Reduce the number of pieces

You can cut costs by mailing fewer pieces (a letter and a brochure with attached order form and mailed). Fewer pieces means lower printing and lettershop costs (lettershops stuff the envelopes, affix postage, and take the mailing to the post office). A smaller, lighter package will also require less postage.

Start Small

Trying something new? Start with a smaller mailing, then mail again, in larger quantities, to the lists that worked best.

Change The Physical Size of Your Mailing

Larger mailings will cost more. For instance, an 8 1/2 x11 10-page brochure on thick paper will cost more to print and mail than a 6×9 6-panel self-mailer. Talk to your printer before you finalize your design. It’s a lot cheaper to change the design before they start!

Get Volume Printing Discounts

Use a printer that combines (or “gangs up”) different print jobs from multiple customers. You will lose some flexibility (there will be fewer choices of paper size, type, and quality), but you will gain full-color printing and significant volume cost savings.

Regardless of which printer you use, If you think you may need a few extra, order them. Much of the cost is in the initial setup, so doubling the quantity won’t double the price.

Update Your List Regularly

People move, change jobs, and change their names. The more old data and errors on your list, the more money you’re wasting on mail that won’t get delivered. If your list is clean, you’ll have fewer errors and duplicates. If you rent or buy a list, check to see when it was last updated. No list is 100% perfect, but return rates should be about 2%.

Don’t Pay Retail for Postage

Paying 41 cents is like paying full retail. And, the best part is, you don’t have to wait for a sale!

There are three basic kinds of mail, two of which you probably know about: first class and standard (or bulk mail). Both have discounts based on volume (how many pieces you send), density (how the addresses are concentrated together) and whether you are a nonprofit or a commercial business. There’s also first class pre-sort, which goes as quickly as regular first class, but costs less because you sort it first (in zip code order).

Five Ways To Cut Your Postage Costs

1) Put the addresses in zip code order, lowest to highest (this is called pre-sorting.)

2) Send at least 200 pieces for bulk mail, 500 for first class pre-sorted mail. First class pre-sort is cheaper than regular first class.

3) Weigh it; it should be under an ounce for first class, under 3.3 ounces for bulk.

4) Check the dimensions (for instance, a letter size envelope is OK, but a square or a 9 x 12 flat size will cost you more money).

5) If you use a self-mailer (no envelope), fold it with the crease on the bottom, and the wafer seal (a sticker to hold it closed) on the top so it will slide smoothly through the post office’s machinery.

Before you start, check with a lettershop/mailing house for detailed information on addressing formats, size limits, and postal templates. You can save up to 40%!

However, if you use direct marketing to promote and ship your products you probably use a lot of paper and a lot of packaging. You need paper to print your letters, postcards, and brochures, and mailers, boxes and fillers to ship them in.

What can you do to make your business greener?

Cut Down on Waste

1. Keep your list clean (fewer bad addresses means less waste). Make sure you remove names of people who no longer want to receive your mailings. Also, use a merge/purge program. This will eliminate duplicates when you are combining several lists or names of people you have gathered from multiple sources.
2. Put an opt-out on your mailings. This is good public relations, good for the environment, and good for your business. One, you will be perceived as a good corporate citizen. Two, you use fewer resources, and three, you save money because you aren’t sending mailings to people who don’t want them.
3. Choose lighter paper or use less of it. Heavier paper uses more resources, and requires more money and energy to produce. It’s also more expensive and since it weighs more it will increase the cost of postage. If appropriate (say for lead generation), try a postcard rather than a full letter, brochure, and envelope.

Use Greener Suppliers

1. Use green printing companies. They use soy and vegetable –based ink, which is less toxic, and paper that is both recycled and chlorine-free.
2. Use recycled paper. Recycled paper can be “post” or pre-consumer/recycled, and will list the percentages. Pre-consumer means that it’s waste from the normal printing process (initial copies that didn’t print properly, or feed through correctly); post-consumer means it’s already been printed and used once and then sent back to be re-used.
3. Use greener packing materials. Boxes, bubble wrap, cushioned mailers, and packing materials are all available in less wasteful and recycled forms.

Printers

Greg Barber Company

http://www.gregbarberco.com/

Ecoprint

http://www.ecoprint.com/

Green Packaging Sources

Packaging Price.com (bubble mailers)

http://www.packagingprice.com

PolyAir (padded mailers and cushioning materials)

http://www.polyair.com

Rock-Tenn (recycled boxes)

http://www.rocktennpaperboard.com

United Container Company (recycled cartons)

http://www.unitedcontainer.com

Green Business Directories

LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability)

http://www.lohas.com/

The Green Pages

http://www.coopamerica.org/pubs/greenpages/

Green Your Own Office

1. Have an environmental friendliness policy (and post it prominently on everything you send; put it on your Web site too). Decide what constitutes “environmentally” friendly. Is it just biodegradable? Is it something that can be recycled or something that has already been recycled (or partially recycled) once? Will you take the amount of energy required to produce it into account?
2. Practice what you preach. Recycle your own excess paper, bottles, newspapers, and cans.

Environmental Policy Tools

The DMA Environmental Planning Tool and Policy Generator

http://www.the-dma.org/envgen/

The DMA Environmental Resource Center

http://www.the-dma.org/environment/

The three keys to an effective direct marketing campaign are: LIST, OFFER, and CREATIVE. It’s like a three-legged stool. They’re all necessary to hold it up; if one leg is broken, the entire stool collapses.

KEY NUMBER ONE: THE LIST

“I’ve Got a Little List”

The first leg of the stool is the list. This can be either an actual list of names (whether e-mail or postal addresses), or an online audience who look at a Web site or click on a link.

Develop a mental image of your ideal customer, and look for people (or businesses) that best fit that profile. If you sell dirt bikes, a list of AARP members is probably not a good choice!

Don’t judge a list by price. Cheaper is not necessarily better. Instead, read the data card (the list’s vital statistics/biography) and see how well the people on that list match your customers. Also check to see how recently the list has been updated. Fresher is better.

If you’re not sure about a particular list, set of adwords, or web site, test drive it. Try a small campaign and check results. If it works, you can expand the campaign; if not, you can test something else.

KEY NUMBER TWO: THE OFFER

“What’s In It For Me?”

A great salesman once told me that the world’s most popular radio station is WII-FM or “What’s in it for me?” To be effective, an offer (10 issues for $5; free trial) must be something that your audience perceives as useful and valuable. Will it make them look or feel good? Does it address their problems?

Be clear about the purpose of the campaign (before you start), and make certain that the call to action (call now, click here) is clear, easy-to-use, and prominently displayed in your e-mail or on your site.

Try a new offer and test it against the old one. Sometimes, even a small change, such as length of commitment, pricing structure, or a gift with purchase can make a significant difference in response.

KEY NUMBER THREE: THE CREATIVE

“I Feel Pretty”

Creative is the copywriting, the format, the design, the graphics, etc. Each of these can have a significant impact on response.

For instance, some companies block images, so if you’re deploying an e-mail campaign be sure to format it in both text and HTML and allow recipients to either choose the format they prefer or view the page on the Web.

Also consider the content of the campaign. If you’re selling software or technology, don’t focus on the specs. Instead, put them on a separate page or in a sidebar and concentrate on offering solutions to your customers’ problems.

Keep your paragraphs short, especially online. Use headlines and make sure they draw readers in, so they’ll want to read more.

Don’t be afraid to use color, but make sure your text and design are legible. If you’re using a photo, try to avoid stock images. People respond to “real” people; show them your actual staff or a photo of the product they’ll receive.

Lastly, speak to your readers directly. Use words such as “you” and “your”, rather than “we” and “our.”