Written by Cara Feldman
There are many postage “evils” in the direct mail world, I always advise clients to minimize the “evils” when designing a mailer.
In order to cut through the clutter in a prospects mailbox, marketers have to be innovative with their mail designs. Unfortunately a lot of innovative designs are costly, not only from a print and production standpoint, but also from a postage perspective. Great direct mail should be eye-catching and cost effective, so that ROI is maximized.
How to avoid large postal surcharges:
- Make sure your mail piece is within letter-sized postal specifications: 3.5” x 5” – 6.125” x 11.5”
- Run your name/address horizontally on the long side of the mail piece
- Do not design a square sized mailer
- Do not go over 1 ounce in weight for first-class mail, 3 ounces for standard class mail
- Make sure you have enough room around your delivery point bar code in your address block
- Use a font size of 8pt or larger for your address block
- When using a self-mailer, put the fold on the leading edge (the right side when you are looking at the address panel)
- Make sure you put enough tabs on your self-mailer (check with Protocol)
- Do not mail paper clips, pens or other sharp objects in envelopes
- Check bar code readability on pre-printed colors or colored paper before ordering print/stock
- Save the 3-D mailers for small audiences of high-donors
- Run all designs through before releasing to print
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