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| Back To List | FAQ(s) found under Mailing Info | Showing 1 Of 2 | Next |
| General Mailing Information for Effectively Reaching Your Target Audience 2006-01-26 |
| To make your mailing experience more effective, we have put together this guide. It answers some of the questions we have been asked. We hope you will find it useful. List Services Types of lists to effectively reach your target Consumers Resident/Occupant Lists - This is a list that includes all post office boxes, city routes, rural routes and other route addresses. This is the best list for a saturation mailing. You may select all addresses in a zip code or addresses in specific mail delivery routes. Lists are addressed to "OCCUPANT" instead of containing the name of the individual at that address. You can select or eliminate post office boxes, apartments and single-family homes with this list. The response rate to this type of list is very poor. Resident by Name (Consumer Lists) - This list is compiled by merging more than one-and-a half- billion records from many sources: White Page Telephone Directories, Auto Registration, Credit Information, Mail Order Buyers/Responders, Magazine Subscribers and many others. These lists frequently provide the best means of reaching large groups of specific audiences. For example, you can rent compiled lists of all doctors in Dallas. The response rate is much better than "Occupant" lists but not as strong as "Response" lists. Response List - These are lists of proven mail order buyers. Mail order offers usually get the best return through mailings to "Response" lists of buyers who have purchased a similar product in the same price range. Donor Lists - Used primarily by fundraisers, these lists contain the names of people who have contributed money to charities and non-profit organizations. Attendee/Membership/Seminar Lists - These lists contain the names of individuals who have attended a specific trade show or industry event, belonged to an industry association or professional group, or paid for seminar participation. Subscription Lists - These lists are of people who have subscriptions to magazines and other publications. These are some of the best and largest types of lists. Credit Card Holders Lists - These names are useful because the prospect can respond to your offer using a credit card. Lists can be selected by any of the following including combination of selections: Financial Investment Credit Public Record Homeowner Bank Card Holder Public Record Dates Age of Home Credit Card Holder Public Record Select Bathrooms (number of) Credit Card Interest Categories Public Record Tax Lein Amt Bedrooms (number of) Expendable Income Fireplace (presence of) Loan to Value Garage (presence of) Net Worth Home Size Potential Investor Model Homeowner Hotline 0-12 months Purchasing Power Indicator Lot Size Regal Credit Median Home Value Socio-Economic Status Indicator Mortgage Information Stock/Bond Ownership Owns/Rents Tradelines (number of) Pool (presence of) Travel & Entertainment Card Holder Rooms (number of) Year Built Miscellaneous Age Family Member Selections (height, weight) Line of Travel Mail Order Buyers Children (presence of) Foreign Language Marital Status Dog/Cat Owners Gender Month/ Year of Birth Donors Geography/Radius New Movers Dwelling Unit Size Hispanic Surname Indicator Relationship Indicator Estimated Household Income Length of Residence Title Codes Ethnicity VCR Owners Product Use Ailments Dress Size Military Member Alcoholic Beverages Dry Dog Food-Bag Size Misc Activities Allergy Medication Education Misc HH Indicators Antacids Electronics Mouthwash Bagels Exercise Frequency Music Preference Base Respondents Exercise Location Non-Prescription Remedies (Category) Beer Exercise Types Non-Prescription Remedies (Brand) Bottled Water Eye drops (Frequency) Nutritional Supplement Drinks Cable Shopping Services Eye drops (Brand) Occupation - Male & Female Canned Dog Food Eyeglasses Contacts On-line / High Tech Registration Canned Dog Food Size Family Members On-line Computer Services Cat Fashion Preference Pain Reliever (Category) Cat Products (Category) Fast Food (Category) Pain Reliever (Brand) Cat Products (Brand) Fast Food (Brand) Pain Reliever - Use Cheez Whiz (Frequency) Federal Employees Personal Care Products (Category) Cheez Whiz (Brand) Food Personal Care Products (Frequency) Cigar Smoking Frozen Food Personal Computer Coffee Grandchildren Ages Powdered Beverages (Frequency) Coffee Consumption Hair Color Powdered Beverages (Brand) Cold/Allergy Medicine HH Expectancies Prescription Medication Cold/Allergy Medicine - Use HH Income Quit Smoking - Interest in Info to Assist Collectibles HH Products (Category) Reading Contact Lens Care HH Products (Frequency) Salad Dressing Contributor Individual in HH Shampoo Credit Card Balance Insurance Shampoo- Use Credit Cards Interests Shave Cream Custom Calling Features Investments Shave Cream - Use Deodorant Laundry Detergents Smokers Diarrhea Medication Life Change/Events Soft Drink - Consumption Diarrhea Medication-Use Long Distance Carrier Soft Drinks Diet Control Methods Mail Order Buyers Spouse Diet Lite Foods Marital Status Toothpaste Dog Products Mayonnaise (Frequency) Trash Bag (Category) Dog Size Mayonnaise (Brand) Trash Bag (Brand) Dog/Other Pet Medications Vehicle Purchase Plan DQI Indicator Military Vehicle Purchase Type Opt-In Email List - This is a new and growing area of lists. 'Opt-In' is permission email. People have actually said "Yes" to receive information about products or services because they're actually interested in learning about them. This is a way to match your services or product to consumers' categories of interest. Business Business List - These lists are compiled from public sources including incorporation and DBA records, Yellow and Business White Pages, Annual reports, 10-Ks, other SEC Information, Business magazines, Newsletters and Top Newspapers Postal Service Information and other sources. Business Lists can be selected by: · Type of Business · Yellow Page Heading · SIC Code (Standard Industrial Classification Coding System) · Estimated Sales Volume · Number of Employees · Geographic Area · Geographic Radius · Title of Executive · Franchise, Brand or Professional Specialty · Combination of any and all the above. Business Profiles/Credit Report - This is an enhanced view of a company. In addition to finding basic information on companies, you are provided with the business name, address, telephone and fax number, credit rating code, key executive names and titles, primary and secondary lines of business, number of employees, estimated sales volume, years in business and competitors. Credit Reports - This report shows detailed payment history and public information such as bankruptcies, judgments and UCC filings. Other Information Format - Lists can be provided on mailing labels (one up pressure sensitive or Cheshire), prospect sheets, 3x5 telemarketing cards or magnetic format. The most versatile format is on disks with one-year unlimited use. Lists are seeded with decoy names to protect against unauthorized use Limit of Liability and Accuracy - List are provided for lawful purposes only. Lists are compiled and verified to the best of the company's ability. However, most companies cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information furnished including telephone numbers, facsimile numbers, E-mail addresses, or duplicate copies of lists and are not liable for any loss caused by the lists. List Counts - Counts are updated daily and may be subject to change. List Cost - Due to the many options available in selecting your list, it is virtually impossible to show prices. Pricing is based on some of the following factors: quantity needed, information desired and type of list requested. Minimum Orders - Other than Resident by Name and Business list, most companies have a 5,000-name minimum. Payment - Payment for a list is due in full at time of delivery. On some lists, prepayment may be required. Prepayment is always required on the first two orders from new clients. Sample Mail Piece - Approved sample mail piece is required for certain lists. The approval is needed before lists can be rented. Shipping - Lists can be shipped in a number of ways: electronic transfer, next day shipping, two-day air and ground shipping. Time Required - 3 to 5 working days is the normal time required to process a compiled list. Other lists may require 10 to 15 working days. If the list is needed sooner, a rush charge may apply. Mailing Services Answers and facts to make your mail piece reach its target Address and Barcode Area - An area 2" x 3¼" is needed to ink jet the address and barcode onto your mail piece. Without this much white space for the address, it will not be possible to send it at the lower automation-compatible rates. Addressing Standards -The way an address is formatted can make a large difference in whether it is sent at automation rates, the higher non-automation rates, or not delivered at all. The Postal Service reads an address from the bottom line to the top instead of from the top down. The last or bottom line of an address should contain only the city, state and zip code. The next line up is designated as the delivery address line (where the mailpiece is intended for delivery). This line can be the street address, a post office box or rural route and box number. Any suite number, apartment number or other should be placed at the end of the line and not before the street number. The next line up is the line for the recipient's name or a company's name. If need be, the next line is for the recipient's title, or their name. If the title is used the next line is for the name. Ms. Jane Doe Information Line President Information Line ABC Company Recipient Line 123 N. Main St. Suite 345 Delivery Address Line Fort Worth, TX 76112 Last Line Using dual addresses - both a street and a post office box number in one delivery address- is not recommended. If you use dual addressing, place the delivery designation (where you want the mail to be delivered) on the delivery address line. Never place the two designations together on one line. ABC Company 123 N. Main St. Suite 345 P.O. Box 768 Mail is delivered here Fort Worth, TX 76112 Automation-Compatible - By making your mailpiece automation-compatible (having it properly barcoded and sorted) you can take advantage of the Postal Service's lower rates. Normal first-class rate is $.33, Non-automation Basic Letter rate is $.256. Automation Basic Letter rate is $.183. You save 44% over first-class rates and more than 28% over non-automation rates. Post cards and letters must meet certain standards (see post card, letters). Direct Printing - Printing addresses directly onto your mail piece. Delays in Mailing - If you, your printer, shipper or other sources are running behind schedule, it will cause a delay in getting your mail to the post office. A set amount of time is needed to do the job properly. See Turnaround time. Endorsements - These are the markings you can apply to your mailpiece to request new addresses and specify how the Postal Service should handle the mail if it can't be delivered as addressed. Any undeliverable Standard Mail (A) that has no endorsement is discarded. The most common endorsements are: Address Service Requested · Months 1-12: mailpiece forwarded at no charge. A separate notice of new address provided, and an address correction fee is charged ($.50). · Months 13-18: mailpiece is returned with new address attached, only weighted fee is charged ($.82). · After 18 months or if undeliverable: mailpiece returned with reason for nondelivery. Only weighted fee is charged ($.82). Return Service - the mailpiece is returned with the new address or reason for nondelivery, return postage at first-class mail single-piece rate is charged ($.33). Envelope - On jobs that require inserting and sealing, most machines work best with the standard #10 commercial regular envelope. The executive envelope that can be purchased at such office supply store as Office Depot or Office Max will not work with most machines (the back flap is too long). Most paper stores sell a standard #10 commercial regular envelope that works best. Flyer - When designing your self-mailing flyer (does not need to be put into an envelope), please design it so that the fold is at the bottom and the opening is at the top. This reduces the chance that the flyer will get torn as it passes through the Postal Service's high-speed machines. Please have your printer fold them. This way it will need only one tab at the top to seal it instead of two tabs at the bottom (which reduces your cost). See example below: Opens at bottom/folds at top - 2 tabs needed Opens at top/folds at bottom - 1 tab needed Letter - This is the most common processing category. Letter size is from 5" to 11 ½" in length and from 3 ½" to 6 7" in height. The thickness is from .007 to .25 inch. List Formats - Acceptable formats for your list, so that it can be properly processed are: · Delimited Text - Fields that are separated by one tab or comma. · Fixed length text - A text field in which records have a fixed length and end with a carriage return and/or line feed. · DBF -Dbase file format · Excel - cells are fields and rows are records. · FileMarker pro · Microsoft Work · Act! - An 'Act!' Database Version 3.0. Microsoft Access databases must be converted to any of the above formats Labels, paper lists and other formats can be converted to an acceptable format and a conversion charge may apply. Minimum pieces - To be able to mail at Standard Mail (A) (bulk mail) rates you need at least 200 addressed pieces. For Automation-Compatible rates, you should have at least 225-250 addresses (as addresses are checked and verified, some will come up as undeliverable). For first-class presort you need at least 500 addresses (again you should have between 525 and 550 addresses). Permits - If you plan to prepare your bulk mail or are a non-profit mailer, you must purchase a one-time permit from the Post Office and pay an annual bulk-mailing fee. If you have a mailing house process your bulk mail, you can use their permit number. Permit Imprints - You may stamp your bulk mail in one of three ways: 1) pre-cancelled bulk rate stamps which you can purchase from the post office. 2) Postage meter with special endorsement. 3) Printed indicia on address side of mailing piece. Examples of the indicia are below. If possible, please have the permit printed onto the mail piece at the same time you have it printed. Postage - All postage is due at time of mailing. Checks need to be made out to US Postmaster or the amount must be in your permit account on the day of mailing. Postal Service Delivery to Final Destination - 1st class mail is delivered on average from overnight to three days depending of the distance the mail has to travel. Standard Mail (A) (Bulk Mail) is for when the material is not of a highly time-sensitive nature. Delivery times can be from overnight to as much as 14 days depending of the distance the mail has to travel. Please note: Mailing houses are not responsible for the job after it is delivered to the U.S. Postal Service including, but not limited to, delayed delivery, loss, increased postage, misdirection or destruction. Post Cards - There is a post card rate for 1st class pre sort only. The card can be no smaller than 3 ½" x 5" and no larger than 4 ¼" x 6". Minimum thickness is .007". To be automation compatible (1st class and Standard Mail (A)) the post card must have an aspect ratio (length divided by height) from 1:1.3 to 1:2.5. A post card 4"x 5 ½ " meets this ratio, a 4 ¼" x 5 ½" does not. If the post card is more than 4 ¼" high or 6" long or both it must be at least 0.009 inch thick. Scheduling/Turnaround - Most jobs can be done within three (3) business days. Plan and schedule all jobs for 3-5-business days' turnaround at the latest. So please give your mailing house at least five (5) business days to get your job to the post office. Please call first and see what their schedule allows. The more lead-time that you give them, the better. Also you can have your materials delivered ahead of the scheduled time. That way they can work on it between other jobs, and may even have it ready ahead of schedule. Undeliverable Mail - The Postal Service will forward mail to people who have moved. With 1st class mail, if the mail is undeliverable the piece is returned with the reason for non-delivery attached. There is no charge for this service. With standard mail (A) the piece is disposed of by the Postal Service, unless it has a service endorsement such as "Address Service Requested". See Endorsements above. The information in this guide was based in part on information provided by the United States Postal Service and their many publications. This guide is simply an overview of United States Postal Service Guidelines. It is not, however an official USPS guide. The Postal Service is the ultimate source of rate and mail preparation rules. All information can change without notice. The Freedman Company provides free list research and consultations utilizing various resources to locate applicable outside lists and acts as a liaison between you the mailer and the owners or managers of the list. We have access to over 28,000 listings including business and consumer lists in 212 market classifications. We also provide a full line of mailing services geared for the small (250 pieces) mailer to medium size mailer. Our services include, data entry, fulfillment services, hand and direct ink jet addressing, hand and machine inserting/sealing, mail merge, laser printing of letter or flyer and mail tracking. We hope that you found the answers to your questions. If you still have questions call The Freedman Company at 817-282-0443 (fax: 817-282-0773, e-mail: infor@freedcom.com). We'll be happy to answer your questions, with no obligation. |
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