How to Turn Your Envelopes into Powerful Marketing Tools

Remember, when it comes to marketing, the tactic is only as good as the idea behind. Just because you're using some trendy marketing tactic such as QR codes, it doesn't guarantee your campaign will be a success. Furthermore, custom envelopes can be an effective part of your direct mail campaign if you use them correctly. It's all about the execution. If you choose to view envelopes as just a boring vessel for getting your direct mail piece in customer's hands, than it won't be much more than that. But if you examine every opportunity you have to convince someone in to a customer, you can increase your Return on investment. Here's a few tips on how your envelopes can become an essential and effective part in your marketing.

• Be Bold: If you're looking to attract attention, it's time to go big or go home. Explore several different options such as color envelopes, unexpected sizes or unique features. When it comes to envelope printing, go with interesting ink colors,throw in your business tag line, advertise an ongoing promotion or have a teaser the content of the mailer. Whatever you can do to grab their attention and make them open your envelope.
• Use Brand Recognition: A great way to get people to open an envelope is that they're already familiar with your company. Don't make the recipient play a guessing game with your envelope, add your logo to make sure they know exactly what they're getting themselves into. Even if they're not customers, they may recognize your business name and logo from other ads or from driving by your store, increasing the likelihood that they will open the envelope.
• Include a Return Envelope: Need the recipient to return a form in order to fulfill the order? Include a smaller, stamped and addressed envelope. Whatever you do, you need to make it as easy as possible for the recipient to become a customer. Seemingly little touches like including a stamp will save them the trouble of having to get one on their own, and increases the likelihood that they will respond.
• Include Contact Info and a Call to Action: Don't save your call to action for your mailer. Put it right there on the envelope and make sure they know exactly what they need to do and why they should be contacting your right away. But a call to action isn't worth much if you don't make it as easy as possible for them to get in touch with you. Put your web address and phone number on the back flap so that the recipient doesn't need to go looking for it after they read the letter.

5 Ways Custom Envelopes Can Improve Your Direct Mail Campaign ROI

Creating a custom and professional envelope as part of a direct mail campaign has been known to improve response rates and ROI. But not all direct mail campaigns are created equal. Incorporating custom envelopes can provide a huge boost to your campaign, but there are certain best practices that can help ensure that your campaign is a success:

• Get Personal: Personalized campaigns are the latest trend in marketing. Technology has made it so we can provide people with very specific results, and audiences are now expecting to see their content (and their advertising) catered to their needs. Advances such as data variable printing and personalized URLs allow us to dynamically pull in each recipient's information and print it on their individual envelope.
• Make it Look Handwritten: According to Helium.com, handwritten envelopes have been proven to improve response rates by 300%. Think about it- When was the last time you received a hand written note? When someone takes the time to actually handwrite your name and address, you're much more likely to take the time to read what they have to say. But if you're mailing to a few hundred people (or more likely several thousand) there's no way you can handwrite that many envelopes (without suffering some serious hand cramps). Luckily with envelope printing and some graphic design work you can create a "handwritten" that look nearly identical to actual handwritten envelopes.
• Don't Give It All Away: If you're looking to increase your response rate, don't tell them all about your special offer right there on the envelope. Then they'll have no reason to open it! Instead, tease them with a line that will pique their curiosity.
• Narrow Your List: You may have a list of 10,000 addresses, which is great. But should every single one of those persons receive this particular letter? By narrowing down your list to those who you think are most likely to respond, you can increase your response rate, as well as save money.
• Include a Pre-Stamped Return Envelope: This letter is specifically for campaigns that require a response by mail. By including a pre-adressed and stamped, you'll increase the likelihood that the recipient will respond. While this specific example may not work for all campaigns, the main takeaway is that you need to make it as easy as possible for users to convert. Whether you need them to visit a website, pick up the phone or mail you an order form, try to eliminate as many obstacles that could prevent this from happening.

Need to order custom envelopes? Visit www.precisionenvelope.com and use the coupon code FREESHIP to get free shipping on your order.

How to Keep Costs Low when Ordering Custom Printed Envelopes

When it comes to making money as a small business, sometimes the best offense is a good defense. By this I mean, a small business owner should take every opportunity to lower their costs. By squeezing every penny, you'll increase your profits, taking your business further out of the red and in to the black.  Small business owners need to be looking in to every single aspect of their business and consider how they can save money (without sacrificing quality, that is). And, as the owner of Precision Envelope, I thought I could offer some insight in to how our customers (many of them business owners) have saved money buying printed envelopes:

• Look For Coupon Codes: This is one of the easiest ones (and yet so many people don't do it!). Odds are you're shopping around online for the best price on envelopes, so make sure you're also checking around for coupon codes. Most online envelope stores will be running some type of sale, so be sure to check websites like RetailMeNot, or look around on the envelope companies' websites for ongoing specials and discounts.
• If Possible, Reduce Colors: With envelope printing, the more ink colors you use, the more expensive it will be. Often times our customers request that we change their artwork from full color to 2 color or 1 color, and our graphic designers are happy to oblige. Obviously if you have a business logo, you might not want to lose your brands colors, but if you can possibly reduce the number of inks used, you can save a great deal on your order.
• Check for Price Breaks at Higher Quantities: You might only need 500 envelopes at the moment, but if you can order 1,000 and put the other 500 in storage, you can save a ton of money. Just to give you an example, on our site you can order 2,000 #10 business envelopes for $131.59 (at $0.07 a piece). But you could order 2,500 for just $134.51 (at just $0.05 a piece). That's 500 more envelopes for 3 dollars! You might not need 2,500 envelopes immediately, but as a business owner, you know you'll need them in the future. So why not buy them now and save?
• Avoid Custom Sizes: If possible, stick with standard envelope sizes. You may have a very specific direct mail marketing campaign you want to run, and you think you need a unique envelope size, but that non-standard envelope will cost a great deal of money, as they'll need to be made from scratch. Plus, since it's not standard, the turn around time for creating those envelopes will be much longer.

Finally, if you are looking for custom printed envelopes and you want to save money, I'd be remiss not to share with you a coupon code for free shipping for my website PrecisionEnvelope.com. Use the coupon code FREESHIP while in your shopping cart and you'll get free UPS ground shipping.

Need Help Pruning Postage Bloat?

A letter here and there might not break the bank, but when you’re mailing out hundreds of letters each month to your customers, shipping and postage costs really start to add up. Direct mail marketing can be an effective part of your lead generation, as well as customer retention program but you can boost ROI of your mailing by cutting postage costs. The direct marketing association offers these tips:

• Fine-tune your mailing list and delete duplicate names.
•  Eliminate non-responders and marginal prospects.
• Use accurate addresses, including apartment and suite numbers.
• Check for correct ZIP codes and missing directional, such as N for North.
• Ask your mailing house about the latest postal discounts before you design your envelope and mail piece.
• Use NCOA to keep your mailing list current.
• Address Service Requested to the face of your mail piece.
• Remember to print your barcoded ZIP +4 on any reply envelopes. 

Case Study: Direct Mail Generates Better ROI

Commerce payment systems traditionally sought new accounts through paid search advertising, until they decided to add direct mail to the marketing mix. Using a tri-fold mailer, the company targeted newly incorporated businesses in sectors that usually sought credit payment services. Additionally, they tested response of first class vs. standard mail.

Results: Six months of monthly 12,000 piece mailings cost approximately $9,000 per mailing. Each new client had a $50,000 value to the company. “we’re bringing in 200-250 clients a month from direct mail” reported the company’s CEO. Interestingly, the first class mailings generated better responses than those sent via standard Mail.

An essential, yet sometimes overlooked aspect of direct mail ROI is the right choice of envelope. A tastefully personalized, custom envelope can be the difference between your direct mail piece being read or being thrown in the trash. As Commerce payment systems, demonstrates, direct mail is alive and well. And as the first impression of your direct mail campaign, your envelope choice can make all the difference in ROI. 

Direct Mail Meets Tight Security:

With the issue of security a top priority for many of us, here are some guidelines you may want to think about when targeting your direct mail marketing programs to larger companies and organizations.

·         Op for self mailers or postcards, i.e., mail that doesn’t need to be opened.

·         Use printed, not plain, envelopes.

·         Print envelopes in color. They’re less likely to appear suspicious.

·         Don’t overstuff envelopes. Keep them slim.

·         Use a clear, identifiable return address, preferably with your logo. Use a pre-printed indicia instead of stamps.

·         If you meter mail, use a phrase to show that the piece is really being sent by you.

·         Include a telephone number or website address on your envelope.

·         Use email to notify recipients that mail is on the way.

A printed envelope including your logo and return address adds credibility to your direct mail piece. A person knows immediately who the mail piece is from, and if targeted  and designed correctly, the user will even be excited by the potential offer inside. Whether you’re launching a brand new lead generation campaign or simply sending out thank you notes to past clients, custom envelopes are the smart choice. In fact, this month Precisionenvelope.com is offering free shipping on select envelope styles. Just use the code “FREESHIP” at checkout. Click the link to get custom envelopes with free shipping.

Ever Wonder Where Envelopes Come From?

Think envelopes were a recent invention? Think again! Envelopes have existed in some form or another for thousands of years.  Check out these envelope fun facts below, and if you’d like to learn where envelopes come from today, visit PrecisionEnvelope.com:

·         The first known “envelope” looked nothing like today’s ubiquitous #10. Found by archeologists in the Middle East and dating back to around 3500 BC, the earliest known packaging items were hollow, clay spheres folded around items such as coins used in financial transactions.

·         Until 1845, and for the following 50 years, only hand-made envelopes were available. During the second half of the 19^th century, a patent was issued for the first envelope-making machine. It produced flat diamond shaped blanks folded to form a rectangular enclosure. The edges of overlapping flaps were sealed with paste.

·         Today, envelope manufacturing is a long and well established international industry producing an infinite number of shapes and sizes with every imaginable type of paper. There’s a custom envelope to fit every need!