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Jagella
02-26-2009, 11:48 AM
I'm currently working on a direct-mail campaign for the local office of a nonprofit organization, Experience Works (http://www.experienceworks.org/site/PageServer). Experience Works offers employment opportunities and training to people of age 55 and older who are unemployed and meet with other eligibility criteria. I'm planning to create mailers that involve a letter in an envelope that explains Experience Works' services and provides contact information such as a toll-free phone number and the URL of the website. I would like to include the logo on the letter and the envelope. A photo of an elderly person working might be a nice touch for the letter, too. I've determined that about 6,500 households here in Williamsport include people of age 55 and older and might be eligible for this offer.

My first question involves finding the names and addresses of the target audience. Are there any database services that might supply me with this data? How much might it cost?

My second question involves printing. Is it safe to assume that 6,500 letters are too many for in-house printing and should be left to a print business? If I use a print business, what kind of printing would be needed for the letters? Can the print company place the letters in the envelopes with the recipients' addresses already printed on the envelopes?

Thanks!

Jagella

rezzy
02-26-2009, 01:32 PM
This is quite a loaded post, but Ill do my best to answer what I can.


My first question involves finding the names and addresses of the target audience. Are there any database services that might supply me with this data? How much might it cost?

I am not sure of a way to find a list of people based like this. My best guess on ways to get it would be going to places where 55 yr old may congregate. I dont know any elegant way to get them all.


My second question involves printing. Is it safe to assume that 6,500 letters are too many for in-house printing and should be left to a print business? If I use a print business, what kind of printing would be needed for the letters? Can the print company place the letters in the envelopes with the recipients' addresses already printed on the envelopes?

This question I think should be left to you. The print company, *should* be able to handle all aspects of it... for a price. Depending on where you some can even ship it.

Do you really wan to stuff 6.500 letters?

vangogh
02-26-2009, 02:20 PM
Not sure exactly where you'd get the list from, but a quick search for 'mailing list williamsport, pa' brings back results. The paid results look the most promising. I don't believe it will be cheap though.

As for the printing why not design letterhead for the company. That way they can be consistent with all their correspondence. A printing company is probably best, though I doubt they'll stuff the envelopes for you. Even if they do they'll be charging you based on their printing rates which is more than you should spend. If you don't want to do it yourself, hire some local teens or seniors.

Blessed
02-26-2009, 03:16 PM
I'm currently working on a direct-mail campaign for the local office of a nonprofit organization, Experience Works (http://www.experienceworks.org/site/PageServer). Experience Works offers employment opportunities and training to people of age 55 and older who are unemployed and meet with other eligibility criteria. I'm planning to create mailers that involve a letter in an envelope that explains Experience Works' services and provides contact information such as a toll-free phone number and the URL of the website. I would like to include the logo on the letter and the envelope. A photo of an elderly person working might be a nice touch for the letter, too. I've determined that about 6,500 households here in Williamsport include people of age 55 and older and might be eligible for this offer.

My first question involves finding the names and addresses of the target audience. Are there any database services that might supply me with this data? How much might it cost?

My second question involves printing. Is it safe to assume that 6,500 letters are too many for in-house printing and should be left to a print business? If I use a print business, what kind of printing would be needed for the letters? Can the print company place the letters in the envelopes with the recipients' addresses already printed on the envelopes?

Thanks!

Jagella

Ask me! Ask me! I know the answers! :D

OK - first if you PM me I can email you a few PDF's of this kind of work that I've done - except my work was for a marketing company that worked with Colleges and so the pieces are geared towards High School Juniors and Seniors

Second - you need the logo on the envelope and on the letterhead, also some sort of teaser, visual, etc... would be good to have on the envelope. Then when you get to the letter - you want it to look like letterhead, and it can have some pictures and etc... on it as well but make sure that the visual of the letter doesn't overwhelm your message. Something else you might consider is having some sort of response device that detaches from the letter and can be mailed back, especially for the crowd you are targeting. If you do an RD (response device) you will also need to have a self-addressed, postage paid return envelope in the mailer as well. It can be very basic.

On to the third thing - Letter Copy - don't make the letter so long that people don't want to read the whole thing. The best bet is to have someone who is good at copywriting to write the letter. The company I did work for had me do the design and then they had someone else who wrote the copy, because although I can and do write it isn't my strongest point.

As for printing - you have several options on this. What has become common is to have a printer (and by the way - I firmly believe that any marketing effort that is worth spending money on is worth having professionally printed.) Anyway... have a printer print the "shells" and the envelopes. The "shells" are the letterhead without the letter on it. Then a mail house imprints that "shell" with the letter and with the names and addresses of the individuals it is going to. Their machines will also fold the letters and insert them into the envelopes. Of course once you get to the mail house you run into all kinds of options - do you have window envelopes, do you print the addresses on the envelopes, do you print labels and stick them on the envelopes, do you use a pre-paid postage permit or do you use real stamps etc... Sometimes your printer and your mail house can be the same place - sometimes you need to use different people.

As for the list - you buy it from a list service. The cost will depend on how many variables you need, how many names you want to buy and etc... when you talk to the list service people they will be able to walk you through the process.

OK, did I miss anything?

KristineS
02-26-2009, 03:31 PM
There are information services like InfoUSA that can sell you lists. You can specify whatever parameters you want, and age is an easy one.

Jagella
02-26-2009, 03:34 PM
I am not sure of a way to find a list of people based like this. My best guess on ways to get it would be going to places where 55 yr old may congregate. I dont know any elegant way to get them all.

I just sent an email to The Nonprofit Cooperative Database (http://www.blackbaud.com/targetanalytics/acquisition/list.aspx) to ask if they can help me. I'm a little pessimistic that this kind of data is readily available, but it doesn't hurt to ask.


The print company, *should* be able to handle all aspects of it... for a price. Depending on where you some can even ship it.

I just phoned a local print business to get an estimate.


Do you really wan to stuff 6.500 letters?

No. The print business will take care of all that.

Jagella

kml9870
02-26-2009, 03:38 PM
Since it's for a non-profit, talk to a local high school about having some of the students stuff the envelopes as community service hours. I know my area high school students (including my daughter) have to fulfill a certain number of community service hours each year of high school to qualify for graduation.

vangogh
02-26-2009, 05:08 PM
Great info Jenn. I think I just learned more about direct mailing from your post that I have from all the other sources I've looked at combined.

Jagella
02-26-2009, 05:36 PM
Something else you might consider is having some sort of response device that detaches from the letter and can be mailed back, especially for the crowd you are targeting. If you do an RD (response device) you will also need to have a self-addressed, postage paid return envelope in the mailer as well. It can be very basic.

I thought about this issue, and I have a copy of a contact sheet from Experience Works. It includes the toll-free phone number of the organization and the website's URL. I phoned Experience Works to ask how they prefer to be contacted, and they said they prefer that people phone. A response device then won't be appropriate.


On to the third thing - Letter Copy - don't make the letter so long that people don't want to read the whole thing. The best bet is to have someone who is good at copywriting to write the letter. The company I did work for had me do the design and then they had someone else who wrote the copy, because although I can and do write it isn't my strongest point.

I'll probably keep the letter one page only. I think that will be more than enough to inform people about the organization's services and provide the contact information. Since it's an academic exercise, I'll probably write the copy. I'll just do a little research on writing good direct-mail copy.


As for printing - you have several options on this. What has become common is to have a printer (and by the way - I firmly believe that any marketing effort that is worth spending money on is worth having professionally printed.) Anyway... have a printer print the "shells" and the envelopes. The "shells" are the letterhead without the letter on it. Then a mail house imprints that "shell" with the letter and with the names and addresses of the individuals it is going to. Their machines will also fold the letters and insert them into the envelopes. Of course once you get to the mail house you run into all kinds of options - do you have window envelopes, do you print the addresses on the envelopes, do you print labels and stick them on the envelopes, do you use a pre-paid postage permit or do you use real stamps etc... Sometimes your printer and your mail house can be the same place - sometimes you need to use different people.

I phoned a local print company who told me they can do everything I need except maybe the postage. They can take care of imprinting the addresses. Since the letter might include a photo, they recommended 4-color printing. They said they can print from a digital database, but Experience Works told me they use a paper list as a database. I might fudge a little and use a digital database. I'll have to ask the print business if they take care of postage on the envelopes. They're supposed to call me back with an estimate.


As for the list - you buy it from a list service. The cost will depend on how many variables you need, how many names you want to buy and etc... when you talk to the list service people they will be able to walk you through the process.

I'm trying to get an estimate from blackbaud.com.


OK, did I miss anything?

Probably, but at present I don't know what it is. ;)

Thanks!

Jagella

Blessed
02-27-2009, 12:01 AM
I thought about this issue, and I have a copy of a contact sheet from Experience Works. It includes the toll-free phone number of the organization and the website's URL. I phoned Experience Works to ask how they prefer to be contacted, and they said they prefer that people phone. A response device then won't be appropriate.

I disagree.

Experience Works may prefer phone contact but by not offering people the opportunity to respond by mail they are decreasing their response rate. To get the best value for their marketing dollars they should give people a website to visit and/or an email address to respond to, a phone number to call and a piece of paper to mail back.

However... if you can't sell them on that, then you move on and do what they are asking for.


I'll probably keep the letter one page only. I think that will be more than enough to inform people about the organization's services and provide the contact information. Since it's an academic exercise, I'll probably write the copy. I'll just do a little research on writing good direct-mail copy.

From my experience - the letter shouldn't be much over a half a page long.

As for writing it yourself - since this is an academic exercise that is fine, but in the real world, when you're trying to earn a living doing this, you will find that it is usually worth your money to have a copywriting guru on your team who takes care of this part of the work.

I write a lot - this week alone I've written a newspaper article, a magazine article and about 7 shorts for a magazine that don't have my byline on them. This is in addition to the flier I wrote for a puppet show our church is doing, the few blog posts I actually wrote this week and the rough drafts I've got started on my next projects... but, there are projects - usually direct mail type projects - where I do fall back on a copywriter - it just makes sense. My copywriting guru decided to quit and I haven't found a new one yet, I have a lot of leads but since I haven't needed anyone I haven't pursued any of them yet!



I phoned a local print company who told me they can do everything I need except maybe the postage. They can take care of imprinting the addresses. Since the letter might include a photo, they recommended 4-color printing. They said they can print from a digital database, but Experience Works told me they use a paper list as a database. I might fudge a little and use a digital database. I'll have to ask the print business if they take care of postage on the envelopes. They're supposed to call me back with an estimate.

Keep calling. Make sure you get at least two or three quotes and you will end up paying a lot more in postage if you don't find someone who knows how the postage world works. There is a whole lot more to the process than simply putting addresses on the envelopes. There is paperwork to be filled out at the post office, permits to be considered and etc... you need to find someone who can walk you through the entire process. If you can't find someone there locally I know someone who can do it for you from here.




I'm trying to get an estimate from blackbaud.com.

Once again I'd try to get two or three estimates. You should be able to actually talk to someone at a list company who is able to explain the process to you a bit.

Blessed
02-27-2009, 12:03 AM
Great info Jenn. I think I just learned more about direct mailing from your post that I have from all the other sources I've looked at combined.

Thanks Steve!

You want to know the scary part...

I barely scratched the surface on what goes into direct mail pieces... once I get this magazine and the three rush jobs that were in my inbox when I logged on to my email tonight done I might have to write a better post about direct mailing. I do have a lot of experience with that!

vangogh
02-27-2009, 01:10 AM
Oh I believe it. I can tell there's plenty more. Sounds like a good idea for a post too. When you write it let me know so I can read.

Jagella
02-27-2009, 03:31 PM
Experience Works may prefer phone contact but by not offering people the opportunity to respond by mail they are decreasing their response rate. To get the best value for their marketing dollars they should give people a website to visit and/or an email address to respond to, a phone number to call and a piece of paper to mail back.

However... if you can't sell them on that, then you move on and do what they are asking for.

I'm a little cautious about pushing the folks at Experience Works too hard. I'm a lowly student, and I don't want to seem too big for my britches. They do have response forms on their website, though, but as we both know, not everybody, especially older folks, have Internet access.


From my experience - the letter shouldn't be much over a half a page long.

That sounds right to me, but I've noticed that a lot of mailers have two or more pages. The ACLU, for instance, has sent me lengthy letters. I believe that the best policy is to try to say what you have to say upfront, and if your client wants you to include more information, include that information on page 2 and beyond.


Once again I'd try to get two or three estimates. You should be able to actually talk to someone at a list company who is able to explain the process to you a bit.

I'm still waiting for the estimate I asked for. In the meantime, can you give me a guesstimate about how much this may cost? I planning to send out 6,500 mailings. It would be nice to have it broken down into design costs, postage and printing. Experience Works say they budget less than $10,000 on such projects.

Thanks!

Jagella

Jagella
02-27-2009, 03:32 PM
Oh I believe it. I can tell there's plenty more. Sounds like a good idea for a post too. When you write it let me know so I can read.

See, Steve, I told you this subsection would be a good idea. :D

Jagella

vangogh
02-27-2009, 07:34 PM
I have no problem with the subforum as long as we get enough posts to justify. First the posts then the subforum.


I'm a lowly student, and I don't want to seem too big for my britches.

Joe if you're doing this as a business then don't call yourself a lowly student. Trust me there are people who know less than you that are making good money. Sadly I've had to work with a few over the years. If you think of yourself as lowly or not having enough skills that's the impression you'll give off to clients who'll start to see you that way too.

Part of your job is to advise your clients so if you think it's a good idea for Experience to have an email address included on the site and in the mailer let them know and offer them the reasons why it's a good idea. They may not listen to the advice, but you should still offer it. Remember they came to you to do the work. They see you as the expert.

kml9870
02-27-2009, 09:46 PM
I'm still waiting for the estimate I asked for. In the meantime, can you give me a guesstimate about how much this may cost? I planning to send out 6,500 mailings. It would be nice to have it broken down into design costs, postage and printing. Experience Works say they budget less than $10,000 on such projects.

Thanks!

Jagella

From infousa a list for 6500 ages 55+ in Williamsport is $422.50.
Postage - if they have a non-profit indicia it should be around $1,000-$1,100 depending on weight and if you print bar codes
Design & Printing I'm not so sure about

Jagella
02-27-2009, 11:07 PM
Joe if you're doing this as a business then don't call yourself a lowly student. Trust me there are people who know less than you that are making good money. Sadly I've had to work with a few over the years. If you think of yourself as lowly or not having enough skills that's the impression you'll give off to clients who'll start to see you that way too.

Steve, it was just a little self-deprecating humor, and I was trying to put things into perspective. The people at Experience Works know I'm a student, and so it's not like I'm doing actual work for them. If I was doing an actual project for them, then I'd be more assertive for my good and theirs.

Nevertheless, some people might not realize I'm joking, and so I should be careful about some of my comments.


They may not listen to the advice, but you should still offer it. Remember they came to you to do the work. They see you as the expert.

Sorry for the confusion, but I went to Experience Works to ask for information to do this project. I explained right away that this was an academic exercise.

I am thinking of volunteering with them. It may get my foot in the door. And doesn't that go to show that nothing is truly selfless? ;)

Jagella

Jagella
02-27-2009, 11:10 PM
From infousa a list for 6500 ages 55+ in Williamsport is $422.50.
Postage - if they have a non-profit indicia it should be around $1,000-$1,100 depending on weight and if you print bar codes
Design & Printing I'm not so sure about

Thanks a lot! I'll check Vistaprint for the cost of the envelopes and letterhead.

Jagella

vangogh
02-28-2009, 12:25 AM
Ahh. I see. Your involvement with Experience and their project is different than I was thinking. Sorry for missing the humor. Sometimes it doesn't come across in writing.

Blessed
02-28-2009, 12:19 PM
Thanks a lot! I'll check Vistaprint for the cost of the envelopes and letterhead.

Jagella

you might also check with gotprint.net. I like the quality I get from them.

Although... we have a couple of printers here in the forum, it wouldn't hurt to get an estimate from them and maybe you'll even be able to throw some business their way.

and finally - have you found a local printer who handles direct mail projects on a regular basis? for trouble free - from printing all the way through dropping those letters off at the post office your best bet would be to go that direction.

Jagella
02-28-2009, 02:44 PM
and finally - have you found a local printer who handles direct mail projects on a regular basis? for trouble free - from printing all the way through dropping those letters off at the post office your best bet would be to go that direction.

I'm supposed to get a call from a local printer on Monday. They're supposed to give me an estimate. I'll ask them how much of the project they can handle.

Jagella

Just H
03-04-2009, 09:46 AM
Joe, coming in a little late here but wanted to add a few things I've learned from this process. I did numerous direct mail pieces for an Insurance/Annuity broker who was targeting an elderly market. He did buy lists but they weren't always the most accurate. He chose postcards because he thought they'd be more likely to be read than opening an envelope.

Also, remember to use a larger font, good contrast and keep enough white space so that it's easy to read and the message is clear and concise.

Some printers will take the mailing list and mail for a reasonable cost and bulk rate but those are printed labels and more likely to look like junk mail. This doesn't stand out as much on a postcard which is another reason he chose to go that route.

Also, he found that a move to action, limited time offer kind of thing worked the best. We got mostly all return calls, very few mail backs as that takes time, energy and postage if you don't include a self-addressed envelope (meaning more cost goes into each).

Jagella
03-15-2009, 12:09 AM
Joe, coming in a little late here but wanted to add a few things I've learned from this process. I did numerous direct mail pieces for an Insurance/Annuity broker who was targeting an elderly market. He did buy lists but they weren't always the most accurate. He chose postcards because he thought they'd be more likely to be read than opening an envelope.

Also, remember to use a larger font, good contrast and keep enough white space so that it's easy to read and the message is clear and concise.

Some printers will take the mailing list and mail for a reasonable cost and bulk rate but those are printed labels and more likely to look like junk mail. This doesn't stand out as much on a postcard which is another reason he chose to go that route.

Also, he found that a move to action, limited time offer kind of thing worked the best. We got mostly all return calls, very few mail backs as that takes time, energy and postage if you don't include a self-addressed envelope (meaning more cost goes into each).

Thanks for the advice, H, especially the large font. I didn't think of that.

It's a little late to try using a postcard because I already decided on an envelope and letter, but there's always next time.

(Joe) Jagella