receive automation price breaks, your mailpieces must have a barcode. For details on barcode placement, see DMM 202.5.0, Barcode Placement Letters and Flats. Consult a Mailpiece Design AnalystRegulations can be confusing if you’re just starting out. To be sure your design will work, it’s a good idea to work with a. An MDA is a specially trained postal employee who can tell you if the finished piece will be mailable and suggest ways to make it eligible for the lowest possible postage rates.By carefully following these suggestions and working with an MDA, you can design a mailpiece that is cost-effective and, most importantly, reaches your prospective customers. Additional ResourcesThe entire Domestic Mail Manual and other valuable postal information can be found on Postal Explorer® website at.
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Includes: Apache 2.4.41, MariaDB 10.4.11, PHP 7.2.28 + SQLite 2.8.17/3.31.1. + multibyte (mbstring) support, Perl 5.16.3, ProFTPD 1.3.6, phpMyAdmin 5.0.1, OpenSSL 1.1.1d, GD 2.2.5, Freetype2 2.4.8, libpng 1.6.37, gdbm 1.8.3, zlib 1.2.11, expat 2.0.1, Sablotron 1.0.3, libxml 2.0.1, Ming 0.4.5, Webalizer 2.23-05, pdf class 0.11.7, ncurses 5.9, pdf class 0.11.7, modperl 2.0.8-dev, FreeTDS 0.91, gettext 0.19.8.1, IMAP C-Client 2007e, OpenLDAP (client) 2.4.48, mcrypt 2.5.8, mhash 0.9.9.9, cUrl 7.53.1, libxslt 1.1.33, libapreq 2.13, FPDF 1.7, ICU4C Library 65.1, APR 1.5.2, APR-utils 1.5.4. Includes: Apache 2.4.41, MariaDB 10.4.11, PHP 7.3.15 + SQLite 2.8.17/3.31.1. + multibyte (mbstring) support, Perl 5.16.3, ProFTPD 1.3.6, phpMyAdmin 5.0.1, OpenSSL 1.1.1d, GD 2.2.5, Freetype2 2.4.8, libpng 1.6.37, gdbm 1.8.3, zlib 1.2.11, expat 2.0.1, Sablotron 1.0.3, libxml 2.0.1, Ming 0.4.5, Webalizer 2.23-05, pdf class 0.11.7, ncurses 5.9, pdf class 0.11.7, modperl 2.0.8-dev, FreeTDS 0.91, gettext 0.19.8.1, IMAP C-Client 2007e, OpenLDAP (client) 2.4.48, mcrypt 2.5.8, mhash 0.9.9.9, cUrl 7.53.1, libxslt 1.1.33, libapreq 2.13, FPDF 1.7, ICU4C Library 65.1, APR 1.5.2, APR-utils 1.5.4.
Includes: Apache 2.4.41, MariaDB 10.4.11, PHP 7.4.3 + SQLite 2.8.17/3.31.1. + multibyte (mbstring) support, Perl 5.16.3, ProFTPD 1.3.6, phpMyAdmin 5.0.1, OpenSSL 1.1.1d, GD 2.2.5, Freetype2 2.4.8, libpng 1.6.37, gdbm 1.8.3, zlib 1.2.11, expat 2.0.1, Sablotron 1.0.3, libxml 2.0.1, Ming 0.4.5, Webalizer 2.23-05, pdf class 0.11.7, ncurses 5.9, pdf class 0.11.7, modperl 2.0.8-dev, FreeTDS 0.91, gettext 0.19.8.1, IMAP C-Client 2007e, OpenLDAP (client) 2.4.48, mcrypt 2.5.8, mhash 0.9.9.9, cUrl 7.53.1, libxslt 1.1.33, libapreq 2.13, FPDF 1.7, ICU4C Library 65.1, APR 1.5.2, APR-utils 1.5.4. Includes: Apache 2.4.41, MariaDB 10.4.11, PHP 7.2.28 + SQLite 2.8.17/3.31.1. + multibyte (mbstring) support, Perl 5.16.3, ProFTPD 1.3.6, phpMyAdmin 5.0.1, OpenSSL 1.1.1d, GD 2.2.5, Freetype2 2.4.8, libpng 1.6.37, gdbm 1.8.3, zlib 1.2.11, expat 2.0.1, Sablotron 1.0.3, libxml 2.0.1, Ming 0.4.5, Webalizer 2.23-05, pdf class 0.11.7, ncurses 5.9, pdf class 0.11.7, modperl 2.0.8-dev, FreeTDS 0.91, gettext 0.19.8.1, IMAP C-Client 2007e, OpenLDAP (client) 2.4.48, mcrypt 2.5.8, mhash 0.9.9.9, cUrl 7.53.1, libxslt 1.1.33, libapreq 2.13, FPDF 1.7, ICU4C Library 65.1, APR 1.5.2, APR-utils 1.5.4. Includes: Apache 2.4.41, MariaDB 10.4.11, PHP 7.3.15 + SQLite 2.8.17/3.31.1. + multibyte (mbstring) support, Perl 5.16.3, ProFTPD 1.3.6, phpMyAdmin 5.0.1, OpenSSL 1.1.1d, GD 2.2.5, Freetype2 2.4.8, libpng 1.6.37, gdbm 1.8.3, zlib 1.2.11, expat 2.0.1, Sablotron 1.0.3, libxml 2.0.1, Ming 0.4.5, Webalizer 2.23-05, pdf class 0.11.7, ncurses 5.9, pdf class 0.11.7, modperl 2.0.8-dev, FreeTDS 0.91, gettext 0.19.8.1, IMAP C-Client 2007e, OpenLDAP (client) 2.4.48, mcrypt 2.5.8, mhash 0.9.9.9, cUrl 7.53.1, libxslt 1.1.33, libapreq 2.13, FPDF 1.7, ICU4C Library 65.1, APR 1.5.2, APR-utils 1.5.4.
Includes: Apache 2.4.41, MariaDB 10.4.11, PHP 7.4.3 + SQLite 2.8.17/3.31.1. + multibyte (mbstring) support, Perl 5.16.3, ProFTPD 1.3.6, phpMyAdmin 5.0.1, OpenSSL 1.1.1d, GD 2.2.5, Freetype2 2.4.8, libpng 1.6.37, gdbm 1.8.3, zlib 1.2.11, expat 2.0.1, Sablotron 1.0.3, libxml 2.0.1, Ming 0.4.5, Webalizer 2.23-05, pdf class 0.11.7, ncurses 5.9, pdf class 0.11.7, modperl 2.0.8-dev, FreeTDS 0.91, gettext 0.19.8.1, IMAP C-Client 2007e, OpenLDAP (client) 2.4.48, mcrypt 2.5.8, mhash 0.9.9.9, cUrl 7.53.1, libxslt 1.1.33, libapreq 2.13, FPDF 1.7, ICU4C Library 65.1, APR 1.5.2, APR-utils 1.5.4. Includes: Apache 2.4.41, MariaDB 10.4.11, PHP 7.2.28 + SQLite 2.8.17/3.31.1.
+ multibyte (mbstring) support, Perl 5.16.3, ProFTPD 1.3.6, phpMyAdmin 5.0.1, OpenSSL 1.1.1d, GD 2.2.5, Freetype2 2.4.8, libpng 1.6.37, gdbm 1.8.3, zlib 1.2.11, expat 2.0.1, Sablotron 1.0.3, libxml 2.0.1, Ming 0.4.5, Webalizer 2.23-05, pdf class 0.11.7, ncurses 5.9, pdf class 0.11.7, modperl 2.0.8-dev, FreeTDS 0.91, gettext 0.19.8.1, IMAP C-Client 2007e, OpenLDAP (client) 2.4.48, mcrypt 2.5.8, mhash 0.9.9.9, cUrl 7.53.1, libxslt 1.1.33, libapreq 2.13, FPDF 1.7, ICU4C Library 65.1, APR 1.5.2, APR-utils 1.5.4. Includes: Apache 2.4.41, MariaDB 10.4.11, PHP 7.3.15 + SQLite 2.8.17/3.31.1.
+ multibyte (mbstring) support, Perl 5.16.3, ProFTPD 1.3.6, phpMyAdmin 5.0.1, OpenSSL 1.1.1d, GD 2.2.5, Freetype2 2.4.8, libpng 1.6.37, gdbm 1.8.3, zlib 1.2.11, expat 2.0.1, Sablotron 1.0.3, libxml 2.0.1, Ming 0.4.5, Webalizer 2.23-05, pdf class 0.11.7, ncurses 5.9, pdf class 0.11.7, modperl 2.0.8-dev, FreeTDS 0.91, gettext 0.19.8.1, IMAP C-Client 2007e, OpenLDAP (client) 2.4.48, mcrypt 2.5.8, mhash 0.9.9.9, cUrl 7.53.1, libxslt 1.1.33, libapreq 2.13, FPDF 1.7, ICU4C Library 65.1, APR 1.5.2, APR-utils 1.5.4. Includes: Apache 2.4.41, MariaDB 10.4.11, PHP 7.4.3 + SQLite 2.8.17/3.31.1.
+ multibyte (mbstring) support, Perl 5.16.3, ProFTPD 1.3.6, phpMyAdmin 5.0.1, OpenSSL 1.1.1d, GD 2.2.5, Freetype2 2.4.8, libpng 1.6.37, gdbm 1.8.3, zlib 1.2.11, expat 2.0.1, Sablotron 1.0.3, libxml 2.0.1, Ming 0.4.5, Webalizer 2.23-05, pdf class 0.11.7, ncurses 5.9, pdf class 0.11.7, modperl 2.0.8-dev, FreeTDS 0.91, gettext 0.19.8.1, IMAP C-Client 2007e, OpenLDAP (client) 2.4.48, mcrypt 2.5.8, mhash 0.9.9.9, cUrl 7.53.1, libxslt 1.1.33, libapreq 2.13, FPDF 1.7, ICU4C Library 65.1, APR 1.5.2, APR-utils 1.5.4.
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