Getting the Most Out of Your Postcard Design

In all the years we have been in business, we have always offered our customers “free” consulting on mail design. It’s our way of ensuring they get the most out of their direct mail by meeting all postal regulations.

But recently, we have received artwork to review that did not take advantage of the valuable real estate which is a postcard. Postcards are one of the best direct mail pieces out there. They are quick to catch someone’s eye (if using color & designed well). They’re a quick read – flip it one way & the other and you’re done. They can come in so many different sizes at very economical prices (and we don’t just mean postage!).

Rate-wise, there is only one postcard rate and that is Presorted First-Class postcards (maximum 4.25 x 6 inches). Which you will want to use if you’re sending a dated card (ie: for a conference or event). But if you have time (not a dated card), then Standard is the best rate to use because you can go as big as 6.125 x 11 inches in size – which is a lot of card for the a cheap rate!*

But getting back to our artwork reviews. Something we’ve noticed lately is some designers are very minimalist on the address side of the postcard. Some only using a return address. Maybe they’re expecting the post office to need all of that side for addressing? Or maybe they think their time is better spent designing a fantastic flashy art side? Whatever the reason, there is one big idea they’re missing: the address side of a postcard is read FIRST!

Okay, so there may be some exceptions to that statement. If your recipient lives in an apartment building and their mailbox stores the letters vertically instead of horizontally – maybe, MAYBE they will see the flashy side first. But in the majority of cases (including those vertical mailboxes), people receive their mail address side up because the USPS carriers deliver them that way. People also like to make sure it’s their mail they’re receiving – so often times they’ll leaf through the mail address side up first.

So what are these designers missing out on? An opportunity to grab their readers from the address side of the card. Whether you view that side to be the front or the back, the “A” side or the “B” side, one thing is for sure, don’t neglect it like it isn’t important. Because you could be missing out on your first opportunity to really get your prospect’s attention.

*Cards this size may be sent Presorted First-Class, but the rate will be for letter mail, not postcard rates. Please call your TMD rep if you have questions about rates or visit our website.

Direct Mail Opinions – What is most important, and What do you read?

Using LinkedIn, we recently re-ran some polls that we also held around this time last year. The results gave us some interesting insight into direct mail opinions.

The two polls were: When using direct mail, which of these are most important? and Which mail piece design are you more likely to read?

When using direct mail, which of these are most important?

The choices for this poll were: cost of mailing services; cost of postage; speed of USPS delivery or knowing ‘where’ your mail is.

The majority of poll takers chose the cost of mailing services as the most important part of a direct mail campaign. This is down 10% from last year’s results.

When we ran this same poll last year, the cost of mailing services was still the leader in considerations, but at that time, knowing “where” your mail is was rated pretty high (37%). What is really suprising is how low that number is this year.

Not suprising, the speed of USPS delivery rated pretty high this year, and it wasn’t even chosen in the poll last year. It’s amazing how much of a difference a year can make in USPS delivery times. We have to wonder what the results of this poll would’ve been had we done it last fall – right before we saw a major downturn in USPS delivery standards.

We are also sure there is a correlation between speed of delivery and the cost of postage. Last year postage costs did not seem to be of a big concern, but with the recent failure of USPS delivery standards, spending money on postage does start to weigh heavily on the minds of mailers.

Taking one last look at mail tracking. We are surprised that more people are not interested in “where” their mail is in the mail stream. We have been doing independent tracking, as well as tracking mail on the request of our customers. In doing so we can see that delivery standards are not being met AND that the predictability in mail delivery has become more difficult. We are working closely with postal officials to pinpoint where the weak areas are in the USPS mail stream. Hopefully this increased attention will enable the postal service to start moving toward meeting their standards or, at least lead delivery times to become more predictable.

Which mail piece design are you more likely to read?

The best mailpiece design format is always hotly contested (well, among designers that is!). Also is the question to use color or black & white. Postcards vs Envelopes. In this poll we asked which design would you be more likely to read and the choices were: full color postcard, b&w postcard, selfmailer, letter in an envelope, and for all of us in the industry: “I read all ALL my mail”.

For the 6% that picked the last choice, all of us in the industry thank you. However, as you can see from the graphic, the majority were split between a letter in an envelope and a full color postcard.

We were surprised that the letter in an envelope rated higher than a full color postcard. Last year’s poll results showed an overwhelming affection for full color postcards. In a recent article we shared via Twitter, a marketing expert stated that a letter in an envelope is becoming the mail piece design to use…and apparently, our poll reflects that change in opinion.

It also seems to be an issue of age as well. The graphic below shows that while the under 54 pollsters preferred receiving postcards, the over 55 set would rather receive a letter in an envelope (they’re also the ones dedicated to reading all their mail!).

Although these polls should not be considered scientific (the pollsters were only LinkedIn members), the results do tell us enough information which can be useful for future planning.

If you have a direct mail question that you would like us to poll, please let us know. Feel free to comment on your opinions to these polls and direct mail. We look forward to your opinions!

Points of Hue – Colors to use (and avoid) when designing direct mail

From a recent article in Deliver Magazine, some tips on what colors to use (and which colors to avoid) when creating your next direct mail project.

Do you like the color red? Are you having a sale? Then use a yellow-based red (like tomato red, for example). However, if you’re highlighting a high-end product and you’ll want to use a blue-based red, such as raspberry red.

Blue connotes confidence and safety. Black conveys a strong sense of power (so much for the blue power tie!).

The color green conveys possibility and hope. I wonder if that’s why the color of money is green? But I’m sure that would be a blog for another time!

The Critical 5/8 Zone

In a recent article in Mailing Systems Technology magazine, a great mail design tip was shared. Although we all know that it is best to not put artwork in the lower right corner of a mailpiece, time and time again we see our customers do it anyway. Another faux pas we see is not leaving enough room for a barcode in an address block on postcards (small 4.25 x 6” postcards are the biggest culprits). But one thing that needs to be remembered – it’s not just the bottom 5/8” of a mailpiece that needs to be clear for a barcode, but an entire 5/8” around a mailpiece should not contain critical information that you want your recipients to see.

Using a valid, readable barcode in your address block (or in the lower right corner) should keep your mailpiece relatively safe from postal stickers – but it’s never a guarantee. The Post Office sometimes needs to put a barcode of their own on your mailpiece to help with their automated sorting equipment. In this example, a postcard listed critical information (a 60% off sale) in the top 5/8” of the mailpiece. The Post Office affixed one of their paper stickers in that exact area. Although the postcard had coupons to attract attention – the all important headline was hidden.

So, good rule of thumb: make sure that any important message you want to impart on your customers and prospects is not printed in the critical 5/8 zone. And if you have any mail design questions, please let us know! We’d be happy to review your artwork (prior to sending it to press!) to make sure it meets all of the US Postal Services’ standards for automation compatibility.

More on Booklets

As mentioned before, changes are a comin’ and we all need to be prepared.

I’ve commented how some self-mailers are being re-defined and how tab placement and tab size is changing for booklets. One thing I haven’t stressed is how the size of booklets were changing.

Letters, as defined by USPS, are a minimum of 3.5″ x 5.5″ and as large as 6.125″ x 11.5″. It didn’t matter how you folded it, that size remained (of course, aspect ratio is important too!).

Now with the new booklet rules coming into affect next week, it’s important to note that although booklets are still considered letters – they have a special size requirement. Booklets (beginning 9/8/09) have a maximum size of 6.125″ x 10.5″. Booklets have lost a whole inch.

So when you’re designing your mailers, remember, size does matter.

If you’re interested in learning more, please subscribe to our newsletter (from our website).

Re-defining the self-mailer

As I mentioned earlier this year, booklets are going through a change September 8th. One of the things to keep in mind is that although the booklets are going through some changes, some self-mailers will now be considered a booklet.

For example, a newsletter that contains multiple sheets, saddle stitched together and folded down to letter size, will now be considered a booklet. And now that it is a booklet, the design of said piece will need to comply with booklet rules & regs.

Imagine an 8 page newsletter that is printed on two 11 x 17 sheets of paper. The two sheets are stitched together and folded down twice to 5.5 x 8.5. If the fold is at the top (with the opening at the bottom), as a self-mailer it is required to have two tabs at the bottom. HOWEVER, after September 8th, this piece will now be considered a booklet and NOT a self-mailer. And booklets are REQUIRED to have the fold at the bottom.

Your self-mailer just became a non-machineable piece.

So be careful with the design of your mailer. We can no long stick to the frame of mind “it’s the way we’ve always done it” because times, they are a changing.

New Tabbing Requirements for Letter-Size Booklets – September 8, 2009

A final ruling (39 CFR Part 111) on the new standards for letter-size booklets has been announced. These new standards will take affect on September 8, 2009. These new tabbing standards are for automation-compatible booklets only and do not affect self-mailers. The full text of this ruling can be read here: http://pe.usps.com/FRN/Booklets.pdf

A booklet is defined as a document made up of bound sheets or pages. Binding methods that are compatible with machinable processing include perfect binding, permanent fastening with at least two staples in the manufacturing fold (saddle stitched), pressed glue, or another binding method that creates a nearly uniformly thick mailpiece. Spiral bindings are not machinable so booklets prepared with spiral bindings do not qualify for automation prices. Large booklets may be folded to letter-size for mailing if the final mailpiece remains uniform in thickness.

The diagram below details the different tabbing requirements for booklets. Click here download a PDF of this graphic.

Mail Piece Design

We get asked a lot about what kind of design is the best. Do we use a postcard? What about a self-mailer? Will a letter in an envelope even get opened?

Of course there are many different ways to design a mailer. “Who” you send it to and “what” you say are the most important things to consider in a mailing campaign.

Out of curiosity – I created a new poll to find out – what kind of mailer do YOU read? To take part, just go to this LinkedIn Poll.

I may be biased…but I read all my mail! I can’t seem to just toss it without first giving the sender the benefit of my attention. The one exception to this rule – is if it is the same mailer, again & again so I know I’ve already seen it before. Or if the sender doesn’t remove duplicates so I get more than one on the same day!

So if you’re going to do a mailing and you want my attention – spice it up and make it unique each time!

New Flat Mail Design Requirements

Effective March 29, 2009, new address placement and formatting requirements adopted by the Postal Service® for Periodicals, Standard Mail®, Bound Printed Matter, Media Mail®, and Library Mail flat-size pieces sent at automation, presorted, or carrier route prices, will be implemented. USPS® also adopts related revisions for automation and presorted First-Class Mail® flats. New requirements were published in the Federal Register May 7, 2008.

The following documents from USPS can be downloaded (PDF files) to assist in design changes that you’ll need to make:

• First-Class Mail Fact Sheet
• Standard Mail Fact Sheet

The following graphics (which can be found in the above PDF) show how on a magazine or envelope, the address must appear at top half of a document.

Any mail that does not meet the new flat design changes will need to be send out via First-Class Mail (keep in mind the different weight limits for both classes, First-Class Mail is by the single ounce, Standard mail is up to 3.3 ounces). If you would like us to review any of your designs, please email your TMD representative a PDF of your artwork. Please note that other file formats or faxes do not always keep the integrity of the size and we may not be able to accurately review your mail piece. Please call us if you have questions! You can also visit our website for the above documents.