How to Mail to My List

[insureitnow]

I want to mail either a letter or post card to a list of about 1,000 persons that I have. Its an aged list of my old FE telemarketing contacts.

I want to include a business reply card that they can send back if they are interested. Its the reply card thing that is puzzling me.

Aside from going to the post office and getting a permit, is there any other way of getting this done?

Does the post office supply the card itself?

Can a mail house do this for me and if so any recommendations?

You think a local printer would do it for me?

 

[Frank Stastny]

I want to mail either a letter or post card to a list of about 1,000 persons that I have. Its an aged list of my old FE telemarketing contacts.

I want to include a business reply card that they can send back if they are interested. Its the reply card thing that is puzzling me.

Aside from going to the post office and getting a permit, is there any other way of getting this done?

Does the post office supply the card itself?

Can a mail house do this for me and if so any recommendations?

You think a local printer would do it for me?

Since these are people you have already spoken to why not pick up the phone and talk to them again instead of spending $400 plus dollars to send them information that will probably get ignored or thrown away?

 

[elder]

Permit is 190 for a business reply mail permit. Postcards are .28 to mail. The post office will only make the permit art work. They will cost you around 1.25 for each returned. You will have to have a software to help manage the list and printing. I use MyMailList. then you will need card stock and a large enough copier/printer to handle it, including the mail merge onto your own piece. then you will have to cut/fold/seal your postcard. Then put them mail and pray.

 

[GreenSky]

Just get the list to a malingering service. Cost you about $400 including design and BRM.

Rick

 

[arnguy]

Go to the nearest Post Office----that's how it's done.

 

[Newby]

You set up the BRM account at the post office. Have them design the reply card (mail side) and give it to you as a PDF. You then take it to any printer with your design for the other side.

For years I just had the printer print the postal side of my reply cards and I print the other side on my own laser printer. That way you can play around with the design or use different reply cards with different mailings easily and test things out. I actually forgot about this and haven't dont that in a while but it worked great. Might have to start it up again.
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Another easy way to do it is to just have postal paid #9 envelopes printed up.

You use any blank cards for reply cards and can put your message on BOTH sides. They stuff it in the reply envelope to mail it back.

The best reply response I ever got was actually a full page sheet of paper that I used for the reply card. I only did it because I was out of card stock and had to drop a mailer. It was tri-folded and ready to go in the #9. The outside flap can say something interesting like "This offer does not apply to you unless..." they open it up and the unless can be anything you want "you are a veteran", or you have diabetes, or you are over age 65 or age 50 or you have green hair, flabby legs and boogers, etc.

You get the idea.

That's enough free stuff for now. I gotta go sell something!

 

[healther]

I want to mail either a letter or post card to a list of about 1,000 persons that I have. Its an aged list of my old FE telemarketing contacts.

I want to include a business reply card that they can send back if they are interested. Its the reply card thing that is puzzling me.

Aside from going to the post office and getting a permit, is there any other way of getting this done?

Does the post office supply the card itself?

Can a mail house do this for me and if so any recommendations?

You think a local printer would do it for me?

You don't necessarily have to get a permit, that would only be required if you want to pay the postage for the reply mail. You can also just design the reply card to say "Place Postage Here", where it would otherwise say "No Postage Necessary". That's the way I would go unless you plan on doing future mailings.

The PO does not supply the card but it will supply the artwork after you pay for your permit, as noted in a previous post $190.

For this quantity I would recommend a local mail house, a local printer will most likely pass or price you out of the ballpark. I've managed both, typically a mail house would be better suited for this type of project.

 

[Newby]

If you have them pay their own stamp you will get VERY few replies.

I was doing a mailer that consistently got 4% return per 1000. The mail house screwed up and mailed 3,000 with no prepaid reply envelope. I got 4 total replies out of 3,000 mailed.

It might be slightly better with an envelope in the mailer but you still won't get many without the postage included.

 

[healther]

If you have them pay their own stamp you will get VERY few replies.

I was doing a mailer that consistently got 4% return per 1000. The mail house screwed up and mailed 3,000 with no prepaid reply envelope. I got 4 total replies out of 3,000 mailed.

It might be slightly better with an envelope in the mailer but you still won't get many without the postage included.

The return rate will drop. Just wondering if the 1,000 piece mailer is worth the hassle and $190 for the BRE permit. If the OP can expect a 4% return then maybe, if it drops down to 2% then it gets a little hairy. Or if the OP is planning on future mailings, it would be worth it. Just wanted to throw an alternative their way. I have done millions of pieces of response mail (mainly for political contributions and non-profit donations) and have seen plenty hefty returns requiring the responder to apply their own stamp.

 

[Newby]

The return rate will drop. Just wondering if the 1,000 piece mailer is worth the hassle and $190 for the BRE permit. If the OP can expect a 4% return then maybe, if it drops down to 2% then it gets a little hairy. Or if the OP is planning on future mailings, it would be worth it. Just wanted to throw an alternative their way. I have done millions of pieces of response mail (mainly for political contributions and non-profit donations) and have seen plenty hefty returns requiring the responder to apply their own stamp.

The $190 is EASILY recovered if the agent even makes one additional sale per year by having the business reply account. No agent that has a problem scrapping up $190 should even be sidetracked with these things.

Just do the turnkey mailers to get started but once you are cash flowing you can fine tune your own mailings by buying the right equipment and bringing it within your agency.

If an agent would do a mailing with no paid reply card because he believes there is even a CHANCE he won't recover his $190, he needs to get down to McDonalds and get his application in TODAY. He's in the wrong business.