If you would like a 6×11 calendar/planner for your customers, Burns can customize it for your company, including using you photographs and copy.  To get started call us today at 865 584-2265 or toll free at 866 288-5618.  It will be 2012 before we know it.

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If this is something that you would like to do for your next direct mail, give me a call. 865 584-2265

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Scan this QR Code with your smart phone to be directed to our website.

Have you have seen similar boxes like the one above in magazine, grocery stores and in direct mail and don’t know what they are? The image is a QR Code, it can be scanned with a smart phone or bar-code reader and it takes you to a site designated by the business.  For example the above QR code when scanned by your smart phone will take you to our website.  For a restaurant it could be directed to a site with their menu, for a college it could be to a tour of their campus.  You get the picture.

 The United States Postal Service is getting in on the QR action and is offering discounts on postage for mail pieces that have a QR code.  See below the latest postal bulletin with all the information.

 At Burns we can set up your QR code and direct it to your site, design your mailer, print you mailer and finally mail it.  That is the convenience that Burns offers with our one-stop, all under one roof concept. Call me to get started on your QR code mailer.

May 19, 2011                                                                 

DMM Advisory

Pricing — keeping you informed about the prices and mailing standards of the United States Postal Service

 Mobile Barcodes Deliver Value to the Mail

 On April 12, 2011, we notified the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) that we will run a Mobile Barcode Promotion this summer that provides commercial mailers a three percent discount for mail that includes a mobile barcode inside or on the mailpiece.

Now that the PRC has completed its review of the promotion, here is the latest information to help you take advantage of this special offering:

• The Mobile Barcode Promotion will run from July 1 through August 31.
• First-Class Mail and Standard Mail (including Nonprofit Standard Mail) letters, flats and cards with a mobile barcode inside or on the mailpiece can qualify for the discount.
• Participation requires electronic documentation.
• Commingled, combined and co-mail mailings are allowed and a separate postage statement is required for pieces with mobile barcodes.

Using mobile barcodes is a great way to integrate direct mail with mobile technology. Get more information, including updated FAQs, on the RIBBS website.

The Domestic Mail Manual (DMM^®) is available on Postal Explorer^® (pe.usps.com). To subscribe to the DMM Advisory, send an e-mail to dmmadvisory@usps.com. Simply indicate “subscribe” in the subject line.

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That is one of the many things that I enjoy about my job is listening to the needs of the customer and finding a solution to that need.  After all, that is what sales is all about.  It is not giving the customer a sales pitch, it is listening to what they have to say and then fulfilling a need.  Do you have a need for seed infused mailing items?  Well you have found the right place, I am listening.

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Direct mail is the one way to reach all of the generations. Recently, in Deliver® magazine they defined the generations as; GI Generation (born before 1925) with buying power being negligible, Silent Generation (born 1925-1944) with buying power considered negligible, Boomers (born 1945-1964) with $2 trillion in annual buying power, Gen X (born 1965-1984) children of the Silent Generation who are regarded as technology savvy but do not respond to Internet marketing efforts, Generation Y (born 1985-2004) 100 million Americans, consuming more than 5 times the Baby Boomers and finally Generation Z (born 2005-present) this generation is already more than 20 million strong and is will present a powerful consumer force in the future.

I am in the Silent Generation and the smallest generation in the 20th century.  This was due to the low depression-era birth rates and World War II.  In fact I was born while the war was still being fought.  The good thing about direct mail is that mail is delivered six days a week, for now,  to every address in the United States and to every generation from the GI Generation to to Generation Y.  It is not intrusive and it can be set aside and read at the recipients leisure.  Mailing lists can be purchased with demographics for age groups so that you can reach the generation that you want to target.

Want to target generation Y? There are 100 million of them opening their mailbox everyday. Direct mail is a good way of putting your message in their hands. Even us in the silent generation are opening our mail boxes and responding to marketing offers.  I look for local restaurants who are offering specials, discounts at my favorite clothing stores and I never know when there is going to be something new going on in town that I don’t know about. Can’t wait for the mail to run today.

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Sometimes after we have been in business for a number of years that we get lulled into believing that most people know who we are and what we do.  Our business name is Burns Mailing & Printing but I don’t know how many times we have been doing a printing project and the customer ask, “you do mailing too”? The same with mailing, some are suprised that we do printing as well. We cannot afford to make that assumption.  Every sales person has had the experience of working with a customer and one day calls that customer’s company to find that the person they have been doing business with is no longer employed there and the new person has no idea who you are and what your company does.  Back to square one in building that relationship with another buyer.

How do I keep my business in front of the most people?  Direct mail of course.  Unlike television, radio and some social media, the recipient of a direct mail can lay the information aside and look at it later when they have time or in my case I may save it until I have a need and then I have a resource for the service or product that I anticipate buying. One of the things I love about advertising with direct mail is that it is measurable.  When I mail out a new post card and we have phone calls telling us they got our card, I know that my direct mail campaign is working.

On a personal note, my Grand Daughter (age 2 1/2) is going to be coming from Nashville today to visit with us for a few days.  Of course, we are always thrilled to see her.  We have been using Skype to keep in touch with her for a couple of weeks now and that is the next best thing to her actually being here. I love technology!

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At a time when the corporate world seems increasingly obsessed with digital solutions, legendary direct marketer Ernan Roman has some compelling news for brands: Recipients actually want your traditional mail.

Roman says that prospects and customers have been so overwhelmed with e-mails in recent years that the deluge has turned off many of them.  It has also made them more receptive to mail.

“This started four years ago, and it has reached a crescendo over the last three years,” says Roman, a 35-year marketing veteran who heads Ernan Roman Direct Marketing in Douglas Manner, N.Y.

Of course, despite the good news that customers are asking for your mail, you still have to persuade them to open your envelope. To help you do this Deliver turned to Roman and fellow direct marketing legend Herschell Gordon Lewis, who started his career making gory films like “Blood Feast” and “2000 Maniacs” before turning to ad copy-writing.  Not surprisingly, both men know how to get attention.  Here are a few tips they have for those trying to capture mail recipients’ eye:

Understand What Mail is Good For.  Make sure recipients are expecting something they can use. Customers of Roman’s clients tend to prefer direct mail for important communications “that are relevant to the pre-existing relationship,” says Roman.  He adds that “the customer is going to get cranky if you start chopping down trees for a message that doesn’t have substantial value.”

Fulfill Personal Requests. Use preference information from opt-in campaigns to your advantage on the outside of the envelope. For instance, Roman’s company recently completed a campaign that encouraged viewers to name their favorite TV programs during the opt-in registration process.  Using the consumer-provided information, Roman segmented the company’s list and sent personalized promotions to the fans of various shows.

Keep the Envelope Clean. Generally, when sending high-level business information, keep your envelope simple –an address, a restrained logo and a personalized return address are all you need.  Don’t muck up the envelope with extra text, big logos or artwork.

Help Recipients Make Quick Decisions. If the product is relevant, but a commodity, says Roman, informational graphics and copy can help recipients prioritize the mailing’s importance: “We’re saving them time by letting them know about the product or offer on the outside of the envelope.”

Use The Right Words. Many overused words insult recipients’ intelligence. Lewis eschews the word “free” and “personal,” which at best, have little meaning – and at worst, incite consumers cynicism and even anger.

Avoid The “Bulk-Mail” Effect. Lewis recommends doing whatever you can to ensure that your envelope doesn’t look like one of millions, whether it’s an unconventional font or an eye-catching color. In this age of consumer-driven marketing, there’s no one size-fits all strategy that always will or won’t work.  You have to know your consumer well before you splash the envelope with promotional copy – or not.

Thanks to Deliver® Magazine a publication of the United States Postal Service for allowing the use of this article. Consumers don’t want to be duped or receive mail that insults their intelligence. If you care to check out the DMA’s ethical guidelines go to www. dmaresponsibility.org/guidelines/.

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“It’s likely you’re trying to produce more with less budget these days.  So it’s tempting to think about cutting expenses by simply going with the lowest-cost print provider. But, in this competitive market, that could be a mistake.

Sure you might save a few bucks in print fees, but what you could lose is far more valuable.  Today’s printers do much more than simply put ink to paper.  They are marketing consultants who use their knowledge and experience in creating and mailing printed materials to help their clients get the most out of their campaigns.

Printers are on top of the latest mail printing trends and efficiencies, which uniquely qualifies them to point out costly mistakes.  They also can manage or influence many campaign elements outside the printing realm to help you reach optimum ROI.

Printers are also at the forefront of new technologies that let your direct mail pieces target customers like never before.  If you’re using variable data printing, for example, your printer can provide insights on which aspects of the piece should be personalized, as well as guidance on how to make your message relevant to your target.

They also sit on a gold mine of information about postal capabilities and service standards.  Printers understand mail piece design characteristics, preparation requirements and economics so well they can often help you cut prices simply by combining projects, whether it’s through co-mailing, co-palletization or merging your mail with other customers’ products.

Your production staff needs to communicate your project goals and time frame to your print company at the concept and design stage, as it may be able to bring added expertise to the table – literally.  Clifton, N.J., graphic communications company Sandy Alexander Inc. often invites its local USPS® representative to sit in on client meetings to help design the most compliant and cost-effecient mailers possible.

For maximum ROI, make sure your production folks choose printers that can achieve your strategic objectives by either improving the effectiveness of the mail piece or reducing the cost of creating and mailing it.  The good ones will know enough about our business and your business to ask the right questions and make sure you ultimately get what you’re paying for.”

Article by Tom Foti – Manager for Marketing Mail at the United States Postal Service®

I gave a presentation at the Association of Fundraising Professionals today at lunch.  This was one of the things that I encourage everyone to do is to sit down at the conception of the project with your print/mail company and plan the project to meet your objectives at the lowest possible cost.  At Burns Mailing & Printing, Inc. consulting is FREE to our customers.  We also offer FREE NCOAlink updates to our nonprofit customers who print and mail with Burns.

Yesterday I received a publication in the mail that did not have the addressing area at the top of the publication as specified in a directive that went into effect March 29, 2009.  The USPS will no longer accept mail that does not meet the new specifications. (I addressed this in an earlier blog) so the publication had XXX everything out and put it in the correct addressing area.  This made the publication look messy and the mailer of the publication look like they did not know their business.  Why go through all of that when you have a wealth of knowledge available with a good printer/mailer?

I would not expect too much help from the USPS® in regards to representative sitting down to discuss your project.  Unfortunately due to budget costs they are losing more and more of their knowledgeable staff.  At our local Post Office we are losing the only Mail Piece Design Analyst.  It seems there will only be one Mail Piece Design Analyst in the entire State of TN.  My advice is find a quality mailer/printer and let them work out the details for you.

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For Standard Mail and Periodicals mailings that are not in compliance, the appropriate First-Class prices apply. Presorted Bound Printed Matter, Media Mail, or Library Mail flats with non compliant addresses are charged the non presorted flats prices within the same class of mail.

Designers, advertising agencies, non profits listen up. We are talking more money for postage folks and to save money all you have to do is put your addresses in the correct area.

If you want the the rules that the USPS publishes, see below.

The new ddress placement standards require the delivery address in the upper portion of all Periodicals, Standard Mail, Bound Printed Matter, Media Mail, and Library Mail flat-size pieces mailed at automation, pre­sorted, or carrier route prices. Mailers may place the address parallel or perpendicular to the top edge, but not upside down as read in relation to the top edge. The new standards define “upper portion” as the top half of the mailpiece. Mailers are encouraged to place the address as close to the top edge as possible, while maintaining a 1/8–inch clearance from every edge.

The following standards apply to enveloped, polywrapped, or card-style Periodicals, Standard Mail, Bound Printed Matter, Media Mail, and Library Mail flats mailed at pre­sorted, automation, or carrier route prices:

a.The “top” of the mailpiece is either of the shorter edges.

b.The entire delivery address must be within the top half of the mailpiece (see Exhibit 2.2), except under 2.2c or 2.2d. Optimal placement is at the top edge (while maintaining the 1/8-inch clearance requirement).

c. If a vertical address will not fit entirely within the top half, the address may cross the midpoint if it is placed within 1 inch of the top edge.

d. If the delivery address is placed on an insert poly­wrapped with the host piece:

1. The address must not appear on a component that rotates within the bag.

2. The address must remain visible throughout the addressed component’s range of motion.

3. The insert must be affixed to maintain the address entirely in the top half throughout processing and delivery or, if not affixed, the insert must maintain at least the beginning 0.5 inch of the address in the top half. The “beginning 0.5 inch” means the first half-inch of the recipient, delivery address, and city/state/ZIP Code lines, and not the end of each line.

Correct Placement of Addressing on Flats

If you are still not clear on the new rules, contact your local Mail Piece Design Analyst at the USPS bulk mail unit.

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Kate, Phyllis and Ken

Things are changing rapidly in our world, some good and some not so good.  One of the good things, in my opinion, is the availability of using the web to market business.  Our business is such that our customer does not have to be located in the city where our business is located.  In fact, we have several customers who are out of state, some as far away as Alaska.   Graphic files can be downloaded, along with data base files and we can print and mail for our customers in a timely and efficient manner.

I recently decided to add this blog to our website for the purpose of sharing information about mailing and printing and to let potential customers get to know us a little better.  I know the very basics of blogging,  but last night I went to Barnes and Noble and purchased Blogging for Dummies.   It almost overwhelmed me with what all I did not know.  I had to sit back for a moment and tell myself that I could not learn it all at once, but I could learn it with just one step at a time.  I have never let ignorance stop me from doing anything I really wanted to do.  It probably should have stopped me many times but they say, “fools rush in where angels dare to tread”. So bear with me on this blogging thing, I am only up to Chapter I.

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