MailWays

IN THIS ISSUE

• New Move Update Regs
• What Drives Consumer Response?
• Direct Marketing 101
• What's the IMB?
• Mail Myths & Facts
• Press Box
• Our Favorite Charities
• How Are We Doing?
• Hold That Thought

We are Proud to be a Member of these Organizations

The Press Box
Find out what's new at:

Long Island Center for Business & Professional Women
Focus Express Mail Pharmacy
Bi-County Mailing
Dominican Sisters of Amityville
National Association of Mothers' Centers

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 - What Clients Are Saying About Us 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...

Lady Astor to Winston Churchill:
“Winston, if you were my husband, I would poison your coffee!”
Churchill’s reply:
“Madam, if I were your husband, I would drink it.”

The US Postal service wants to further reduce undeliverable mail. On November 23, 2008, mailers will be required to decrease the number of pieces that require forwarding, return or treatment as waste by periodically matching their mailing lists with change-of-address orders filed with the USPS. Here are the changes:

• Mailers must have their lists updated every 95 calendar days prior to the date of each mailing. You can use NCOA processing, Address Correction Service or other approved endorsements.
  
  
• Move Update now includes all Standard Mail, as well as automation-rate and presort-rate First-Class mail.

How you can benefit from new Move Update regs:

• Cleaner mailing lists reduce production costs, since print runs are smaller.
  
  
• Postage costs decrease, since “undeliverables” don’t enter the USPS system.
  
  
• Production is quicker, since fewer pieces take less time to produce.
  
  
• Mailings are “greener”, since waste is reduced.

BOTTOM LINE: NET REDUCED COSTS
(Less printing, less labor, less postage)

For more Move Update information call 631.694.1500.

What Drives

Consumer Response?

Understanding what makes consumers buy is probably the most compelling dilemma facing direct mail marketers. A white paper prepared by a prominent market research enterprise — the Winterberry Group — reports the following:

• “Below-the-line” messages, stressing accountability, targeting, customized offers, constant testing and direct-to-consumer strategies, achieve more through their scientific approach than the “above-the-line” method, which focuses on splashy images and emotional appeals.
  
  
• Timing is vital. Coordinating offers with events (e.g., births, marriages or moving for B-to-C programs; inventory clearances, new-product introductions in the B-to-B sector) heightens the chance of having a recipient find immediate value in what you have to offer.
  
  
• Relevance is Key. The ability to identify recipients’ needs, desires and preferences, followed by ways to meet their requirements or solve their problems can make or break a marketing program.

For more direct mail tips, click here

Here are some basic concepts about direct marketing that will help you develop more successful campaigns:

• The back end is more important than the front end. Getting customers to buy from you again is most important. If your product/service can stand on its own without a lot of hype, you’ve a better chance of getting repeat customers.
  
  
• Select mailing lists that can return repeaters to you. You must know who you’re mailing to, and choose lists that can grow with you.
  
  
• Choose format to match your goals. Self-mailers allow for faster decisions; mailers in envelopes provide more information but demand more of the reader’s time.
  
  
• Adapt your mail to an individual. When you tailor your mail to the specific interests of your recipient, you will probably pull a greater response.
  
  
• Urgency can lift your total response. The more specific your deadline for response, the higher the response rate.
  
  
• Testimonials can be powerful. If someone else says you’re great, that’s better than you saying you’re great.

For more direct mail tips click here.

What’s the IMB?

The IMB (Intelligent Mail Barcode) is the US Postal Service’s (USPS) latest barcode technology. As of January 2009, the USPS plans to replace the current barcodes, requiring every piece of mail to be identified by an IMB in order to receive the highest available postal discount.

The IMB carries significantly more information that identifies the mailer, destination, class of mail and any additional services required by a particular mail piece.

For the latest direct mail information, click here

Myth: E-mail has replaced letter mail.

Fact: E-mail has not replaced letter mail. It has replaced phone calls and faxes.

Myth: Young people don’t use mail.

Fact: Household income, not age, determines mail volume. Households with income between $30K to $35K annually receive about 16 pieces of mail weekly; those with over $65K receive about 27 pieces.