Mail has gotten a bad rap in recent years being called snail mail and lots of other bad things.  However, mail is delivered to every address in the United States every day with few exceptions.  Mail is something that you can hold in your hand and as I have blogged about before, research has shown that an actual printed piece has more of a lasting impression on the reader than electronic mail.  The reason that this came to mind is that I communicated today with someone in the non-profit world who told me that they were mailing but decided to go with electronic mailings because of money.  That has not worked out too well for them.  If you think about it, the recipients did not have something to hold in their hand, they did not have a reply envelope that they could send a check and they probably deleted the electronic message because we all get so much that we don’t have time to read them.  What I have heard from my many non-profit customers is that what works best is doing both.   As far as the US mail being snail mail, I am in the mailing business and I am also on lots of the lists that we actually mail.  If we mail presorted standard (previously referred to as bulk mail) one day I can be assured that direct mail piece will be in my mail box the next day.  I think it is just as fast as first class but not as expensive.  Also don’t get discouraged if you mail one mailing and do not get the results that you have expected.  It takes staying in contact to make a difference.  I have one non-profit organization that raised in the neighborhood of $100,000 on one mailing.  Not everyone does that well.  See what works best for you.

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It is really hard to believe that Christmas is right around the corner.  This week we received the USPS recommendations on mailing for the holidays.  To ensure delivery of holiday cards and packages by December 25th, the USPS suggests that mail be entered by the recommended mailing dates as follows:

First Class Mail – December 20th

Priority Mail – December 21st

Express Mail -December 22nd

Parcel Post – December 15th

DNDC Drop Ship – December 19th

DDU Drop Ship – December 22nd

Remember, all mail addressed to military Post Offices overseas is subject o certain conditions or restrictions regarding content, preparation and handling. You can check with your local Post Office or online at www.usps.com.

At Burns we have many non-profit customers.  We recommend that the annual appeals go out in November to avoid all the volume of mail that occurs in December.  The fall mailings typically are the most successful appeals campaigns for non-profit organizations.

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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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If you are reading my blog and you are in need of a printer/mailer who can handle your mailing projects from start to finish, you can use our services no matter where you are located in the United States.  We have customers in the state of Tennessee and out of state.  If you are a non profit and you mail newsletters or appeals we can help.  We have a large customer base of non profit organizations.  All you have to do is send us a word file, the pictures you want to use or we will buy stock photos for you. We design your project, send you a pdf proof and after approval, print and mail.  How simple is that? We know the postal regulations, paper specifications and are truly a printer that knows mailing and a mailer that knows printing.  Visit our website at www.burnsmp.com for more information and services that we offer.  Happy New Year!

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A reminder that effective March 29, 2009 the new address placement standards for commercial flat-size mail goes into effect at the United States Post Office.  An example of flat-size mail is an 8.5×11 newsletter.  The new rule for this example would be that the addressing area for the newsletter would have to be in the top half of the page.  This also applies to periodicals, Standard Mail and Package Services flats mailed at automation, presorted, or carrier route prices.

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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Being in the mailing/printing business I have a lot of interaction with nonprofit folks .  I have also been a member of the Smoky Mountain Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) in Knoxville, TN since 2000.  I am convinced that people who work at nonprofit organizations have a heart of gold.  They are educated, dedicated and obviously their motives are not for money.

Recently, I have been in their shoes trying to raise money for Lost Sheep Ministry, where I serve on the board.  Lost Sheep Ministry only has two paid employees and everything else is done with volunteers.  Usually a nonprofit has a development director to raise money but we cannot afford a development director, so yours truly is trying to head up additional fund-raising.  Maxine Raines, our founder, with the help of many volunteers has been raising money for 18 years by speaking passionately about the ministry and by applying for grants and the suppport of local churches. Being in AFP has been beneficial for me because I have learned a lot in the monthly meetings and from my friends in AFP.  However, I am learning just how hard fund-raising really is and I am convinced that running a mailing/printing company is much easier.  They have my utmost respect.  I know that newsletters, mailing appeals, website and donor database is essential but most importantly doing them right is a must.

The list is probably the most important thing.  Making sure that the list does not have bad addresses is now a requirement at the United States Postal Service.  I recommend cleaning up the list by NCOA link move update.  In fact ,we offer this service free to our nonprofit customers who are printing and mailing with us. The person who already has an association with the nonprofit is the very best person to target.  Someone who already knows about the organization and if you are lucky has a passion for what is being done in the organization.  The next is the letter or appeal.  Make it personal, the recipient expects the organization to know their name.  Telling that person what their donation is doing to make a difference in a life or in their community makes an impact.  The appeal does not have to be fancy, in fact, if it is too fancy the recipient may wonder why so much is being spent on design, printing etc. Usually two colors of ink for the printing works very well.  Coding the mail is one way of measuring the success of the appeal and is easily done by adding a code to the return donation slip or envelope.  Measuring the success of the mailing is essential and coding allows you to determine that success and also to do a test market of more than one appeal. I am going to continue to to learn from AFP and my fund-raising friends but I doubt if I would have gotten very far without being around them for a number of years and my association with AFP.

I loved nonprofit fundraisers before I tried being one but now I really love them for what they do for all of us.  Everyone else should too, the world is a better place because of them.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed – it’s the only thing that ever has.”  Margaret Mead

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