Whether you are mailing First Class or Standard (bulk advertising) mail, the US Postal Service assesses postage rates, in part, by the “processing category” of your mail piece.

Knowing what category your mail piece will be placed, is extremely important when designing your mail piece. We see instances all the time where, a very slight change in the height or width of your mail piece (usually 1/8^th of an inch or less) would result in postage savings of as much as 10 to 15 cents each! Also, each of the different processing categories have different postal regulations as to eligibility for special bar coded postage discounts and preparation requirements. So, here’s the scoop on how the post office will assign a processing category to your mail.

When you read the word “post card” in the DMM (Domestic Mail Manual), they are referring to the official definition of a USPS “postal card”. The rest of us think of a “post card” as a single sheet of card stock with color, text or pictures on the front and back of the card with an area to put the name and address of the person you are mailing to. In order to qualify for a presorted first class “post card” rate (as, there is no “post card” rate for standard mail), the size and dimensions of your mail piece must be at least 3 ½  inches high and 5 inches long, but not more than 4 ¼ inches high and 6 inches long.

Most of your standard mail (advertising mail) post cards will exceed those dimensions and will be categorized by the post office as a “letter” sized piece. For instance, if you design a large postcard that is 6 inches high and 11 inches long, it will be assessed a “letter-rate”.

A “letter” sized piece is defined by the post office as a mail piece that is at no more than 6 1/8 inches high and 11 ½ inches long. “Letter” sized rates are the most common for standard mail. If your piece is taller than 6 1/8 inches, your mail piece will be placed in a much more expensive postage category called “Flats”. So, be careful!. I can’t tell how many pieces we’ve seen come in at 6 ¼ inches high (1/8 of an inch too high). In most cases, the aesthetics of the piece would not be affected by shaving off that 1/8 of an inch. Especially if it saves you an extra 10 to 15 cents per piece in postage.

“Flats” are the more expensive postage rate and consists of any mail piece that is taller than 6 1/8 inches high or wider than 11 ½ inches long.

So now that you know the way that the Post Office will categorize your mail piece, you can use that information during your mail piece design stages to insure the best possible postage.

Four-color variable image mail is, hands-down, proving to be the single most successful innovation in mail advertising since the invention of the envelope. With success stories of mailers who have received response rates as high as 80% and return on investment rates in the one-thousand-percent range, advertisers everywhere are beginning to take a serious look at this new technique.

“How do I get started?” Actually, it’s easier than you think.

The ability to vary pictures, images and text based on what you know about the recipient all starts with taking a good look at the data file that you will use in your mailing.

For instance, is the recipient male or female? If “male,” you may want to design your images, text, and motif for a male or masculine point of view. Whether working with tools in the garage, cars and trucks, or maybe even a sport such as football, basketball or baseball. If “female,” you’ll want to tailor your images, text and motif to more of a feminine angle, possibly, with images of shopping, family, health and fitness, and so forth. 

If “gender” isn’t one of the stored columns in your database, there are several software packages that we can use to assign gender, based on the prospect’s first name. Keep in mind that you will need a “default” non-gender-specific motif for instances where the recipient’s first name could be either male or female such as “Francis” or “Jackie.”

Of course, the more information you have about a recipient, the easier and more effective your message will be. But, lack of information is not as detrimental as you might think. More often than not, the information is there; it just takes a little imagination to capitalize on it.

For instance, the city, state and zip can give you a lot of information, if you think about it. Does this person live in upscale Metro-West, downtown Orlando, or out in rural Eustis? If you are mailing in the middle of winter, does this person live near the beach in Florida or in Green Bay, Wisconsin? Is the address type an “SFDU” (single-family dwelling unit) or an apartment complex? All these little pieces of information can fit together to allow you to produce a variable image and text mail piece that is targeted specifically toward that person. Your message and offer becomes relevant and personal to the recipient, which results in much higher response rates.

Remember, designing successful variable image advertising campaigns starts with your data file. Try and put yourself in the shoes of your prospect and what they deal with on a day-to-day basis.                 

Strategic alliances with several mailing list vendors allow the list department at Fulfillment Partners – Millennium Marketing Group to acquire the best possible mailing list for your project at the best possible price. Our data entry department can also key and compile lists from applications and entry forms. Our information technology department can scrub, securely store and process all your lists for you.