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Blow-In Some Creative Direct Mail Ideas: What Catches Your Eye?

blow-in and bind-in insert cards for direct mail

Blow-ins and Bind-ins: ever thought about why those insert cards in your direct mail work? If they didn’t, they would not be showered with so many. “Blow-in” cards (as bindery machines blow the inserts into the printed pieces during manufacture) are most famously successful for magazines and newspapers to advertise their subscription offers. Their size makes them perfect as business reply mail, coupons for in-store and online sales, or to call out special offer from within the larger print piece. “Bind-in” cards stay attached to the piece, usually with a perforation to allow removal.

Normally inserts prove bothersome by falling out inconveniently and making me stoop to pick them up, or as I browse the rest of the magazine or catalog I am trying to keep them from falling out again. Bind-in cards annoyingly cover up part of the page that I want to see. These “aggravations” are in fact part of the reason insert cards work for marketing – they force us to stop and potentially, in those extra precious seconds, notice the name or information on the card.

direct mail advertising insert cards

I recently received a catalog from Pier 1 imports, and while several blow-in cards came falling out, the one above caught my attention above the others – and prompted me to think about why. It is actually a bind-in card, but three things, in retrospect, stood out enough to make me stop and look at it, flip it over and see what it was about:

  • The design: specifically the colors. Like the type, they are loud but pleasing. The designer knew the visual had to stand out in front of a busy page full of advertised merchandise, and this design does.
  • The die cut: that icy pitcher of tart lemonade looks like it could almost be lifted off the page. Maybe I was thirsty at the time, but it made me take notice, and the outlined shape caught my eye over all the other rectangular inserts, which I totally ignored.
  • The anonymity: If the front of this card had the company logo emblazoned on it, I think my initial reaction would have been to assume I already knew what it was pushing and need not look any further. Because it looked more like a big flavorful offer for lemonade, I flipped it over and saw an offer for $50 off a purchase at Pier 1. Good marketing.

When you are planning your print marketing, take a few minutes to think about the ways direct mail or other advertising has influenced you, caught your eye, or directed your behavior. Pick up your stack of mail today and notice which piece attracts your notice the most – then try to state three reasons that particular item got your attention while others were bypassed. Learning to incorporate those sound and creative ideas into your own promotions can make your marketing dollars do a lot more work for you. Creativity will get you noticed.

 

 

Printers understand communication and design. Your printer should be able to provide you with the latest information, inspiration, technical advice, and innovative ideas for communicating your message through print, design and typography, signage, apparel, variable data printing and direct mail, integrated marketing and environmental responsible printing. They should also be able to work with you to solve any difficult prepress issues with your files. If they can’t, you have the wrong printer! The best advice, always, is to ASK YOUR PRINTER!

Call us at 828.684.4512. ImageSmith is a full-service print and marketing provider located in Arden, North Carolina. Contact us at ImageSmith for quotes on all your print and marketing projects, and more useful tips on how to create custom, effective, high impact marketing solutions.
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Die cutting: Creative Finishing Ideas Add Power to Print

folded die cut self-mailer

Even a simple die cut can transform a bland self-mailer into a powerful marketing piece. Creative die cutting highlights the 3D nature of print – its tactile and functional nature. It also grabs attention and makes a marketing piece stand out from a stack of generic mail pieces.

The finished shape of a die cut print piece can serve an aesthetic purpose, such as making an image pop off the page or highlighting either text or a specific object. It can also provide functionality; for example, the slots in some folders which hold business cards or the curved and angled flaps on a folder which fit together as a means of closure for the piece. Another practical function for die cutting is a “pre-punched” card that is still affixed into the sheet of paper by a few, small uncut areas but can easily be popped out by the recipient to use the piece as a coupon, membership card, etc.

die cut rounded corner print pieces
Even the simplicity of a die cut rounded corner makes a print piece unique.

As a general rule, offset and digital printing (other than web-fed presses) is done on precut, rectangular pieces of paper. A special die cut press is used to trim or shape the pieces further. Think of this as similar to a cookie cutter. A die is made of metal and adjusted onto the die press at the right amount of pressure. Printed sheets are then fed into the machine and the die will both cut and/or score each sheet, leaving small attachment areas so that the finished pieces do not separate and fall down into the press. The unused portion is then scraped or weeded out and recycled, leaving the finished shaped piece.

die cut printed pieces

 

All “shaped” pieces of printed paper have been die cut by this or a similar method: envelopes with a curved flap, folders with slots for holding a buisness card or insert, and anything with rounded edges are all examples of die cut print pieces. You can creatively design your die cut to work in most any shape. Of course, the extra process adds cost to your print project, and a very complex die will cost more than one as simple as a rounded corner or curved shape.

One hint: paper manufacuturers often provide printers with sample books of their materials, showing off their products through creative, eye-catching print. These sample books and other marketing pieces often include examples of die cutting. Ask your printer to share some of these with you, or for samples of their own die cut projects. You can get a lot of inspiration from holding and inspecting the paper yourself, and perhaps it will get you excited about new options for your next print project.

Paper manufacture samples of die cutting

 

Rely on your printer for advice, inspiration and direction on your integrated marketing options. They should be able to answer all your questions – if they can’t, you have the wrong printer! The best advice, always, is to ASK YOUR PRINTER!

ImageSmith is a full-service print and marketing provider located in Arden, North Carolina. Contact us at ImageSmith for quotes on all your marketing projects, and more useful tips on how to create custom, effective, high impact marketing solutions.
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Your Integrated Marketing Plan Needs Direct Mail

Combining direct mail with digital communication for increased ROI

Over at PrintisBig.com, you will find some eye-opening statistics about the print industry, and specifically about the power of direct mail – yes, good old-fashined direct mail, even in a digital age. While I would attribute part of the continued effectiveness of direct mail campaigns for marketing to their integration with other online and offline marketing methods, it looks like the preference of consumers for the physical nature of printed matter still pays off in increased conversion rates and marketing ROI. Also, small companies and non-profits are reaping the benefits of VDP personalization in increasingly targeted campaigns that drive up response rates as their database management matures. A couple of the stats from PrintisBig:

  • Since 2004, direct mail marketing response rates are UP 14%, while email marketing response rates are DOWN 57%.

  • In 2010, US companies increased sales through direct marketing to the tune of $702 billion.

  • Advertisers in the US spend $167 per person on direct mail, earning $2,095 worth of goods sold. That’s a 1,300% return on investment.

  • Non-profits gain 78% of their donations from direct mail.

Source: PrintisBig.com

Rather than seeing an EITHER/OR situation between direct mail and new digital alternatives, embrace the opportunities of mobile marketing, qr codes, email, social media and website e-commerce as a whole new box of tools to get our your message and/or drive sales. To abandon print and it’s proven effectiveness in that transition will prove costly!
 
Rely on your printer for advice and direction with integrated marketing. They should be able to provide you with everything from encouragement along the way to complete design, layout, copywriting, production, multi-purposing, online implmentation and distribution of your marketing outreach. If they can’t, you have the wrong printer! The best advice, always, is to ASK YOUR PRINTER!

ImageSmith is a full-service print and marketing provider located in Arden, North Carolina. Contact us at ImageSmith for quotes on all your marketing projects, and more useful tips on how to create custom, effective, high impact marketing solutions.
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New Global Forever Stamp from the USPS: Great Design, Great Idea

the new forever stamp for international mail

Now the convenience for a Forever Stamp, like the ones we all use for domestic first class letters, is available for international mail. For $1.10, you can send a one ounce letter to any country in the world (or a 2 ounce letter to Canada), and these stamps may be used in the future no matter how much postage prices change. They may be purchased individually or in a sheet of 20 for $22.00.

The beautiful stamp was designed by Greg Breeding, art direction by William J. Gicker, and the composite satellite image of the earth was created by Leonello Calvetti. The unusual round shape is eyecatching and unique, a suitable fit for a stamp that has a unique function and carries its message around the world.

The USPS, which receives no tax dollars for operational expenses and funds itself through the sale of its products and services, is actively branching out in social media and marketing to its customers, especially stamp-collectors. Check them out on Facebook or Twitter @USPSStamps. For philatelists, or stamp collectors, the USPS has a great site called Beyond the Perf, showcasing upcoming stamps, first-day-of-issue events and other stamp-related news.

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New 2013 USPS Rules for Folded Self-Mailers (FSMs)

 

2013 USPS rules for FSMs or Folded Selfmailers

As of January 5, 2013, the USPS puts into effect new rules for the design and preparation of FSMs, or folded self-mailers, a staple of effective direct mail marketing. As anyone involved with mailings can attest, the USPS rules and regulations for mail piece design, sorting and delivery can be mind-boggling. In this instance, they have done a good job of giving us all plenty of notice about the upcoming changes (publishing a “final rule” providing mailers with upcoming changes back in December of 2011), and spelling out the requirements in a fairly clear manner (despite the clear-as-mud “Decision Tree Design Matrix” spreadsheet someone spent a lot of time creating). Clearly, the USPS sought to accommodate a variety of design options in these rule changes to encourage direct mail marketers and their creativity while still ensuring mail piece compatibility with automated processing. Good job, USPS!

In an attempt to summarize, here are some GENERAL highlights in this rules change:

  • If the FSM is secured with tabs (rather than glue dots or strips), at least two are required, and they cannot be on the “bottom”, folded edge.
  • The bottom of the mail piece must be a folded edge. If the piece is oblong, the short or leading edge must be the fold.
  • New recognition of closure methods such as glue strips on lead and tail edges. The rules define many closure methods: continuous line glue strips, glue spots, elongated glue lines, and various tab options. Some of these are dependent on what weight of paper and how many folds are used.
  • Panel count maximum is 12 for non-newsprint folded pieces, 24 for newsprint paper.
  • Allowance of a 1-to1 cut-tie ratio for all perforated lines. (This has to do with the strength of any perforated pieces so they will not separate en route).

A “Folded Self-Mailer Reference Material” guide is available on the RIBBS site. It includes helpful diagrams – often with rules this technical, a picture really is worth a thousand words. It also includes the aforementioned “Decision Tree Design Matrix,” if that works for you. You can also contact mailpiece design analysts at the USPS for guidance:

“The MDA Support Center hours of operation are Monday through Friday, between 7:00 am and 5:00 pm CST. Customers may contact the MDA Support Center by dialing 855-593-6093, or by sending a request via email to mda@usps.gov.”

It’s easy to complain about all the confusing rules when trying to learn the basic requirements for mail piece design, but if you consider all the variables that must be accomodated by the USPS when codifying exactly what can and cannot be accepted, it makes sense. Mailpieces must be compatible with processing machinery, or appropriate charges attached for other methods of handling. While we may want to know just a simple rule for folded self-mailers, they must consider all the variables that could be involved: is it closed with a tab, staple or glue strip? What size can the panels be? Is it folded top, bottom, tall, short, twice or more? How do different weights of paper affect those rules? Is there a flap; an insert or attachment? a perforated panel? When you take into account all of the design options possible, it’s pretty amazing they can present the rules in any intelligible way at all!

 

Rely on your printer for advice and direction in integrated marketing with direct mail. They should be able to answer all your queustions – if they can’t, you have the wrong printer! The best advice, always, is to ASK YOUR PRINTER!

ImageSmith is a full-service print and marketing provider located in Arden, North Carolina. Contact us at ImageSmith for quotes on all your marketing projects, and more useful tips on how to create custom, effective, high impact marketing solutions.
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Variable Data Printing or VDP Produces Direct Mail Results

Variable Data Printing

During the 2012 presidential campaign, both major political parties spent more on Direct Mail than any other form of advertising except broadcast television. Are you surprised that more was invested in old fashioned snail mail than internet or mobile outreach? It is because the campaigns know that Direct Mail works. Direct Mail with variable data works even better. And to the surprise of many it works more effectively than most email marketing efforts. The reason why says a lot about both the nature of email/web ads and the benefits of smart direct mail print marketing.

Many people’s first impression of “blast” email marketing was that it would save print production costs and revolutionize campaign strategy. What prevented that sea-change however is basic human nature. Most people ignore – even sometimes resent – unsolicited email messages, and easily overlook banner ads or website advertising, especially if it is not accurately customized to their personal interests.

Direct mail has long been a staple in reaching a target audience and producing results. Personalizing the message on direct mail through variable data printing (VDP) can increase ROI even more – anywhere from double the normal return to 10-to-15 times! And the best part is that it works even better when you get creative with the possibilities – use VDP in a way that is unique to your clientele and needs.

Think of VDP as much more than just someone’s first name on the front of the card. For example: if you own a pizza place, you could collect personalized data from customers in house with a survey card – then mail each customer a coupon for the specific pizza they said they enjoyed most, vastly increasing the likelihood of their return over just a generic coupon that goes out to all customers. In this way you begin to profile your customers buying habits, and can target your marketing efforts in a much more effective, powerful way.

For a good overview of VDP, check out Adobe’s VDP Resource Center. Then call us and we’ll brainstorm some exciting VDP solutions for your integrated marketing.

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Getting Ready for Big Data: Take a Look at Your Mail List

Mail Lists, Databases and Big Data

Our privacy is shrinking… or at least our concept of privacy is certainly evolving into something new in a world where just about everything we do, think, read, buy, eat, spend, or consume is digitally tracked. In such a world, your small business database of information on your customers is gold. It is not only how you stay in contact with clientele for invoicing, shipping, and marketing, but in the new world of “BIG DATA” it will increasingly define your profits and growth. Up until now, your data on each customer might be as straightforward as name, address and phone number or email. But as progress continues, you will be presented with the opportunity to gather FAR more data on individuals such as purchasing history, income, political and social affiliations, their avenues of consuming information and purchasing goods, their interests, dislikes, lifestyle and so on. Being able to organize, interpret and manipulate this data for more effective marketing will be at the core of your business’ success.

For now, even if your database is essentially a spreadsheet with customers and their contact information, spending the time to get all this information correct, organized, delimited and “usable” for various marketing efforts is time well spent. Standardization for every entry and every category of information is critical. If you have many folks all entering data into your system about customers or transactions, they all need to be doing so in the exact same way… the “rules” need to all be standardized so that, for instance Mary J. Sawyer, Mrs. MJ Sawyer, Ms. M. Jane Sawyer, Sawyer Mary J., and M. J. Sawyer are not all entered in your database like 5 different people! At a very basic level, that is an important first step.

We do mailings and variable data printing for many clients, and to receive what could be called “clean” data for a mailing is truly the exception rather than the rule. We have methods to “correct” and clean up data, but the sad part of that is usually clients do not want the “new”, corrected data back… so the errors continue to live and repeat in their database – a costly shame.

When you do a mailing, the USPS requires that the address information meet NCOA requirements. NCOA is the National Change of Address program that makes available to mailers the last 48 months of updated addresses where folks have moved or changed address. It flags duplicates and corrects out-of-date address information. Further sorting and certification software for mailing will standardize address spelling, zip codes, street numbers and other inaccurate information. But it is essential that once you have paid your printer or mailhouse to correct and use your database list for a mailing, that you recover that new information and reintegrate it into your database. It is the first step toward “cleaning house” and starting a good first step into the world of “big data” manipulation.

Be sure to ask your printer about how to best streamline the process of supplying your mailing list to them AS WELL AS them returning the corrected, updated list back for reintegration into your database. They will help you set up a routine that makes the file transfer flawless and easy. The best advice, always, is to ASK YOUR PRINTER!

 

ImageSmith is a full-service print and marketing provider located in Arden, North Carolina. Contact us at ImageSmith for quotes on all your marketing projects, and more useful tips on how to create custom, effective, high impact marketing solutions.
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If You Have The Right Printer, You Have Your Marketing Consultant

Printers are Communications and Marketing Experts

Running a small business demands expertise in many, many divergent fields. You must excel at finance, employee relations, marketing, sales, and of course the specifics of the type of business you went into in the first place. In a large corporation, each duty or specialty is handled by an expert in that profession – or an entire heirarchy of experts: production, sales, marketing, human resources, R & D. As a small business owner, that’s all on you. Technology is only making that landscape even more challenging, daily.

To bring in help or advice on any of these areas is costly and risky. When it comes to marketing, however, your best resource is right at hand. And – this is by far the best part – it is FREE! If you have the right printer, you already have a highly trained marketing consultant who knows print, branding, direct mail, web strategies, social media and has years of experience in both high and low tech marketing approaches that work for businesses just like yours. The most assuring part of this partnership for you is that the print/communications company only succeeds when your marketing succeeds! Start taking advantage of this asset – the print industry itself has had to reinvent itself in this new high tech economy. They know what works.

Even if you have a background in marketing, the rules of the game over the past 10 years have changed DRASTICALLY. (Check out this amazing and exhaustive infographic on the History of Marketing.) The marketing success that got you and your small business to where it is today will most likely not take you to future success in the emerging economy and IT world. Do you have the time and resources to become an expert in web design, SEO (search engine optimization), interactive online marketing, web metrics or analytics, to position your operation to embrace the new and as yet unknown technoligies that are right over the horizon? In most cases, the answer is no – and unless your business IS marketing, you should not have to. Turn to your printer for help.

The term “printer” is misleading. Today, printers do far more than put ink on paper. They have become marketing and communications specialists, and they are your closest and most knowledgeable sources for consulting with you on your overall marketing strategy. A good printer will understand your budget, your marketing goals and be able to suggest many options for creating results: integrated marketing strategies, direct mail, targeted variable data printing, promotional products, signage, branding, website development and e-commerce, social media marketing techniques, and unique design ideas. Discuss with them your target audience, who your consumer is, what your mission and specific goals are for the year. These are the facts your sales rep needs to recommend specific marketing strategies that you can use to translate into profit and customer recognition of your brand and your work. So the question is: why drain your energy trying to learn the new world of marketing on TOP of running your business when you already have a marketing consultant waiting to talk with you?

ImageSmith is a full-service print and marketing provider located in Arden, North Carolina. Contact us at ImageSmith for quotes on all your marketing projects, and more useful tips on how to create custom, effective, high impact marketing solutions.
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Print: The Heart of Integrated Marketing Campaigns

Variable Data Printed and Integrated Marketing Campaigns

Tangible, portable, engaging, accessible, user-friendly, multiuse, renewable, versatile and creative… all great reasons to make print the foundation of your marketing campaign. Its very nature as a physical, rather than digital, object makes it effective and respected in the consumer’s mind. With advances in digital printing, the cost of print is even more affordable than ever for short or long runs. But by combining print with the new tools available online for personalized, trackable, interactive communication, you can boost your ROI with a truly integrated marketing campaign.

Print is user-friendly. All market segments feel comfortable viewing and reading information in print — therefore it can be used to lead those who are reticent about online purchasing or digital communications to check out your webpage, ‘click’ and follow a QR code, or visit their own personalized landing page (PURLs). Print is an easy stepping stone that works in coordination with online marketing to guide interested customers into a more interactive realm of communication and commerce. At the same time, print will reinforce your brand and online message in a concrete way.

With variable data printing (VDP), print is more user-friendly than ever. It speaks to each recipient in your database individually. From the printed contact, lead them to respond with more information about themselves and their interests, either online or by mail. With that information you have enriched your database and can target each customer in an even more personal way — trackable, multitouch, measurable results from your marketing dollars.

 

Contact us at ImageSmith for quotes on all your marketing projects, and more useful tips on how to create custom, effective, high impact marketing solutions.

 

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Supercharge Direct Mail with Variable Data Printing

Man receiving mail

Direct Mail works. Direct Mail with variable data works even better. And to the surprise of many it works more effectively than most email marketing efforts. The reason why says a lot about both the nature of email/web ads and the benefits of smart direct mail print marketing.

Many people’s first impression of “blast” email marketing was that it would save print production costs and revolutionize campaign strategy. What prevented that sea-change however is basic human nature. Most people ignore – even sometimes resent – unsolicited email messages, and easily overlook banner ads or website advertising, especially if it is not accurately customized to their personal interests. Direct mail has long been a staple in reaching a target audience and producing results. Personalizing the message on direct mail through variable data printing (VDP) can increase ROI even more –  anywhere from double the normal return to 10-to-15 times! And the best part is that it works even better when you get creative with the possibilities – use VDP in a way that is unique to your clientele and needs. Think of VDP as much more than just someone’s first name on the front of the card. For example: if you own a pizza place, you could collect personalized data from customers in house with a survey card – then mail each customer a coupon for the specific pizza they said they enjoyed most, vastly increasing the likelihood of their return over just a generic coupon that goes out to all customers. In this way you begin to profile your customers buying habits, and can target your marketing efforts in a much more effective, powerful way. For a good overview of VDP, check out Adobe’s VDP Resource Center. Then call us and we’ll brainstorm some exciting VDP solutions for your marketing.

Contact us at ImageSmith for quotes on all your marketing projects, and more useful tips on how to create custom, effective, high impact marketing solutions.