j_r0kk and others mailing cost

ok I have my post cards how do I do mail carrier drops and what are the cost involved.
is this the least exspensive way?
yesterday I got a chineese menu in the mail, it just said resident with our address of course their english is bad so couldnt get info from them but is that whats considered bulk mailing?

With a bulk mail permit from the USPS (around $250 annually), you are entitled to explore the rather complicated world of reduced cost mailings. there are lots of guidelines tht determine what class of mailing and the costs. This is not for 30 or 40 pieces, but 200+ in that neighborhood.

When we do mailings, we address it to “Our Neighbor in Grantville, Georgia 30220”. we call the postmaster and ask how many addresses are in each mail route; we have 4 routes. I then bundle enough for each and every person on those routes I want to hit (and a few extras for mistakes) and take them to the counter, labelled with route number and total addresses. they charge you by the piece, so only count the addresses in the route and not the ‘extras’.

This is known as “saturation mailing” or DDR. We pay about 17 cents per piece for 1 ounce letters. there are BUNCHES of levels and classes of bulk mail. www.usps.com will have a publication available with details if your postmaster doesn’t have it. They are very precise about labelling, sizes, bundling and the like in order to get your discounts . . . you’re doing the work, so you get the discount.

I hope some of this helps. If this is a one-time venture, you way want to go to a direct mail contractor in your area and let them charge you an extra few cents per piece to mail them for you.

Red Barn,

I’m going to get my guy, Shelby, to help you out with this question. I’ve got a ton of info but this is what he does for a living. Stand by for a post within the next day or two. -J_r0kk

Try to find a local mailhouse in your area. A mailhouse is basiclly just people that specialize in doing bulk mailings. Alot of printers work in cunjunction with mail houses, so ask your local printer who they can recommend for bulk mailings. Its ok to use an out of state mailhouse, if somebody is going to recommend one… However if the person is local, the mail gets dropped right at your Post Office and not a post office across the country in another state. It arrives in a more timely manner and you can control your labor based upon the mailing a little easier. However there are some mailhouses out of state that will actually UPS dropship your bulk mail to your designated post office. So the mail actually never goes to any other Post Office. That’s a good feature and all but your going to pay a premium price for it.

Plus… You can trade pizza for services with the local mailhouse. You can’t do that with somebody 500 miles away :slight_smile:

Red

If your cards are at least 3 1/2 x 5 but not larger than 4 1/4 x 6 you can get a postage rate as low as .179 cents each (first class) or .127 cents (standard rate) You will need to use a “letter shop” to accomplish this. Companies like mine can do all the data & paper work required to produce such a low postage rate. You may be able to find a local company that offers services like ours. There are a few requirements.

  1. You will need at least 200 pieces (standard) and 500 pieces first class

  2. To get the lowest rates you will need to saturate zip codes (mail to all people in a mail carriers bag)

  3. Watch your mail piece design. You can e-mail a image of the card to me. I can then tell you if the piece meets USPS automation regulations.

I can answer any question you may have, with no obligation. I am here to help folks like you with answers to DIRECT MAIL questions. I can be reached at sth@mailcci.com.

Red - You sound like you don’t have any program set up at the moment so just a bit if advice.

  1. Develop a plan with a budget. You can easily ‘over spend’ on marketing by looking at it from the wrong direction. You should be thinking

"I have $400 to spend on marketing this month.

post cards cost 10 cents each, so how many can I mail and stay within my budget"

The plan needs to have some measurabel goals attached, for example:
[list]gain 500 new customers this month (Bulk mailers)[/list]
[list]Get current customers to order more often (Database mailers)[/list]
[list]Increase average tickets (Package deals/upselling)[/list]
[list]All out sales blast (old fashioned Domino’s style Mega Week)[/list]

  1. Develop a New,30,60,90 day mailer system and mail them out every month. You will not get the cheapest saturation rates, but your rate of return will more than make up for that. Your ‘regulars’ might be dining else where more than you think, and this is a good way to get them back and ordering fro your place more regularly.

We’ve been mailing out Monster Magnets now for three weeks. We pay $40 for addresses per 1,000, $40 for service per 1,000 and .168 postage.