USPS announces no Postage Rate Increases 2010
USPS offers a postage price calculator.
Really comes in handy, especially during the holiday season!
November 30, 2009
November 20, 2009
US Postal Service Approved Specialized P4 Process
Specialized P4 Process is a Cool Direct Mail Idea
Excerpt from an exclusive interview with Alice Mishica, owner and president of Specialized Mailing Services, Inc., Alice revealed the hottest addition to the SMS Direct Mail Marketing family.
“Specialized Mailing Services” has been processing newspaper and magazine tear sheets with hand written personalized sticky notes for over 20 years. One day, a client called and asked if there was any way we could mail a tear sheet with a personalized note using a bulk stamp. Alice responded, “Hand addressed envelopes do not qualify for bulk rates, nor can you have anything hand written inside the envelope of a bulk mail piece.”
The gauntlet had been laid.
“There are many incredible hand writing fonts available today and addressing the envelope was not a problem,” Alice continued.
“It took me a while to figure out a cost effective way to generate a computerized personalized sticky note that had the exact same characteristics of a handwritten envelope.”
While the P4™ process was developed for bulk mailing purposes, many SMS clients use it as a cost effective alternative to hand addressed mail “I believe that our exclusive P4™ process can have the impact that hand-addressing and personalized notes provide at post office approved bulk rate pricing,” Alice added.
“This process, coupled with a live bulk stamp along with a “cancellation” has the US Postal Service returning the mail which is not a service offered for bulk rates.”
November 17, 2009
Becoming an Expert in Your Field
Become an Expert in Your Industry!
Being in business today is extremely challenging and the competition is growing on a daily basis. This is evident in simply the number of coffee clutches we pass everyday on our way to work.
So just how does one manage to stand out in this environment?
A proven solution is utilizing the necessary resources to become recognized as experts in your industry … of having the coffee everybody wants, the best around. The resources that help share your product, your passion for it, and the thorough knowledge of it are unquestionably the most personal means of communication possible, through direct mail and social media networks, with an extraordinary level of content copy writing and images. To achieve this solution, SMS has become an expert in the field of getting your word out, your message across, and a solid position in consumer response.
Incorporating Specialized Mailing Services as a direct mail marketing source should be a strategic daily practice. We work very hard to share our direct mail marketing knowledge, social media expertise and success strategies. Our “expert” staff works diligently to position themselves on the cutting edge specifically for our client’s leading edge, it’s how we handle our competition.
Call on us anytime! We’ve got the grinder if you’ve got the beans, and we look forward to hearing from you soon!
Until next time … Alice
October 30, 2009
USPS Postmaster General Announces Postage Rate Freeze in 2010
USPS announces no Postage Rate Increases 2010
USPS, the United States Postal Service is working diligently to embrace the change, in this new world. There’s a lot of good news coming out of USPS…if you visit their website you will see that the focus of their position {as a monopoly} is becoming more customer service driven and supportive of the direct mail needs of their customers.
Word has it that there will not be a postage rate hike in 2010 for first-class mail, standard mail and periodicals. Postmaster General John E. Potter says, “We want mailers to continue to invest in direct mail to grow their business, communicate with valued customers and maintain a strong presence in the marketplace.”
Here is a copy of the press release from the USPS Postmaster General.
From John E. Potter USPS Postmaster General and CEO:
To Postal Service Customers:
Many of you have expressed concerns regarding mailing costs for 2010. The tough economic climate has presented significant challenges to all of us and pessimistic speculation has suggested that postal prices could increase by as much as 10 percent.
As we begin a new fiscal year and as many of you, our business clients, are preparing your 2010 operating budgets, we want to end all speculation.
The Postal Service will not increase prices for market-dominant products in calendar year 2010.
Simply stated, there will not be a price increase for market-dominant products including First-Class Mail, Standard Mail, periodicals, single-piece Parcel Post. There will be no exigent price increase for these products.
This is the right decision at the right time for the right reason. Promoting the value of mail and encouraging its continued use is essential for jobs, the economy, and the future of both the Postal Service and the mailing industry.
While increasing prices might have generated revenue for the Postal Service in the short-term, the long term effect could drive additional mail out of the system. We want mailers to continue to invest in mail to grow their business, communicate with valued customers and maintain a strong presence in the marketplace. Changes in pricing for our competitive products—Priority Mail, Express Mail, Parcel Select, and most international products—are under consideration. We expect to announce a decision in November.
We are committed to working with customers to find ways to grow the mail through innovative incentives like the Summer Sale and contract pricing. Mail is the most effective means of communication and advertising and we will continue to work together to increase the value of the mail. Mail is a smart investment for the future.
Now that’s good news!
Until next time,
Alice
October 21, 2009
You’ve Really Got Mail!
Hand Addressed Mail Gets Opened & Read
Can you remember the last time you went to the mailbox and pulled out a hand addressed letter? It’s exciting, isn’t it?
As you sorted the mail, you probably threw all of the other mail aside and opened the hand addressed letter first. Didn’t you?
In this age of digital media, real hand addressed mail has become very rare and is totally unexpected.
Regardless of your industry, handwritten mailings are the most effective way to capture the attention of your audience and have been proven to increase direct mail response rates by 300% or more.
Savvy marketers are using real handwriting, or our specialized P4 process, to personalize and address mailings, announcements, newsletters, fund raising requests, promotions and follow-ups to their current and prospective clients.
It’s a proven fact, that just by adding a human element of hand addressing, that is absent from most direct mail campaigns today, you can improve your direct mail ROI.
When developing cool direct mail campaigns…hand addressing the outside of the envelope using the recipients first and last name helps to bypass the gatekeepers, when mailing to executives.
Contact SMS, to learn more about hand addressing for First Class mail and our specialized P4 process for creative direct mail campaigns.
October 16, 2009
Glazer-Kennedy Info Summitt ‘09
Glazer-Kennedy Insider's Circle
Specialized Mailing Services, Inc. will be exhibiting at the upcoming “SOLD OUT” Glazer-Kennedy Info-Summit 09’ in Atlanta, Georgia, from November 5th – 7th.
It’s expected to surpass the last Info-Summit, so we’re in for the ride of our lives!
If you didn’t get in on this one … you can still register for the next Glazer-Kennedy Super Conference that is scheduled in Dallas, Texas on April 29th thru May 1st, 2010, with a special bonus day on May 2nd. Visit www.DanKennedy.com for more details.
If you’ve never been to a Glazer-Kennedy Insider’s Circle™ local chapter meeting or event and you’re serious about learning the insider secrets for direct marketing …take a minute to visit their website, you will find it to be time well spent!
The Glazer-Kennedy site is “The Place” where smart entrepreneurs go to find the answers to fast and dramatic growth, greater control, independence and security in getting their products and services out to the marketplace. It all comes together there!
Until next time y’all …
Alice
October 9, 2009
Blending of Social Media and Direct Mail Drive Sales
Can Prospective Clients Find You?
While surfing the net for direct mail trends, we came across a research brief posted by Jack Loechner of MediaPost Publications. Jack stated that…According to the first annual Community and Social Media Study, five out of ten social media tools have been adopted by more than 50% percent of brands and retailers, with the Facebook Fan Page leading the way at 86%. In addition, the study found three-fourths of the survey respondents feel brands have accelerated their use of, and commitment to, community and social media in the past six months.
Specialized Mailing Services, Inc. would welcome the opportunity to collaborate with you to create innovative and creative direct marketing campaigns, blending direct mail and online marketing strategies together.
• If your audience doesn’t know it, we’ll help you introduce it to them.
• If your customers love it, we’ll help you provide reasons to continue loving it.
• If your audience knows about it but has forgotten, we’ll help you remind them of it.
By creatively blending a direct mail campaign with social media you can:
- target your audience
- re-enforce your message accurately putting it into the hands of your audience
- extend your message through share ability
- unlock creative possibilities
- allow yourself a way to measure your response and conversion rates
- speak personally to your audience
This effective marketing strategy will allow your brand to:
- sustain your business during an unstable economy
- stand out from your competition
- attract new clients, partners and networks
- expand easily into new business opportunities
Today, companies are employing direct mail marketing to fill a variety of brand-driven roles.
Direct Mail will:
- give a depth and dimension to your message
- drive potential clients or customers to a website or store offering opportunities for an immediate response or action
- help in collecting important customer data
- simply help you work smarter by allowing your brand work harder
With a majority of our clients turning to the internet more everyday…are you keeping up?
Hope you get some points!
Alice
September 24, 2009
Selling Ice To Eskimos.
Grandpa Davis is on the far right.
My grandfather was a salesman for National Cash Register during the great depression. As was typical of that era, my Grandmother didn’t work. Grandpa supported his wife, and four children, by selling cash registers during the worst of economic times…right up there with ice to an Eskimo or sand to an Egyptian I’d say.
Click here to read the Grandpa Davis story.
Truly inspirational!
Our quote of the day, “Being in business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you’re doing but no one else does.”
If you’re ready to get your message out there and need fresh, simple and creative marketing ideas to get your direct mail and online marketing working in tandem, give us a call.
Specialized Mailing Services consortium of graphic designers, creative folk and copy writers will provide simple and effective creative solutions to your direct mail and online marketing campaigns.
Until next time,
Alice
July 30, 2009
Writing a Newspaper Headline
Best Newspaper Headlines
When clients contact us to create Newspaper or Magazine Tear Sheet mailings for their businesses, we are often faced with a customer that needs assistance in writing an intriguing, fascinating and compelling newspaper headline. We’re often told by many business owners that writing an ad headline is one of those items on the to-do list that are better left to, “there are people for that”.
In the direct mail marketing and advertising world, it is understood that the headline you choose for your mail piece, advertisement, or web page is the most crucial part in getting your message read. In fact, if you take a moment to think about your own behaviors, you’ll notice that you probably read the headline and if it doesn’t intrigue you, you don’t read on. Do you?
Creating a powerful newspaper or ad headline is extremely painful for many business owners. More often than not, they will skip the step of creating a newspaper headline and will simply insert their logo instead. Not very compelling, but your competitors are in all probability using that same approach. At least, you’re all working on a level playing field.
While our SMS virtual assistants were researching the topic of writing great newspaper headlines, they discovered Kenneth Beare on about.com. Kenneth has written a very informative and easy to implement article that will offer you everything you’ve always wanted to know about writing a powerful headline for your next advertising campaign. Check it out! Kenneth is an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher, trainer, and content developer. Kenneth specializes in ESL learning materials development.
We believe that Kenneth’s article will help shed some light on what it takes to write a compelling newspaper headline, so let’s get started!
But, if you’re still staring at a blank page or getting ready to rip your hair out, take a breath and relax in the knowledge that we have very talented copywriters for that and they’re all pretty much bald anyhow!
Contact us, if we can assist you in writing powerful newspaper tear sheet and magazine tear sheet headlines for your next direct mail campaign.
July 15, 2009
Getting Your Customer’s To Say “Yes”
Getting Customer's To Say Yes
In the direct mail business, there’s only one indicator of good a creative direct mail strategy – your response rate!
Is your direct mail strategy converting to new customers or repeat sales?
If you want to build a complete direct mail campaign from scratch, or you simply want to fine-tune an existing direct mail campaign, let our expert direct mail strategists, copywriters and creative designers point the way to take you there.
If you’ve hesitated to test a direct mail campaign or creative design because you weren’t sure which elements to test or how to gauge the results, we can help you there, too.
Direct mail is still one of the most cost-effective marketing tools you can use to communicate with your target audience and inspire new customers to inquire about your business. The biggest advantage of direct mail is its ability to make it personal, one-to-one contact with customers and prospects at a relatively low cost with a high return on investment.
Just remember…it doesn’t cost anything to inquire…give us a call and let’s see what we can collaborate on!
