If your direct mail pieces are not getting the interest you want, you may want to think about the packaging you send your direct mail in. Are you sending letters in plain white envelopes with just the recipientâ??s name and address printed on the front? A boring package could be your problem.If you have a great offer, but no one is opening your mailer to get to that offer, try putting your postcard, brochure or whatever mailing piece in a box. Actually, it does not have to be in a box, it can be in anything that is not flat. Tubes and boxes are generally the most common dimensional mailer and both are regulated for postage by the United States Postal Service. These mailers will cost you more to ship, but you are more likely to get a higher response rate so it is worth the extra cost. Check out the U.S. Postal Services Web site to find out what shapes are okay to send: http://www.usps.com/businessmail101/mailcharacteristics/mailpieceShape.htm.Unfortunately, the Postal Service can limit your shape choice. For instance, you cannot mail a round postcard. You can find out more by visiting the aforementioned Web site.The good thing is that with boxes, you can print just about any design you want on them, which will help you attract more attention to it. People are more likely to open dimensional mailers because it is like Christmas or a birthday â?? they feel like they are opening a present!Dimensional mailers tend to get past receptionists and are hardly ever seen as junk mail because they look important in their box or tube. These mailers also help you to stand out among your competitors. Some marketers have reported response rates of 25 to 50% from dimensional mail, so it is worth a try.You can also tie your dimensional mailer to other marketing materials, like your business cards. Ask your business card printing company if they can create a dimensional business card. Many can create 3-D business cards, so just check online with several printing companies to see what they can do.So, what should you put in your box or tube? You can send a sample of your product, or you can send something that makes noise or plays music. You could record a message for your recipient to play once they open the box and see the recorder (you can get one-time recorders pretty cheaply). Aprimo Inc, a software creator, sent a box to business prospects with a wooden train and tracks inside along with literature headlined, â??Wondering how to keep your organization on the right track?â? The trains had labels with Aprimoâ??s name on them and the trains were nice enough to display on an executiveâ??s desk. This creative package helped ensure receivers would be open to a follow-up call.The biggest downside with dimensional mailers is that they cost so much to mail. This is why you should only send them to a small target market. This target market should be potential customers that are very well-qualified and likely to do business with you.Tips for Creating Dimensional MailHere are a few things to keep in mind when creating your mail pieces:1. Keep the packaging, the wording, the color palette and everything else consistent with your brand image. Use your logo and brand colors on the package.2. Include printed material along with the object you send in the direct mail box or tube. This mailing should relate to your overall marketing message.3. Include your return address. With everyone on high alert for packages that could be bombs, your package may end up getting blown up if not properly labeled!4. Include a call to action on the object or additional mailing materials.Make sure to follow up by making a phone call within a week after your mailer has been received. Many people will be happy to take your call to thank you for the interesting item you sent!For comments and inquiries about the article visit:  Business Card Printing

The Set Up: Direct Mailing

The first step towards setting up your direct mailing campaign is going to be figuring out who exactly is on your mailing list. Often mailing lists are bought from other companies, so you get a long list of names right away. In order to get the best list you will have to be sure you know who you are targeting and the best places to acquire the mailing lists. If you want to have a really large list you might want to go to several different sources to get your list started, but this will be up to you. No matter what I would suggest you get the biggest list that you can consider your costs. That way you can be sure you are getting your message out to as many people as possible. Next consider the material you plan on sending. Postcards are the most common form of advertising that people use when they get direct mailing done. The reason is because a color postcard stands out in a pile of mail increasing the odds of a person seeing it. Also postcard printing is rather cheap when compared to many other forms of marketing, and the postage to send them is very affordable. Now you need to set up how you are going to create your advertisements. The best direct mailing campaigns will involve multiple waves of postcards rather than just one big batch. This means you have to know in advance that you will need to create multiple postcards. A good system is to set up some postcard templates right away. This involves creating a few basic postcard templates you can use repeatedly over the period of a year or more. The templates allow you to just put in whatever messages or images you want, and you can greatly decrease the time it takes to create your postcards, allowing you to send them out that much faster. Once you have your postcards made and your first batch sent out the time comes to keep track of your results. Be sure that you track as best you can the sales that come in. Remember that you do not need a very high percentage of the people to respond for your direct mailing campaign to be a success. After all, if you sent out postcards to one thousand people, even a five percent response is going to lead to quite a few sales in the long run. After you have all of this set up everything becomes a lot easier. Keep track of your list and make whatever changes you need to, but the rest can largely run itself. All you need to do is keep those postcards coming. Eventually you can get your mailing list down to only the best customers, and always be ready to send out your next batch of marketing material. For comments and inquiries about the article visit:  Postcard Templates