(and other tips to help keep your marketing budget low)
With the U.S. Postal System constantly changing their rules it is hard to know if your beautifully designed mailer will end up costing you more in postage than you originally budgeted for.
Many postal rule infractions go unnoticed until the marketing media is printed and delivered to our facility which by then is too late. It is very hard to keep up with ever changing postal rules that postal employees many times are not even aware of. The most prudent step during your design phase would be to check with your local postal agent and/or send Personal Touch Mailing a proof of your design to info@personaltouchmailing.com prior to going to print to find out if your mail piece conforms to all current postal rules.
Here are some key points to remember when designing your mailer:
- Oversized postcards MUST NOT be less than 9/1000 of an inch thick.
- Standard postcard sizes MUST NOT be less than 7/1000 of an inch thick.
- As of May 2011 all business reply envelopes and cards must have an Intelligent barcode in place of the Postnet barcodes.
- Business reply envelopes and cards without barcodes force the entire mailing into higher non-automation rates.
- Folded selfmailers SHOULD always have the final fold at the bottom and opening at the top.
- Booklets MUST not have the bound edge at the top.
- The address area for flat sized mailers MUST be in the top half of the mailer with the bound edge on the right.
- Folded selfmailers with 2 or more staples are considered booklets and must adhere to booklet design rules and tabbing.
- Folded selfmailers with only one staple are still considered selfmailers.
- All booklet designs require 3 oversized wafer seals.
- Selfmailers require 1 to 3 regular sized wafer seals. Most only 1 seal.
- Always leave at least a 4″ x 2″ blank, uncoated addressing area. (not including the return address and postage permit). No UV, Varnish or heavy Aqueous coating on the addressing area.
- Customers are welcome to use our postage permit on all mailings we process. It would save you money if a permit was added during the printing.
The above suggestions are meant to provide some assistance during your mailing design stage. Many are issues that we have seen pop up enough to deem them noteworthy. It would be impossible to include all of the postal regulations here so we stress as much communication as possible with both Personal Touch Mailing and your local Post Office to help your marketing campaign be as effective as possible.
An ounce of prevention can make or break your marketing budget!
Want to know how to create a winning direct mail campaign that won’t break your bank?
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Personal Touch Mailing Services is a full-service direct mail located in Orlando, Florida. Call 407-857-9090 for a quote.
