mass email marketing software For Your Reading PleasureDirect Mail Marketing: How to Choose a Postcard Vendor
Direct mail postcards can help you promote your business easily, effectively and affordably. But to capitalize on these benefits, you need a reliable and efficient program in place. That's where postcard marketing vendors come into the picture.
These days, there are dozens of postcard marketing vendors, but not all are created equal. This can make vendor selection overwhelming. But it doesn't have to be. To understand the differences between these companies, you simply have to evaluate and compare their services.
Here are some key criteria you should look at:
Knowledge & Experience
When shopping for a postcard marketing vendor, you should find out what background and experience they have. The good news is, you can go about it fairly easily - just visit their website, or pick up the phone and call.
A company is only as good as their people, so find out:
* Who makes up the company?
* What unique skills and experience do they have?
* How much do they know about printing and direct mail marketing?
* Do they offer educational tools as part of their service?
* Have they published relevant articles in magazines or online?
Design Options
As far as your prospects are concerned, your direct mail postcards reflect your company as a whole. So design matters. Ask vendors what kind of design options they have. If they say they only do the printing, and that you're on your own to create a design, keep shopping!
Some vendors will offer a variety of design options to match the varying skill levels of their customers.
Common offerings include:
* Web-based design tools
* Complete design templates that customers can personalize
* The ability for customers to upload their own designs
* Stock images for customers to use
* The ability for customers to proof their designs online before checkout
Choose a vendor that offers at least two of these design options. If you find one that offers all of them, even better!
List Options
When it comes to direct mail marketing, your list is more than just a way to reach your audience. Your list is your audience.
Most marketers maintain an in-house database of customers and/or prospects. So when reviewing postcard marketing vendors, ask if you can upload your own list. This is a common offering, but it's best to make sure.
But what if you don't have a mailing list? Or what if you want to do a mailing to a new group of prospects, people who aren't on your in-house list? In such cases, you'll need a vendor who offers some way to build a list online.
This kind of feature is not as common as the "use your own" approach, so when you find a vendor who offers this, write them down for further consideration. Then proceed to evaluate them based on the other checkpoints in this guide.
Mailing Options
"Of course a postcard marketing vendor will mail my postcards for me. That's what they do, right?"
In most cases, yes, a postcard marketing vendor will print and mail your postcards for you. But there are some that do the design and printing, but not the actual mailing. Don't assume -- just ask.
Another consideration: what if you only want your postcards printed, but you'd rather stamp and mail them yourself (for a more personal touch)? Some vendors will print and mail your postcards to your list, but they won't print and ship them to you. If you see yourself needing both options, ask about it in advance.
Pricing Structure
You would think postcard pricing would be straightforward. But in truth, there are a number of variables to consider and questions to ask.
For example, some postcard marketing vendors have "base pricing" that does not include things like two-sided color or postage. In such cases, you have to do a bit of math to figure out the true cost per postcard. Other vendors have an "all included" price that accounts for design work, full color on both sides, and postage (no math!).
You should also find out about volume discounts. Some vendors charge less per postcard the more you order. These "volume tables" should be published on their website so you can easily calculate costs.
Other vendors have a set price per postcard, regardless of how many you order. With these vendors, there is no reward for larger jobs.
Ease of Use
Even if a postcard marketing vendor scores well in all other areas, it won't matter if you can't figure out how to use their service. The technical term for this is "usability."
From websites to hairdryers, everything has some level of usability. When usability is high, you don't have to think too hard about completing your task. When usability is low, you'll get a headache at best and be unable to complete your task at worst.
First and foremost, find out if the service is entirely web-based or not. After all, the whole idea of using a vendor is to pass the logistical burden over to them, right? You should be able to place a postcard marketing order from your home or office computer. In this age of Internet commerce, there's no reason not to have this ability.
A good way to gauge a vendor's usability is to visit their website and poke around. Move about the site and read the information you encounter. You'll get a pretty good feel for how easy and efficient the system is.
Conclusion
Direct mail marketing with postcards can be an affordable, effective part of your overall marketing program. But to get the most out of it, you need to find a vendor who's right for you. Use this guide to evaluate postcard marketing vendors. Choose wisely, and your direct mail postcard program will be easier to manage, more effective, and more professional.
* Copyright 2006, PostcardSmart.com. You may republish this article in its entirety on your website or blog, as long as the byline, author's note and hyperlink are left intact.
About the Author
Brandon Cornett is the editor of PostcardSmart.com, the Internet's largest website dedicated entirely to direct mail marketing with postcards. For more expert articles on postcard marketing, visit http://www.postcardsmart.com.
For daily direct mail tips, visit the PostcardSmart blog at http://www.directmailtips.blogspot.com.
mass email marketing software Items For Viewing
Blowgun Stun Darts 100 Pack
Blowgun Stun Darts 100 Pack
These darts are perfect for target shooting and for getting rid of unwanted yard pests. They are designed to sting the animal, not seriously injure or kill the animal. For shooting unwanted yard pests, best results are obtained when the animal does not see you. This allows the animal to associate your yard with pain, and the anmal won't come back. If the animal sees you, it will come back when you are not there. NEVER SHOOT PEOPLE!
Customer Review: 100 is just not enough
As a proffesional ninja, I find this 100 dart pack pathetic. No army of infinite evil will cower from this; they usually number in the thousands. Now, I can of course hit them all, being a ninja, but there are just too many. A pack of 10,000 would be a much better idea, they could put them in a backpack or something, easy to reach, that sort of thing. As far as reliability, they work well. You hit something, it bleeds, it dies. Messy, but it does the trick.
Muscle Marketing USA Thermo Male Thermogenic Serum, Strawberry, 5.1-Ounce Bottle
Muscle Marketing USA Thermo Male Thermogenic Serum, Strawberry, 5.1-Ounce Bottle
Trace Projector and Enlarger
Trace Projector and Enlarger
This lightweight and portable projector easily makes enlargements up to 10 times the size of the original artwork. No set-up or assembly required. Projects in colors or black and white. Simply place your artwork under the Tracer Projector and immediately see a larger version projected against a screen or wall. Great for signs and murals. Common 10 watt bulb included. UL Listed. 120 volts.
Customer Review: I Call It The Scorcher.
I bought this product a few years back, so maybe the new ones are better, but the one I have is somewhat difficult to use for long periods of time.
The way it is constructed, the bottom is a square hollow tube, with a light bulb only a few inches away from the opening. You place the tracer on top of whatever opaque photograph or paper you intend to trace. Then, after only a few minutes, the Tracer (because of the light bulb trapped inside its plastic body) heats up to extraordinary temperatures. Within five to ten minutes, it will curl a photograph and turn a printed out picture into a strangely wrinkled landscape because of the extreme heat. DO NOT use originals for tracing that you want to preserve!!!! Make a photocopy!! Also you can only enlarge a sketch that is about 4" by 4", because that is the size of the square opening on the bottom.
It has inadequate ventilation (no fans, just a few slits), because vents would make more light escape and make the projection image dimmer. The projection strength is already a little weak because a lot of the light escapes through the few small vents on the top. If you prop the Tracer up on pencils or something to give your photograph room to breathe (so it won't fry), even more light escapes and it becomes really hard to see the tracer projection on the wall. Must use in a totally black room: I had to use mine in a closet, and I had to turn it off every five or ten minutes to let it cool down for about twenty. This can be frustrating when you're on a roll. If you don't use a normal light bulb, but something that burns cooler like a fluorescent, this might work better.
Other than all that, for a relatively cheap projector, it will do the trick. It enlarges very well; I made a tiny little one-inch sketch the size of a poster. If you just plan to use this infrequently, and only for short periods of time, it's fine. If you plan to make a career out of tracing small sketches onto large canvasses or something, get a more expensive projector.
Customer Review: Artograph, Inc - Tracer Projector And Enlarger REVIEW
GREAT machine! The only draw back is that you need complete darkeness (I mean complete darkness!) to see the projection.
Mazel TOV Sucker Hard Candy Mold
Mazel TOV Sucker Hard Candy Mold
2-3/4" Mazel TOV Sucker Hard Candy Mold
"BUY 3 Get 1 FREE!!!"
Headlines on mass email marketing softwarePurple@Epsilon Lands ClickSquared Exec - MediaPost PublicationsWed, 07 Jan 2009 12:44:39 GMT
Purple@Epsilon Lands ClickSquared ExecMediaPost Publications, New York - Jan 7, 2009At the Wakefield, Mass.-based Epsilon, Frawley is charged with expanding the agency's position in digital marketing, including email and interactive ... |
Access denied to the server.
IP address: 125.27.185.187
User agent: Mozilla/3.0 (compatible; Indy Library)
Telecomworldwire - Lyris ListManager 10 email marketing tool launched
Tue, 12 Aug 2008 07:00:00 GMT
August 12, 2008 -- TELECOMWORLDWIRE-12 August 2008-Lyris ListManager 10 email marketing tool launched(C)1994-2008 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD http://www.m2.com Lyris UK, a...
