Thursday, June 23, 2011

Video Series on Successful Direct Mail Campaigns

The Direct Marketing IQ site has a great video series on successful direct mail campaigns. This week's example is the fund-raising campaign for the National WWII Museum.

• A perfect demonstration of how to use the celebrity endorsement
• A letter that employs the big copy drivers - patriotism, flattery, guilt - and more!
• With long copy (4-page letter), a lift letter, a colorful brochure, full-page reply, various premiums and yellow Business Reply Envelope.

For more information see the DirectMarketingIQ web site.

Wilson Printing

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Save 3% on Postage With USPS Mobile Barcode Promotion

Now may be the best time to do a direct mailing! You can save 3% on postage costs with the US Post Office's Mobile Barcode Promotion.

From July 1, 2011 through Agust 31, 2011, the U.S. Postal Service is offering business mailers an upfront 3% discount on First-Class Mail and Standard Mail letters and flats that include a mobile barcode (also called QR Codes.)

QR Codes provide a connection between print and the digital world. QR Codes are two-dimensional (2-D) images that can be read by smartphones that have a 2-D barcode application/reader. When scanned, QR Codes can motivate an otherwise passive consumer to take immediate action: make a purchase, register for an event, or download a coupon.

Increase Your Response Rates With Multitouch Campaigns

Email and SMS text messaging can also be integrated into multitouch marketing campaigns with QR Codes. For example, consumers receiving a direct mail piece that contains a QR Code could be immediately linked to a microsite. Then, shortly after the visiting the microsite, they receive an email or SMS text response thanking them for visiting the site. Based on information they chose to share while at the microsite, they may receive additional direct mail pieces, text or social media notifications following up on the products or services they expressed interest in.

Obtain More Marketing Data For Better Campaign Design

QR Codes can also help marketers track helpful information for their campaigns. Marketers can analyze which QR Codes are being scanned the most to determine what offers are working best. Marketers can also track which geographical area they are being scanned in. All of this information can help develop the next campaign.

Save Time and Money

Combining direct mail and QR codes can also save time and money. Rather than having to pay for business reply mail and waiting for the post office to return the information, marketers can direct customers to respond online in real time via smartphone.

Additionally, intelligent mail tracking available through the USPS’s CONFIRM enables marketers to electronically determine the progress of their mailings through the postal system. Delivery alerts then make it possible for a marketer to notify customers via email or a text message to expect a personalized package in the mail, sparking curiosity.

Here's a link to promotion details from the US Postal Service web site.

Contact Wilson Printing today - we can help design your direct mail piece including creating your QR Codes. Call us at 805-964-8875 or scan this QR Code to call us! (Please note that phones may have difficulty reading a QR Code on older, CRT style monitors. QR Codes work best on printed materials.)

Image of QR Code to Wilson Printing of Santa Barbara and Goleta

Wilson Printing