Let’s suppose, for a moment, that your application entailed responding to requests

from potential tourists about what types of activities exist in and around the Orlando area.  

Inquiry number 1 needed to know about area golf courses and any golfing discounts that can be taken advantage of. Inquiry number 2 was interested in theme parks and Inquiry number 3 needed to know about area fishing charters.

Traditionally, these three inquiries would be fulfilled by pulling pre-printed brochures and coupons relative to their area of interest , inserting them into an envelope, addressing the envelope and mailing it back to the potential visitor. Along with the brochures and coupons, you would also want to insert some type of personalized letter thanking them for their inquiry along with a strong appeal to entice them to come and stay here in Orlando.

Ok, so, inquiry number 1 gets a personalized letter, 6 brochures (1 for each golf course in the area), some greens fees coupons from a couple of the courses, a couple of discount coupons for motels and resorts that are near the courses, and maybe a coupon for golf equipment from one of the equipment manufacturers all inserted into an envelope.

Inquiry number 2 gets a personalized letter, along with brochures and coupons relative to theme parks, while, inquiry number 3’s package would be relative to area fishing charters, professional fishing guides, discount coupons from bait and tackle shops, and so on.

Along with the tedious work of hand-inserting all the correct individual pre-printed brochures and coupons, one also has to keep up with the on-hand quantity of each brochure and coupon you have left in inventory so you know when to reorder the printed material.

The new “envelope” streamlines, simplifies, and automates the entire process by printing an on-demand facsimile of each of those brochures, personalized letters and coupons all in one pass and then binding them into a “booklet” that is then wafer-sealed and mailed immediately. No inventory to keep up with, no hand intervention, and no possibility of inserting the wrong information into the wrong envelope.

The inquiring tourist perceives a higher value by receiving a professional looking, fully personalized, and fully targeted booklet containing all the exact information requested.

It’s also less expensive, overall, to produce these “new envelopes”.  Since all the pieces are printed “on-demand” from blank paper, you have no money tied up in inventory. You don’t pay for for warehouse storage and also don’t waste money by throwing away and re-printing existing inventory due to current changes that render the original brochures or coupons obsolete (new theme park rides, changes in rates, etc).

These printed-on-demand, digital, variable image, variable data booklets are being used more and more each day for everything from insurance enrollment kits, 401-k investment fund reports, stock and investment portfolios, to travel itineraries and resort reservation confirmations. It’s the wave of the future, the “New Envelope” and, it’s available right now at Fulfillment Partners – Millennium Marketing Group! Call today for more information.

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.

“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.                 

In fact, I predict that over the next 5 years, you will see mandates from the large users of printed material that their print buyers must begin to use Digital Print On Demand rather than traditional offset print.

Digital print on demand allows you to print only what you need, when you need it.  Because it is printed in smaller quantities and “on-demand”, it is always current – never obsolete.  An InfoTrend study done in 2003 showed that, on average, 12.6% of all printed material, nationwide, sitting on pallets in warehouses becomes obsolete and must be thrown away before the first piece is ever used. A study by Xerox back in 2002 showed that, on average, businesses will spend $4 in usage, storage, obsolescence and shipping of printed material for every $1 actually spent in printing the material in the first place.

Does that make any sense to you?

So, save some trees. Be “eco-friendly”. Go “Green” and save money at the same time! Use Digital Print On Demand from Fulfillment Partners – Millennium Marketing Group.

The “repositional notes,” more commonly referred to as “sticky notes” or “post-it notes” can be removed from the front of a mail piece and “repositioned” or re-affixed to another object (for instance, your refrigerator), giving your mail piece an extended life after the mail piece itself is read and disposed of.

The notes were first introduced in 2005 as a one-year experiment by the Postal Service and have been renewed in 2006 and 2007.

Other than the normal postage, the Post Office charges an additional ½ cent on first-class mail and 1.5 cents on standard mail and periodicals for those wishing to have the sticky notes as part of their mail piece.

Fulfillment Partners – Millennium Marketing Group maintains the automated equipment on-site to perform this service for you.

“Permanent” mailers always keep your name and phone number at their fingertips. These mailers contain a mounted magnet on the mail piece that can be variable lasered during the variable imaging process. The magnet is removed from the form and attached to anything metal (refrigerator, tool shed, filing cabinet etc.). We can also perform the same process with a 7-mil plastic card mounted on the lasered form that can be removed from the mailing and inserted into a card holder, wallet or purse. Both of these techniques extend your message well beyond the life of the mail piece. When they are finally ready, they have your information readily available.