Allegra Rolling Meadows - Mail

The Post Office to Shut Down?

Michael Tarpinian — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 00:45:00 GMT

The United States Postal Service (Post Office) has announced that they will have to shut down this winter if Congress does not bail them out. This won't happen. At least not permanently.

This is a scare tactic.

5 Cost-cutting Strategies for Mailing

Michael Tarpinian — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 22:05:00 GMT

In my last post, I gave you some tips on saving money on printing. Here are a few tips on saving money on direct mail marketing....

So what is a QR Code?

Michael Tarpinian — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 18:29:00 GMT

A QR Code (QR stands for quick response) is a smart phone camera readable bar code that can store a website address, email address, phone number, or any other alpha numeric info.

QR codes are two-dimensional barcodes that, when scanned using a smartphone equipped with a camera and QR code reader app, deliver a Web page or other content. Although they may occupy a small amount of space on the printed page, each code can contain an enormous amount of data, including your destination URL and tracking information.

An Eye-Catching Way to Integrate Businesses & Customers

Michael Tarpinian — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 23:59:00 GMT

Picture this. You have a membership program at your business, and a new member has just joined. You are excited and send out your welcome package. It has your business card, a magnet with your contact information, a window decal for the new member’s car, the membership card, and your welcome letter. But when your customer receives the package either the contents scatter on the floor and they lose them, or you miss an opportunity to stand out because your package looks like everyone else’s. Stand out from the crowd and make things easier for your customers with an integrated letter.

Getting the Intelligence on Intelligent Mail

Joe — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 00:36:00 GMT

The Post Office has run into some serious financial problems recently, and so they are trying to make their service more efficient. One major way they are doing this is to stop accepting the Postnet Barcode that has been standard for many years. May 2011 was the day of reckoning, but the post office has postponed the date. While they have not announced the new date yet, there is an inevitable a day in the near future when you will no longer be able to use the Postnet barcode to get a bulk mail discount. Instead, the Post Office is moving to the Intelligent Mail Barcode. So, what is the difference and what does this mean for small businesses?

Economizing Direct Mail: A Case Study

Joe — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 23:53:00 GMT

In the small business world, it takes all of us working together to make things work. This case study illustrates the importance of discussing your full project needs with your printer, and how doing so can save you time and money.

Can I send email to prospects?

Michael Tarpinian — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 21:05:00 GMT

More often than I would have expected, people ask me about different marketing vehicles. Unlike the email blasts I do for my business and for some clients—this one was different. They want to send to people who are not their customers.

As one of the first prospects described what she wanted to do, the only thing that popped into my mind was—SPAM! That’s one of those touching the hot stove issues I always want to steer clear of. But I told her I would look into it. And I did.

What I got was an education. Are you ready for an outline of what I learned? Here goes.

The [Mail]Man Behind The Curtain

Joe — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:16:00 GMT

Because we do advertising mail, people are asking me about postal delivery all the time. It takes 2 to 9 days for your standard mail to be delivered, even to a local address, and 2 to 3 days for your first class mail to make the same trip. Nancy DeDiemar, a national print shop mailing expert, recently revealed the man behind the curtain, and explained a little more the reasons for this difference.

Delivery time is determined by...

Variable Data and You

Michael Tarpinian — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 18:32:00 GMT

What gets your attention better than your name? If you’re walking through a crowd and someone calls to you, you will stop in your tracks to look around. The same rule applies in marketing. With Variable Data Printing (VDP) you can call out to each and every one of your customers individually and stop them in their tracks. Simply put, VDP is technology that allows varying levels of customization of your print communication. The most popular use is customizing the name and address on a direct mail piece, but VDP can do so much more. Depending on the quality of your database, you can create highly customized marketing communication. You can make it so that your clients in Las Vegas get the offer for a trip to New York, and your clients in New York get the offer for a trip to Las Vegas. Or you can make it so all the women on your list get one coupon while the men get another. Or go all out and send the men and women in each location ages 20-35 one offer and those ages 36 and older another offer. Eac ...

Pebbles & Ponds

Joe — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:22:00 GMT

Like a large pond, the world is interconnected, and a single pebble can cause ripples that are felt long after the pebble has sunk to the bottom. We have seen a devastating example of this with the housing market debacle of recent years. Another pebble has fallen, not quite as big, but it is causing some interesting ripples. Advertising mail, or what used to be called junk mail, has been in the decline recently. Nancy Dedimar, a print industry expert, wrote an article about this topic in the February issue of Quick Printing Magazine. She said that mail volume in general declined an unprecedented 14% in 2009. What are some of the ripples of this pebble? Like television and radio, the postal service makes money using advertising. In this case, it is advertising mail. Dedimar said that “In 2007 and 2008, standard mail, which is dominated by advertising mail, provided $20.6 billion of the $74.9 billion and $66.5 billion, respectively, of the total USPS revenue.” She further explained that ...