Coming soon! To a mailbox near you! The next Great American Make-Over! Starring: The United States Post Office!

Not unlike the popular TV show in which a busload of contractors arrive at a home of a deserving-but-beleaguered "every family," intent on re-inventing the dilapidated structure (while sending the gob-struck family to Disney World for a week), the USPS is starting a dramatic make-over of its own. But without the diversionary trip to Disney.

Not unlike the TV show, the heroes in the rock-star bus do not show up until the last second, when the inhabitants are at its collective wits' end.

Not unlike the TV show, no one really knows what the outcome will be until later. And no one truly knows if folks will like what they get.

While not beset with awful diseases like these TV families, the USPS is seriously ailing and needs help fast.

Acknowledging that its current business model is unsustainable, USPS management cites huge declines in mail volume (thank you, internet and email)...as well as expensive-to-maintain, but probably-no-longer-necessary facilities...the folks who work (or don't have enough work to keep busy) in those underutilized facilities...and the dreaded Congressionally-mandated retirement pre-funding.

The cumulative effect is that the USPS has been saying if things are not resolved, they will be insolvent by September 30th.

Cue the bus. It's time for triage.
The USPS has manfully tried to forestall the current situation. Since 2006 it has closed 186 facilities, deep-sixed 1,500+ pieces of equipment, and decreased staff by more than 110,000. Result: $12 billion saved.

Good start, but not enough.

Realizing that it needs to save $3 billion (that's billion with a "B"!) a year, the USPS is considering closing or merging 250 more processing facilities, reducing equipment by another 50%, decreasing the transportation network, and eliminating up to 35,000 more jobs.

Ouch!

So what does this mean to those of us who mail to promote our businesses or non-profits, and hope to see mail in our mailboxes when we get home every night?

#1. Time delays. Fewer people and less equipment could mean delivery delays. The USPS Standards of Performance tell the tale:

Standards of Performance
	Today	Proposed
Priority	1-3 days	1-3 days
First Class	1-3 days	2-3 days
Periodicals	1-9 days	2-9 days
Standard Mail	3-10 days	3-10 days

OK, that's not too bad, all things considered. But what about...

#2. Postage increases. Count on it. Stay tuned.

#3. Closure of local post offices. Absolutely. Non-profitable locations—mostly in small towns—are already packing up.

#4. Procedural changes for mailhouses. No doubt. But exactly what and when is still TBD. Among the items on the table are:

• Reduced points of entry for dropshipped mail
• Rate changes in zone-based mail
• Schedule shuffling to meet required "in home" dates

So when will this take effect? September 30th is, after all, just days away.

Protocol requires that the USPS (1) put its proposal out for public comment. That happened on Thursday, Sept 15th. Then the USPS (2) asks the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) for approval. The PRC (3) considers, then proposes. A "reasonable amount of time must pass" before the USPS implements any nationwide service change (4).

Using the debt-ceiling debaters as a role model for bureaucratic efficiency, the USPS hopes to have its proposal presented to the PRC (step 2, above) by the end of October—one month into its insolvency.

The PRC is expected to respond by—well, we really don't know. But the USPS says it hopes to begin its consolidation and constriction efforts (step 4) by February or March of 2012. Only six months after its September 30th deadline for insolvency.

Adding more stress: The economy is showing few signs of recovery. The Super Committee (Debt Ceiling Part 2) isn't making headway yet. And the American public is understandably antsy.

Cue the bus! Disney World is looking better by the minute.

A Post Script on Postcard - 12 Tips For Better Postcards Marketing

Just when you think you know everything you can know about a postcard, along comes a smart aleck like me to disabuse you of some of your erroneous ways.

Ready for the ride? Tighten your seat belt. I'm going to go quickly:

1. Ask the post office what a "postcard" is. They will tell you 4.25x6". Period. Now here's a reality check: look at your mail. You'll see postcards as large as 6x11". In between those two extremes are 5x7", 5.5x8.5", 6x9", 3.5x8.5" and 4.5x9". And probably more. So much for 4.25x6". Hah!
   
   
2. 4.25x6" is great for mailing at First Class and First Class presort if all you are concerned about is paying as little in postage as you possibly can. 4.25x6" is not so great if you want your message to be visible in the mailbox of the recipient.
   
   
3. If you're mailing at Standard (or nonprofit) rates, it doesn't matter what size postcard you use. Under current USPS rules, your rates will be the same across the size spectrum, from 4.25x6" to 6x11".
   
   
4. As you increase the size of your postcard, your paper and printing cost will be higher, no question, but postage is still the largest line item in your direct marketing budget.
   
   
5. A larger card will get you more visibility in the mailbox. Sometimes you really do get what you pay for. Here's one of those times.
   
   
6. Don't try to sell a product or a service on a postcard. Use your postcard to generate a phone call and then you—intelligent human responder—can answer the caller's questions and make the sale.
   
   
7. Want lotsa phone action? Use the word FREE liberally. In color. "FREE offer." "FREE quote." "FREE information." "FREE analysis." (Just think. This hint didn't cost you a penny! It was FREE!)
   
   
8. Build brand awareness. Stay "top of mind" with frequent reminders of who you are and what you offer. You never know when they'll need you, so prime the pump.
   
   
9. Build relationships. Mail at 2 week intervals. Reinforce your message. Repetition is good.
   
   
10. Offer something that your recipient needs or is interested in. Keep it relevant to the recipient and you'll generate the business you want.
    
    
11. Be entertaining. Use great graphics. Humor. Color. People want to spend time with something that makes them smile.
    
    
12. VDP (variable data print) the card. Use your recipient's name in color, in multiple locations. It will arrest his eye, get you more "eyeball time" and earn you a higher ROI. Don't be dissuaded by cost; statistics show that VDP generates 5-30% higher rates of return.

As promised, 12 quick tips delivered. Time's up.


Let me know what you tried and how it worked for you. Email ellen@paulandpartners.net or call 703-996-0800.

Over and out.

What were you thinking?

Dear Marketing Commando,

I’m so sorry that your new marketing effort was not successful. No, let’s be real. I’m sorry it bombed.

I know that it was important to your organization. Yes, I’m sure it cost a lot of money.

And yes, I feel your panic. After all, you ran the program.

But that’s jumping ahead.

Three months ago you came to us and asked what we could suggest to boost your direct mail marketing. The old #10-with-an-indicia package was getting stale. You wanted professional help to revive your marketing, so you brought it to us.

We suggested that changing your package size and shape might improve response rates as it has for others. Using a larger invitation-style envelope and a “live” stamp would differentiate your package. An elegant calligraphy font would complete the invitation look.

So far so good. But that’s when things went horribly wrong.

You decided to do the job by yourself—to “Go Commando”—to save money. I cautioned that you’d probably pay more because you did not know the postal regulations and you did not have the production expertise we could provide. But nope, you were sure you could do it.

So with the self-confidence borne of years of inexperience, you skewered yourself.

Let me cut you a bit of slack. You were new at this job; you wanted to make a big impression on your boss. And boy, did you! I guess you’ve solved part of the problem because now you’re looking for a new boss, though I bet this effort won’t be featured on your new resume’. But that’s another story for another day.

Commando Newbie, you made errors that only years of production experience or listening to someone with years of production experience could have prevented. Since you preferred to go it alone, let me share a few of the finer points that you missed.

Bad call #1.
First you called the post office for guidance. After all, their advice was free; ours had a price. Sometimes you get what you pay for.

Anyway, the Post Office will give you good information if you ask the right question. Too bad you didn’t explain exactly what you were doing. So you asked a misleading question and got wrong information in return. Chalk that up to inexperience.

Following USPS addressing protocol is important. However, while using all caps may work with Times Roman or Arial, it makes no sense at all in an ornate calligraphy font. Bet you won’t make that mistake again, eh?

Pity the poor postmen. Your envelopes were almost unreadable, but you were in compliance with postal addressing regulations. You gotta feel good about that at least.

Bad call #2.
Then you turned to another expert—your younger sister’s boyfriend who is a sophomore graphics student at the university. He gave you good graphic advice: keep the font consistent throughout the package to help “brand” your message.

So he took your copy and converted it all into the elaborate calligraphy script. The result looked like medieval monks hyped up on caffeine had prepared your letters. You gotta thank the monks for their attention to the mail merge personalization details, though. It added a lovely time-travel quality to the letter.

By the way, did you really expect your audience to read two pages of calligraphy? Apparently you did. Maybe you should have tried to read it first, though.

One more thought on this subject: Sophomores got their reputation for being sophomoric for a reason. Understand why now? You were supposed to be smarter.

Bad call #3.
You asked your brother-in law, the printer, to print this package for you in his spare time. It was a great deal; he’d charge you for the paper only. Unfortunately for you, what should have taken days to print took weeks.

Granted, it cost you next to nothing to print. And that is what it ultimately produced: next to nothing. But that’s jumping ahead a bit.

Bad call #4.
You had never considered how you were going to assemble the packages. But by now you were in-for-a-penny, in-for-a-pound. So you called everybody you had ever met at church, at work, on the subway on the way to work, and the nice homeless men at the corner.

Your rag tag stuffing crew took another two weeks to get the piece folded, inserted, stamped, sealed and in the mail. Unfortunately, between the food you had to provide to keep them coming back night after night, and the minimum wage they required, their efforts cost a bundle.

Bad call #5.
You tried to send the mail out at a presorted rate, but that didn’t go your way, either. You couldn’t figure out postage rules, so you ended up mailing the job at First Class just to stop the pain.

As the accused often passively say, “mistakes were made.”

I don’t want to sound like a curmudgeon, but I warned you. Maybe direct mail is not as tricky as launching a military offensive, but there are a thousand details. Details that only years of hands-on experience can prepare you for. And quite frankly, you weren’t ready.

In a nutshell, the job failed because you, dear Commando Go-it-Alone, blew it. You grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory. You jumped into the abyss without guidance, without pre-planning, without a net. If you had listened to people who do this regularly, it might have been a better career choice.

Don’t get Rooked: How to pay less for Postage

Every day someone asks me if I know strategies and techniques to reduce postage. And yes, I do. Lots of them.

But no, there is no “one solution fits all” answer. Getting a mailer to the optimal postage rate (please note I didn’t say “lowest!” rate—the highest rate may really be your lowest cost) is like playing three-dimensional chess.

A chess board is a simple black and red checkerboard pattern. It’s how you move those pieces to get to your goal that makes the game challenging.

Using postage regulations to your advantage is like playing that chess game.

To give you a strategy that will work for you (and generate an accurate postage estimate), I have to weigh your package size, weight and thickness; the distribution of your mailing list; the quantity you want to mail; and the delivery date you’ve got to have. I need to know if you are a for-profit, a non-profit, or running for elective office, as different rules and strategies apply.

Remember: Some chess pieces can move one square in any direction; some move only diagonally. Knowing which to move and when to move wins or loses games.

For instance, in Standard mail there are 27 postage rates for a letter. Even First Class Presort has 5 rates for that same letter. Throw in lumpy mail, thick mail, non-flexible mail, postcards and periodicals and you can see just how many variables I have to measure to get to your answer.

There’s one thing that is not variable, though. Unless you’re mailing a gold-leafed invitation wrapped around an original photograph by Annie Liebowitz, addressed with calligraphy by Zhang Dawo, postage will probably be the most expensive aspect of your direct marketing.

While every technique will not work for everybody—remember, a pawn and a rook can’t move the same way—here are 10 Tips to help you reduce that not inconsiderable postage outlay:

1. Clean your data. For every bad address you get off your datafile, you’ll save printing and postage. You’ll also increase your response rate, but that’s a different story. Data cleaning starts with NCOA, then goes into internal de-duping (look for identical names and identical addresses), running it against deceased data.

If you have the time and will be mailing multiple times, consider getting ACS—Address Correction Service. It will take you several weeks to apply, but will mean that we can use intelligent barcodes for you in the future (that’s another story, too) so you can track your mail in the postage system, AND you’ll be able to electronically get back corrected addresses for FREE.

2. Presort. You’ll save about .10 per letter at First Class Presort rates and twice that at Standard and about 30 cents per letter at Non-Profit rates. Yes, you can have a live stamp in any of these classes.

Of course, we have to NCOA (run your data through National Change of Address software) then presort, and sort/tie/tray, so some of your advantage will be eaten up with post office-required processing steps.

At small quantities—and that depends on the piece you are mailing and the destination address—presorting can actually cost you more than if you mailed straight First Class. Be sure you know the ins and outs of the postal regs before you reflexively say “Standard!”

Standard is not always cheaper and it is almost always slower. Unless you’re running for political office, in which case I’d suggest you mail at Standard Red Tag Political rate. You’ll get Standard postage rates but First Class delivery.

3. Mail Smaller. Flats—pieces larger than 6-1/8 x 11-1/2” cost more to mail. Of course, they stand out in the mailbox, so they have more visible. But that visibility has a price.

Postcards can be as small as 3.5x5 or as large as 6x11. Depending on the size of your postcard, the distribution of your list, and the needs to get it delivered fast, you may do better mailing at First Class, First Class Presort or Standard. Ask us to do an analysis for you.

4. Mail lighter. Keep your mail below 1 ounce in weight if you are mailing at First Class or First Class Presort. If you opt to mail at Standard or Non-Profit rates, you can mail 3.3 ounces for the basic rates. Hence, if you know your mailing piece is a heavyweight, reconsider mailing at First Class.

And of course, if lower postage is your thing, keep your piece thinner than ¼ inch.

5. Mail more. Higher mail volumes typically can reduce per-piece production—and often postage—costs. But not always. It depends on the distribution of your list.

6. Mail in highly concentrated areas. It’s easier for the post office to deliver mail that is highly concentrated; they reward mailers with lower postage rates. The optimal low rate is CRRT—Carrier Route—where the carrier delivers one piece to every address on his route.

7. Be sure your mail is automation compatible. Mail that is too stiff (or not stiff enough) or “lumpy” or square or outside aspect ratio rules or too highly reflective or with insufficient contrast between address and background or otherwise non-machineable will cost you money. Not sure about your mailing? Call us! We will help you figure it out :)

8. Be sure your mailing panel meets USPS requirements. The USPS just changed addressing requirements for self-mailers, newsletters and flats. Put the address panel in the wrong orientation and you’ll pay 10 cents more in postage. Be sure to check USPS design and folding requirements before you put ink to paper.

9. Comingle. If you’re mailing more than 25,000 pieces at a presort rate (ie First Class Presort, Standard or Non-Profit) you may find that using a comingler can save you postage.

10. Dropship. Mail going to a single, specific destination can often save time and $$ by being dropshipped to the delivery point SCF or BMC.

It works this way: We prepare the mail. We then take it to the postal facility where it is entered into the mailstream. But instead of being released into the mailstream at that point, it is put back on our truck with paperwork that says the postage has been paid and the mail passed postal inspection. We then drive the mail (or hire a long distance trucker to drive the mail) to the destination SCF or BMC. The savings per piece: approximately 4.3 cents. Hence, to save on postage, the cost of the shipping must be less than the postal savings.

It’s not just about postal savings, however. Dropshipping can cut a week or more off delivery time—even as it is saving $$. If time and $$ are both important to you, then you should be discussing dropshipping with us.

Like chess, minimizing postage is a game of strategy and nuance. Knowing these 10 tips will put you way ahead of your competition, but be sure to check with your local Mailing Requirements office and/or us for details specific to your own project.

Finally, work with us! We have your interests and needs in mind. We will help you make the right financial decision for your specific project.

And if someone tells you that the job can print and mail for less than the cost of published postage rates, run for the door. They are not your friend. They have you in Checkmate and you don’t know it yet.

Tabs Pt 2 : Revenge Of The Tabs

It’s been 4 whole months since the post office mandated a radical new rule. The last edict was to require tabs (those little circular doohickies that wrap around loose edges to keep the piece intact) on First Class letter-sized self-mailers. Here we go again.

This edict—Tabs V2, aka Tabs Redux—will undoubtedly make life more interesting for mailers of letter-sized Standard and Non-Profit rate , self-mailers, booklets and catalogs. Flats (ie pieces larger than 6-1/8” x 11-1/2”) are still exempted.

In a nutshell, effective September 8^th, letter-sized self-mailers and catalogs must be between 3.5 and 6” tall and between 9 and 10.5” wide. Larger pieces can be refolded to bring them into size compliance as long as they retain the same thickness throughout.

The binding can be saddlestitched, perfect bound or glued, but not spiral bound. The bottom edge must be bound OR the spine can serve as the leading edge.

The pieces require at least 3 tabs (two on the leading edge and one on the trailing edge) unless the leading edge is also the spine. In that case, there are 2 tabs across the top and one on the trailing edge.

Confused yet? A picture is worth a thousand words. Check out the official USPS specs below:

Ready for more? Here we go…

Tabs must be at least 1.5” in diameter and can not have perforations to ease opening.

Pieces can be no thicker than ¼” and can not weigh more than 3 ounces.Pieces weighing more than 3 ounces must be put in an envelope.

Additionally, while the specs say paper can be as light as 40#, the USPS has stated its preference loudly for 70# as it is both stronger and more durable.

For designers who still don’t have the new flats addressing requirements down pat yet—6 months into that rule change—this could be a shock, as many formats will now have the addressing panel on the back cover.

Similarly, designers who don’t like tabs anyway as they obscure the designs they labor so hard to create, will find little to celebrate here. Removing the perf-less tabs will tear paper during opening. Guaranteed.

For customers who are long accustomed to one tab at top securing a piece, this could be upsetting, too. Tabbing prices will surely rise as at a minimum 3 times more material is required. The 3^rd tab may also necessitate multiple passes to affix the tab in a 90⁰ rotation, adding to run time and manpower costs.

For mailers, there is a significant financial downside. Not every tabbing machine is capable of running a 1.5” tab, so some very expensive equipment will be come obsolete overnight. For those lucky enough to have equipment that can run 1.5” tabs, it may take two or more passes on every brochure to accommodate the USPS. That means more staff time has to be allocated, there is more equipment wear-and-tear, but fewer jobs can be scheduled, there are more operational costs like utilities, and three times more supplies.

And as if that weren’t enough, mailers will have to listen to disgruntled customers who do not want to hear about 3 tabs or the extra costs…and designers who haven’t figured out that the post office is really, really serious.

More than 900 mailers contacted the post office during its “comment period” (ie in the time between when the rule was first publically proposed and the time it was cast in stone.)

The comments ranged from mailshops begging the post office to delay implementation until after the recession recedes because of extra machinery costs…to warnings about the lack of equipment on the market that can do multiple orientation affixing in one pass…to end-users complaining that perf-less wafer seals/tabs are harder for seniors to open. The USPS dismissed each objection.

So what happens if your piece does not conform to the new regs?

This is the post office we’re talking about here. The answer is obvious: you pay more postage!

How much more? Since you lose automation discounts, your postage rates could be penalized by 30 cents each!

But wait! There’s more bad news. Your piece may also take longer to deliver and it may not be in pristine shape when it arrives because it has been passed through more postal machinery.

Got it? You’ve been warned.

Questions? Call for clarification now—before you’ve set ink to paper.

The Deadliest Quote!

Determining postage is not for the faint of heart

I work in a very dangerous job. No, I’m not snagging crabs out of a frigid arctic ocean, or felling 3-ton trees in a rainforest. I don’t work in a coalmine or build bridges. It may not be one of the most death-defying jobs, but I promise you, my job is even riskier!

You see, I work with the US Post Office.

It starts out innocently enough: You’re on the phone with me. You’re a new client, with a new direct mail project—your first! The boss is pushing you to get answers. But you don’t know if you want to mail a postcard, a flyer, a brochure, a newsletter or a letter. And you don’t know your own data.

We select an option and work through all the necessary specs. Size of piece. Number of colors. Paper stock. Bleeds. Number of pieces. Class of mail. Stamp, meter or indicia. I am feeling better about this process. We’re working toward a manageable end goal in tandem.
And then the wheels fall off the wagon.

“What’s my postage going to be?” you ask me innocently.

Oh no! It’s the dreaded unanswerable question!

I stall. I sweat. I try to change the subject. My mind races. I’m stepping into a bottomless pit and I know it. Any answer I give you will be wrong.

What kind of a person are you? Will you accept when I say this is ESTIMATED postage? Will you hold it against me 2 weeks later when we discover I was one tenth of a cent off? Will you question my expertise when I tell you I can’t give you a simple two-digit answer—NOW? Will you understand that to be perfectly accurate we have to have your data and determine its distribution while factoring the size, weight and thickness of the piece you’ve decided to mail?

Will you wait patiently while I try to explain how I can’t answer that question with absolute accuracy? Will your mind wander as I present my truncated explanation of 5-digit sorts…3-digit sorts…AADC…Automation…letters…flats…dropshipping…co-mingling…SFC or BMC rates?

Will you cut me short so my carefully crafted, oft-rehearsed explanation makes no sense? Will you graciously allow me to finish and then ask again, perhaps a bit impatiently, “OK, so what’s the postage?”

My mind is awhirl with the possibilities.

All the possibilities are jumbled up in my head as I’m calculating what would work best for you. There is a lot to consider, and my circuits are overloading.

But curious minds want to know. You repeat a little more insistently since I obviously didn’t hear you earlier: “What’s my postage going to be?”

Deep breath. Clear the mind. Calm the raging mental storm. A sip of tea. Another deep breath. OK, here we go, plunging in without a life jacket:

Dearest Client, let me help you. Please tell me about your data. Is it local? Regional? National?

If you can’t tell me that basic fact, I can’t give you anything remotely accurate. I can give you ranges, but your boss is looking for a nice, neat, simple answer. Something he can put in a spreadsheet. A range of numbers won’t hack it.

If you don’t know your data distribution, how am I to know how it will split out over the 27 different rate categories that this one piece of mail could qualify for?

If you’re unsure about the size of the postcard you’re mailing, there could be 54 possible rate categories—just in Standard mail. Add CRRT and you’ve added another 9 possible rate categories. Add First Class Presort as a consideration and you’ve just added another 6 categories.

Complicating the situation even further, in many mailing projects there can be 5 or more postal rate categories, depending on the distribution of your mailing list.

The USPS’s rules are so complex they fill a volume the size of the Manhattan phone book. Even their experts in mailing requirements disagree as to the interpretation of various rules and sub-rules. It is a daunting question you put before me. And you want your answer NOW!

I know my chance of calculating your postage rate exactly right is comparable to my chances of winning the Lottery: nil.

If I under-calculate your cost, I’m a goat if when we presort your job. “Ellen promised me the postage would be xx-cents each! We won’t pay a penny more!”

If I over-calculate, we lose the job. Some guy in Florida has promised he’ll print and mail your 20,000 postcards for $100 over the postage cost I’ve just quoted you.

I know that $100 won’t buy the paper to print your job on, much less print and mail it. I know you’ve given me one set of specs and him another, but you insist you’ve given both of us exactly the same thing.

Pfffft. Just like that your job is gone.

Trying to explain to you, Dear Client, the byzantine postal regulations and relating them to your job is a guaranteed anxiety attack.

Trying to explain to your boss why you lost a simple postcard job to some guy in Florida who is clearly not playing by the same rulebook is another.

Like I said, mine is a business fraught with risk. Thank you, USPS.





Working in a coalmine is looking better all the time.




43670 Trade Center Place,
Suite 150,
Dulles, VA 20166
Phone: 703.996.0800
Fax: 703.996.0888
1.866.365.2858
www.paulandpartners.net
sales@paulandpartners

I am soooooo bored...

I am sooo bored. For a workaholic like me, a week at the beach is an eternity away from the excitement of the office. Sunbathing isn’t good for me. Getting sand in my ears and everywhere isn’t my thing. Sipping Pina Coladas before 4:00?—just too decadent. Yes, I am a desperately bored woman.

But I do have my computer, so I’ve decided to turn to you for help.

Send me your questions about postal regulations, direct mail strategies, postage pricing, using personalization, getting the best bang for your direct marketing buck. Or whatever is on your mind. If I can help, I will.

As your own personal downscale Dear Abby, I’ll try to offer advice geared to save you money, minimize your postage outlay, and enhance your response rates.

I want to hear from you. No, I need to hear from you! ellen@paulandpartners.net or 703-996-0800

Save me! My brain is stupefying.

Paul&Partners Direct Marketing
43670 Trade Center Place,
Suite 150, Dulles, VA 20166
Phone: 703.996.0800 Fax: 703.996.0888 1.866.365.2858
http://www.paulandpartners.net/ sales@paulandpartners

Postage goes on Sale this Summer! Oops! Sorry. You don't qualify.

Excited rumors have been circulating for several weeks now that the post office is preparing to put postage "on sale" this summer.

Rumor confirmed.

But like most rumors, there's a grain of truth, a lot of misdirection, and it hasn't been absolutely solidified yet.

Here's the deal as I understand it.

The USPS says that organizations mailing more than one million Standard letters and/or flats between October 1, 2007 and March 31, 2008, could qualify to get UP TO 30% rebated on postage spent from July 1 through September 1 of this year. At the end of October the Post Office will determine the applicable rebate based on a complicated formula which I will spare you. In synopsis: if 2009 volumes exceed 2008 volumes, the rebate can be as high as 30%. But if 2009 numbers don't match the previous year's numbers, the rebate is reduced. At the end of the December, the USPS deposits the appropriate funds into mailer's permit account.

Oh yes, if it works well in 2009, the USPS would consider re-running the program in 2010, too.
On sheer number volume, I am happy to report that Paul&Partners qualifies. So on first blush, this could be really good news.

So far so good. Now it jumps bad.

The USPS figures that only about 5% of the 160,000 mailers with permits will qualify. To qualify, you have to mail more than 500,000 pieces at one time this summer.

Say what? This is a "summer surprise" like the "October surprises" we hear about in politics when a damaging last-minute revelation torpedoes a candidate's election chances. But this surprise is that it benefits only 5% of the mailers. It torpedoes everyone else.

Yes, indeed. This is a "help out the big guys" program. It's the USPS TARP equivalent of bailing out AIG or Chrysler. You know-the mailers that are "too big to fail." (Sounds familiar, doesn't it?) Think about it. Who do you think sits on the postal committees that come up with this stuff anyway? Yep. It's the "big boys." The folks who run those blue envelopes stuffed with 50 or 60 ugly little ads...The guys who put the big-box-store tabloids in my mailbox-and every single mailbox in the county-every Tuesday...the cataloguers who put 5-6 catalogs in my mailbox every day. You know-the big boys.

You think this could be a suggestion proffered by one of those committee members?

OK, catalogue and periodical mailers got hammered last summer with an enormous postal increase. Everybody felt sorry for them. Many didn't survive.

But while we're feeling sorry for the big boys who are hurting, let's feel a little genuine sympathy for the little guys, too. Guys like YOU, for heaven's sake.

We know you would love to see postage drop a bit. Forget 30%. You'd take 15%! You'd probably put more in the mail if you could do so for less. It's economics 101.

Right?

Oops. Sorry. You may want to accept this offer, but you can't. You don't qualify.

You see, this rebate only applies to individual end-users. That means Paul&Partners can't gang your mail with someone else's mail to get to the magic half million piece numbers that would benefit everybody. No, indeed.

If you can't cobble together the funds to mail 500,000 pieces at once by yourself, you're just not big enough.

So there you have it. An empty promise for 95% of us. A windfall for 5%.

The Post Office says that the comment period is still open. That we-the 95% of us who won't benefit-can protest.

Exercise your democratic rights.

Raise your voice in righteous indignation.

Claim your piece of the pie.

Speak up.

Speak out.

Remember, it isn't a "done deal" yet.

EMAIL: summersale@usps.gov and let your voice be heard!

===

43670 Trade Center Place, Suite 150, Dulles, VA 20166
Phone: 703.996.0800 Fax: 703.996.0888 1.866.365.2858

www.paulandpartners.net
sales@paulandpartners.net

Here's Looking at You, Self-Mailers

The only thing we can be sure of is death and taxes. Oh yes, and the USPS changing its rules. Already this spring the Post Office modified some international shipping regulations, changed the address positioning rules for flats (pieces of mail larger than 9"x12), changed 8000 carrier routes, announced a postage increase for May 10th, and now they are changing the rules on processing self-mailers. Whew.

A self-mailer is a flyer, booklet, brochure, newsletter or other piece that mails without an envelope to contain it. Hence, self-mailer. Got it?

Self-mailers are neat little guys. A recipient can get right into its message without wasting time or energy to rip open the envelope. However, they can really mess up the postal equipment if not prepared properly.

Here's the background: mail is processed at the post office at enormous rates of speed. Time is money. The faster it moves, the more mail can be processed. Hence, more mail in the mail. And that is a good thing. In fact, mail is moving so fast it's moving at blur speeds.

Today, most mail is barcoded to help the postal scanning equipment move it along its route faster.

So a mail piece hits a "Y" junction during its high speed processing. "Does this piece of mail have a barcode?" the scanner queries. If the response is "yes" the piece goes down the left arm of the Y. If not, it goes down the right arm.

Soon the self-mailer encounters another scanner and another question. "Does this barcode have zip+4?" the second scanner asks. If the answer is "yes" the piece goes down the left arm of the Y. If not, it goes down the right arm.

In no time at all a third scanner asks "Is this barcode zip+6, destination point?" If the answer is "yes" the piece goes down the left arm of the Y. If not, it goes down the right arm.

Each time mail piece has to change directions at that Y intersection it has the potential to cause a back-up. Just one small self-mailer can bring this process to an immediate grinding halt.

Consider the ill-designed self-mailer that has an open edge at the bottom. It has the very real possibility of the left side moving down the left arm of the Y even as the right side is moving down the right arm.

Instant gridlock! Route 66 outbound at 5:00 on a Friday! The purple tunnel below the Mall on inauguration day. Disaster!

So the good folks at the Post Office are mandating, effective on May 11th, that all self-mailers MUST have tabs (aka wafer seals) to secure loose edges to help the little guys through the processing maze. It makes sense; it helps the trains running on time; it reduces damage caused by high-speed accidents.

But as any designer worth his MFA will tell you, a self-mailer is merely a reason to try to fold a piece of paper in ways the post office never thought of before. Folds here. Folds there. Off folds. It's origami, American style.

Getting creative may cost more starting soon...in the number of tabs required to secure a mail piece...in the number of passes required to affix all the tabs and wafer seals. And yes, three tabs probably does mean 3 passes on the tabbing equipment. And yes, tabs not parallel to the address block definitely mean additional passes. Extra passes mean extra money in the mailshop, and extra time before your self-mailer can make it out the door and start working for you.

So on the theory that a picture is worth a thousand words, here is the definitive show-and-tell version of how the post office will require self-mailers to be presented in short order.

Questions? Call us. We'll help you make sense of this. And if that doesn't work, we'll sympathize.

If you would like to recieve alerts when Postal Regulations change, send us a quick note with your email address, and we will add you to our FREE Postal Regulations Alert notification newsletter.

43670 Trade Center Place, Suite 150, Dulles, VA 20166
Phone: 703.996.0800 Fax: 703.996.0888 1.866.365.2858
www.paulandpartners.net sales@paulandpartners

Why is Postage such a Puzzle?

We’ve got a problem. You say you want to mail using Standard postage because it is the lowest rate. And you want to know what your postage will be.

A simple question, yes? Not hardly. Here is what I know that you probably don’t:

While it's true that Standard is usually (but not always!) the lowest postage rate, you need to know that there are 27 different basic rates for your mailing. And that’s if you’re a for-profit company!

If you're mailing non-profit, there are another 27 basic rates for the same piece.

If you’re mailing at carrier route prices (a subdivision of standard mail) you’ve got another 12 rate categories. So that’s a potential 39 rates for your one mailing. Was yours a simple question? No, indeed!

When you ask me what your postage will be, I’m weighing options. I know your postage could range from as little as .137 cents to as much as .343 cents each for for-profits and from .066 to .245 for non-profits.

But what do I tell you? You want a single, concise answer.

Even more confusing, I also know that on any given mailing, there can be up to 16 different postage rates, depending on the distribution of your mailing list. Some of the pieces will mail at this rate; some of the pieces will mail at that rate. It depends on your data.

But what do I tell you? You want a “bottom line” number. Skip the explanation.

Here’s more of what you don’t want to hear: Your postage depends on the distribution of your mailing list, as well as the size/weight/thickness of the mailing piece, how it is folded, how it is designed, where you are mailing to and where you are mailing from. There are rules about aspect ratio, flexibility, contrast and "graphic noise" that also affect your postage.

So you see, there is no simple, straightforward answer.

When you ask me to quote postage, I really can’t be specific. That’s why our quotes say ESTIMATED postage when they mention postage at all. Because it is truly that: our best guess estimate. Until we get your materials and your data in our hands to do the analysis the post office requires, we can’t be sure.

If you’re giving me the list you want to use, I am at an even greater disadvantage. You know your data; I don’t. Yet you are asking me to tell you what your postage will be.

All that information is running through my mind when you ask me what your postage will cost. And that’s just if you want to mail Standard or Non-Profit. Depending on your mailing, we may suggest that you mail First Class. It’s counterintuitive, but sometimes using First Class actually saves money!

It all depends.

With the USPS there really is no simple, straightforward answer. It takes a lot of questions—and just as many answers—to analyze your specific situation and develop a mailing strategy for you that will minimize your postage investment while still getting you the delivery date you need.

We may not be able to quote you a firm number for your spreadsheet, but we can help you negotiate the postal labyrinth to ensure you've got the best possible postage rates for your mailing.

Please let us know when we can help.

43670 Trade Center Place, Suite 150, Dulles, VA 20166

Phone: 703.996.0800 Fax: 703.996.0888

www.paulandpartners.net travis.boaz@paulandpartners

CLEAN UP YOUR NEXT MAILING!

Clean your housefile…Clean up on your next mailing!

Anyone who has studied Direct Mail 101 understands that mailing to a clean list is critical to the success of a project. A clean list reduces printing, production and postage costs…even as it increases percentage return.

Clean up your housefile and you’ll look like a marketing genius. I guarantee it.

Interested?

Consider this: 20% of the US population moves each year. Some marry and merge households; some divorce and split households; some die; some just move away. Thus consumer files can go stale quickly.

Or this: 20% of small businesses fail each year, and a somewhat smaller number of larger companies merge, get bought out, or move—sometimes “off shore.” Furthermore, the specific individual you want to target may be downsized or promoted, on maternity or military leave, retired or replaced. Organizations mailing into the government have an even greater challenge, due to personnel turnover.

Or this: maybe you are your own worst enemy. Maybe you have people listed multiple times on your datafile. Don’t deny it! I’ve seen databases just like yours. Duplicates everywhere. And that means wasted money…and upset recipients.

It is hard enough to find people who are interested in your message…people who are willing to buy from your company or donate to your cause. Staying in touch with them can be just as difficult.

You probably intuitively know that it is less expensive to keep customers or contributors than to replace them. Prospecting is expensive. And it rarely breaks even. So it only makes practical sense to periodically clean your housefile.

Yet so many direct mailers don’t take that one simple—and inexpensive—step. Instead, they watch as their list slowly atrophies and their return rates plunge. And they wonder what’s wrong.

The answer is simple: poor list hygiene. Cleaning a list is simply the best way to keep your customers and donors active and keep your prospecting costs down.

And list hygiene needn’t be a laborious process. There are several ways to clean your housefile.

The first method is to call everyone on your list before you mail to them. While your accuracy will be assured, you will never get anything into the mail because you’ll always be on the phone. Unless you have a staff of thousands with nothing better to do, try another technique.

A second method is to mail everything First Class. It’s effective: the Post Office will forward your information to your intended recipient. Voila’! Prime mission accomplished! But at a price. You are paying dearly for your postage, your intended recipient may get a package that has been handled so many times it is no longer readable and you may not get back needed corrections in a timely fashion.

A third solution is to use endorsement lines (such as “Address Forwarding Requested.”) Depending on the endorsement you select, you will get predictable results. In one instance your mailing will be forwarded to your recipient—new yellow stickers and accusatory pointing finger stamps and all—and you get a photocopy. In another instance, the package comes back to you with the correct address (if known) noted so you can send out a fresh piece. But again there are downsides. Sometimes you can’t read the photocopied forms. They are too light or have a sticker over a crucial piece of information. If you get the piece back for remailing, then you’re paying twice for postage. It can take weeks or months to get your information back. And, unless you’re mailing First Class, you have to pay a price for this service—but only on the pieces returned. So using endorsement lines can be expensive.

A fourth method is to NCOA your file before you mail. NCOA—or National Change of Address—is a software solution to updating your datafile. An NCOA service provider like Orion Direct can check your existing database again a Post Office master database. If an entry has changed, your database changes. It’s that simple.

Or not.

You need a provider like Paul & Partners that can help guide your list through this process. The list has to be modified to NCOA format...then run against the NCOA list...then returned to your native format. You truly need a professional like Paul & Partners on your side. It will make your life--and your list--so much happier.

So what is an NCOA file?

NCOA files are maintained by the Post Office. (Remember the last time you moved? Remember that yellow Post Office form you filled out with your old and new address? You intended the postal service to forward your Time Magazine properly, right? Well, they did forward your Time Magazine to you, but they also put your addresses—both old and new—into a database. And then they made that database available to mailers to confirm address accuracy.)

Upon running your housefile through the NCOA process, you are awarded a certificate. That certificate allows you to mail First Class Presort, Standard Presort, or Nonprofit Presort (NCOA certification no older than 90 days is required for all presort categories of mail) should you wish. It also shows the Post Office that you are concerned about list hygiene and doing your part to keep your list clean. Call it “good will” if you wish. More practically, it updates your file and reduces your outlay for non-deliverable packages. NCOA certification is valid for 90 days.

Upsides: It’s fast: an expedited NOCA can happen in a couple of hours. And it’s cheap. NCOA processing will also catch incomplete addresses (i.e. missing apartment/suite numbers) or mismatches between states and zips, or incorrect addresses (no such street number). It will tell you if someone has moved, and if so what their new address is. It will tell you if someone has moved overseas (no luck on that address, though). And it will tell you if the person is gone with no forwarding address (best to check Heavenly Acres for current residence status). So you can fix your list and get in the mail faster with cleaner information. That means more positive results faster.

Downsides: Did your recipient fill out his/her yellow moving form legibly? If the input keypuncher can’t read it, the entry may be wrong in the database. Mail could be misdirected. So there is a small element of human error involved. And about those incomplete or incorrect addresses: NCOA processing probably can’t fix them for you. It can pinpoint problems, but you have to make the fix later.

Also, an NCOA of a company file can not pinpoint if your specific recipient is still employed in his/her position; it can only tell you if the company address is still viable.

Bottom line: For speed, accuracy, cost and getting your corrected information back in a timely fashion, no other list cleaning technique equals an NCOA.

Direct mail marketing is tough enough. Mailing to people who no longer live where you think they live only makes it harder and more expensive.

Make it easier on yourself—and your organization’s pocketbook. Keep your data clean, eliminate duplicates and kill the “deadwood.” But get a professional like Paul & Partners to guide you. Professional help costs nothing more than the NCOA fee. But get that NCOA done. You’ll be surprised at how much your return rates will improve on your next mailing! Best yet: your boss will think you’re a genius.

Now that’s a win-win!

43670 Trade Center Place, Suite 150, Dulles, VA 20166

Phone: 703.996.0800 Fax: 703.996.0888

http://www.paulandpartners.net/ travis.boaz@paulandpartners

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