• Family doctor
• Dentist
• Lawn and landscaping company
• Pool cleaning service
• House cleaning service
• Day Care
• Handyman
• Church

Be the first in front of the residents in your area!

New home owners and new movers are great prospects for many services. The new home owners list is compiled from public records of people who have bought a home in the last six months. New movers is a list of people who have just moved into the area in the last six months and includes renters as well as new home owners.

When targeting new homeowners, a good idea is to design your postcard as “Welcome to the Neighborhood” postcard.  It’s nice to feel welcomed and will increase your overall return on investment (ROI) on your campaign.

Why not? What kind of image do you think of when you hear the word salesman? Some fast talking individual trying to pressure someone into buying a product or service? That is not what sales is all about. Zig Ziglar, the world famous sales trainer and motivator once said, “You can get anything in life you want, if you help enough other people get what they want”. I think that is one of the best descriptions of sales that I have ever heard. In other words, sales is helping other people fulfill their needs. Selling someone something that will help them solve a problem or give them enjoyment is a great way to make a living. Learn more about Zig Ziglar at his website www.ZigZiglar.com

Our company offers Direct Marketing Solutions to small businesses. Postcard Mailings are one of the products we sell. Our job is to help small businesses get new customers. If we think a Direct Mail Campaign is the right solution for a prospect, then it is our job to convince him that our service is the best value available. It’s easy because we believe in our product. That’s sales and we are proud to be salesmen. So should you.

In order to have the most effective direct mailing campaign possible, it is essential to target your direct mailers, which means getting them out to the right people.    Direct mail allows your campaign to target different voter demographics with highly effective messages.  Not all campaign messages will resonate the same with all voters; perhaps a message that reverberates well with seniors may not resonate that well with younger voters.  That is the advantage that direct mail has over any other promotional materials (TV, Radio, Newspaper, Fliers, etc.).

So, who should we target?

Well, that depends on the message you are portraying on your direct mail postcard.

• If you are trying to raise funds for your campaign, you would want a mailing list compiled of residents that have donated to a campaign in the past, and have at least a middle class income.
• If you are trying to rally your base, you may want to target only people that are in your party (democrat, republican, independent).
• If you are trying to get young people to get out and vote, you may want target residents that are under the age of 30.
• Are you trying to saturate the entire district with your postcard, then a saturation mailing list would be perfect for you

See Political Postcard Sample Below

There are two types of lists that can be used to target potential clients with a direct mail piece. The first way would be to do a “saturation” mailing. A saturation mailing list is compiled by mailing to everyone on a mail carrier’s route.   A “targeted “ list is compiled using specific demographical criteria .

What is a saturation mailing mailing list?

Please review video #3 of the bulk mail boot camp.

When to use saturation mailing list?

Can your product or promotion only be used by anyone? If a pizza was offering a three pizza special for $15 would everyone on your street be a potential client? The answer is yes. Every person on your street eats pizza, and is a potential client. If you can look down and you see everyone as potential customer, then saturation is definitely your choice.

If the product or promotion can be used by anybody , it is recommended that you use a saturation list.

Examples:

• Restaurants —Two for One Entree
• Fitness Club — One Free Trial Membership
• Wireless Store — Free gas card with new phone contract
• Church — Christmas Festival

What is a targeted mailing list?

Please review video #4 of the bulk mail boot camp.

When to use a targeted mailing list?

Can your product or promotion only be used by certain people? If a day care was offering 50% new memberships would everyone on your street be a potential client? The answer is no. Only the people with children on your street are potential clients. Use a targeted mailing list when

If the product or promotion can be used only by certain people, it is recommended that you use a targeted list.

Examples:

• Restaurants — Kids eat free (homes must have children to be applicable)
• Pet Supply Store — $10 off $50 purchase of dog food (homes must have dogs to be applicable)
• Pool Service — $20 off first cleaning (homes must have a pool to be applicable)
• Church — Vacation Bible School (homes must have children to be applicable)

For more information on direct mail campaigns and mailing lists please call 866-594-3069.

A carrier route is the actual route walked by a postman.

Every zip code is broken down into carrier routes, also known as a postal route.

Please review video number three of our Bulk Mail Boot Camp below before we go any further.

A postal carrier route is the group of addresses to which the USPS assigns the same code to aid in mail delivery. These codes are 9 digits – 5 numbers for the ZIP Code, one letter for the carrier route type (explained below), and 3 numbers for the carrier route code. For example “05055R003″ or “12508C007.”

A carrier route map consists of two parts; (A) The geographical map of the area and (B) the demographical information of the individual routes.

The (A) map will break each zip code(s) into the individual route that a mail carrier delivers the mail to every day.

Each different route has a colored polygon defining its geographical area and an abbreviated label.

The demographical report of the carrier route map will let you know how many deliverable addresses are in each route. It also displays the average age, income, and home value for each route.

It also breaks down the number of homes and apartment in each route. Please keep in mind that there are additional postage rates when you do not mail to an entire route (ie, mailing to only apartments).

So how do the map and demographics correlate?

On the map, the labels are abbreviated by taking the last two digits of the zip code and the route.

Notice the green polygon located on the left of the map? It is labeled with 40C12.

The last two digits of the zip code are 40. So the zip code would be 44140. And the Route would be C12.

So, on the (A) map 40C12 is the abbreviation of 44140C012.

As you can see, 444140C012 (40C12) has 252 homes and 3 apartments for a total of 255 residential deliveries. The average income is $106,701, the average age is 60, and the average home value $204,851.

Postal routes are the basis for all saturation mailings.

Most experts agree that Direct Mail Advertising is one of the best media choices for small businesses (6 Reasons Why). How well it will work for your business depends upon how well your campaign is executed. Don’t worry, that’s where we come in.

There are 3 important factors to consider when designing your campaign. First, what do you want to promote? Second, who are the best prospects for that product, service or event? Third, how are you going to get those prospects to respond.

We have over 20 years experience in creating direct mail campaigns that deliver results. Direct Mail Advertising Works! It may take a little fine tuning along the way but if you stick with it, response rates will be predictable . At that point, every time you mail it won’t cost you money, it will make you money.

The bottom line is, if you succeed, we succeed. So let’s get started!

1. DIRECT MAIL ALWAYS REACHES YOUR PROSPECT
   Why is this true? Everyone reads their mail! Not everyone gets the newspaper. Even those that get a paper may not read it from beginning to end, so your ad may never be seen. How about radio or TV? Do you have a budget to cover multiple stations at all times during the day?  Probably not. Billboards, signs, even aerial banner planes can be a hit or miss situation. 
2. DIRECT MAIL OFFERS THE BEST TARGETING OPTIONS
   Can you believe the amount of retail shopping plazas that have been built in the past 20 years? Each one seems to be a clone of the one just down the street offering the same lineup of stores. So when advertising, it is more important than ever to geographically target the homes closest to your location. For many businesses, demographic targeting is also important, age, income, ethnicity, etc. can be used to make your advertising more effective. Direct Mail Advertising offers the most precise targeting options.
3. DIRECT MAIL OFFERS THE MOST ACCURATE TRACKING
   Tracking response is easy with direct mail advertising. Include a special offer that can only be redeemed with the return of the postcard. If you can’t measure results you won’t be able to make the right advertising decisions.
4. DIRECT MAIL ADVERTISING: A GREAT VALUE AND AFFORDABLE
   How do you know? Divide what you spend by the number of customers or leads generated. You will find that direct mail is one of the most affordable advertising methods you can choose.
5. DIRECT MAIL LETS YOU ADVERTISE ON YOUR SCHEDULE 
   Timing is everything. Launch your campaign on your schedule. 
6. KEEP YOU COMPETITORS IN THE DARK
   When you advertise in the newspaper or many other media, you are also sending your advertising strategy to your competitors. With direct mail, for the most part, your advertising is between you and your prospects.

If you’ve got questions or comments, give us a call.

We are here to help Monday – Friday, 9-6 Eastern Time. Call 866-594-3069.

1. WHAT Are You Going To Promote? 
   Be specific. Don’t include a laundry list of products or services. Pick your most popular or the best value.
2. WHO Are The Best Prospects For Your Product Or Service?
   Decide if you should target geographically or demographically or a combination of both. A better mailing list means better results.
3. HOW Are You Going To Attract The Prospects You Are Targeting?
   A special offer or “magnet” must be strong enough to yield the results you are planning on. Be honest. If you received the offer in the mail, would you respond?

AFTER YOU MAIL

1. DELIVER
   Make sure your staff is fully briefed on the mailing and and are prepared to deliver special offers enthusiastically without confusion. Remember, first impressions count.
2. TRACK Response Carefully
   Get as much feedback as you can from employees and customers. If you have more than one offer on your postcard, determine what works best. Carefully monitor sales and traffic. Not every prospect will redeem a coupon. If you notice an increase in traffic or sales, it may be a “hidden” response to your mailing. 
3. EVALUATE, Fine Tune and Mail Again
   Direct Mail Advertising Works. But it is a process. Response rates can be improved with each mailing. After time, response rates will even become predictable for your unique situation.

Ready to get started? Our staff can walk you through each of the tips above. We believe that our success depends on your success. So give us a call 866-594-3069.

Don’t have a customer mailing list? Start one today, here’s how:

1. Take names and addresses from invoices and input them into an excel spreadsheet or similar program.
2. Create sign up flyers and place a bunch at your point of sale. Put up a sign, “Get On Our Mailing List For Discounts & More!”
3. Got phone numbers? Start calling your customers and ask them for their mailing address. Tell them you would like to mail them special offers from time to time.
4. Got a website? Put up an invitation for folks to send their mailing address to receive special offers.
5. Use a program for sales and invoicing? Most programs have a mailing list output feature.