Greetings!
 
Happy Valentine's Day!  I hope you and your sweetest celebrate and do something special.

Last month we reviewed several of our latest unique direct mail applications. Based on the conversations we engaged in, it would appear this information has been very well received. This month I promised to discuss our "Ugly Betty Mailer" along with some other self mailer options. Poor Betty! She gets such a bad rap. She's not really ugly, she's just, well... functional and lacks pizzazz.

However on the bright side many of you probably use or could use something similar to this. As you can see we're talking about a pretty basic yet very effective package, in the right situations.  It is comprised of standard # 10 envelope with an oversize window along with a perforated insert and a business reply envelope.  This is great for renewals, donation requests, payment notifications, etc.

 

If you're using this type of product, here's my question.  Are you getting the best Betty has to offer? I mean, could she be working a little harder for you? Are you making effective use of color? Have you considered personalization beyond name and address? Are you using well known communication methods that encourage response? 

The oversize window leaves plenty of room to display your full color logo along with the recipient's name and address. Personalizing copy with other pertinent information, a simple "Thank you" for responding and a relevant post script are all tried and true methods that increase response rates. If you would like some additional suggestions just let us know and we'll be happy to help.   

 

Now, what if we gave Betty a bit of a makeover? We can  do this by providing options like a widow decal, temporary membership card, save the date sticky note or other laminated piece as an integrated component of the insert. If you have other ideas please let us know, we'll be glad to share them.    

 
Our next option is a self mailer with a reply envelope attached, sometimes referred to as a Form-n-Envelope.  It is similar to our Intelimailer in that the outgoing envelope is an integral component of the package. In this case it's not really an envelope at all, it's part of the overall piece as you can see below. This is readily available in 11, 14 and 17 inch depths all 8 ½ inches wide and full color. You can incorporate membership cards and other laminated applications here as well.  
 
Samples of these products are readily available and of course I'd be happy to meet with you personally and discuss your needs. As I've said before, our only goal is helping you achieve yours.

These two newsletters on direct mail are far from being all inclusive however I think they give you a solid idea of some of the more unique yet functional applications.

Looking ahead I think our next topic will be QR Codes.  The post office is contemplating a postage discount for the use of QR Codes on direct mail for the summer months, similar to last year's offer.   

 

We have a QR Code primer on the homepage of our website,  www.highimpact.us which is available as a free download with no information required. We'll build on that information next month.

 

We appreciate your interest and look forward to continued conversation with you. 

 

Thanks for Listening,

Bill

Bill Strobridge

President