This page contains several stories about direct mail or commercial printing. You can cut and paste them into your Web site or use them in newsletters or other printed pieces. A horizontal line separates each story.

Tired of producing direct mail in house? Sick of paying high postal costs, hassling with design and running into address problems? Try [company name]. We offer expertise on cutting your costs, adding value to your projects--and keeping it simple. We put the "direct" back into direct mail. Call us today.

Let's Be Direct about Direct Mail
What's the goal of your next direct mail project? Maybe you want to:

• Generate 100 new customers
• Improve response rate by 10 percent
• Increase donations by 20 percent
• Convince people to try a new product
• Increase traffic at an upcoming sale or special event
• Win back former customers

Whatever your goal, let us help you achieve it, whether it means redesigning an outdated piece, personalizing letters or creating the right mailing list to target the best people for your pitch. Call us today and find out how we can help.

Looking for a Source for Commercial Printing?
Look No Further! Our full-service company can supply a wide variety of commercial printed products. If you need it, we offer it, from 1-color post cards to 4-color marketing pieces. Here is a partial list of the products we offer:

• Calendars
• Catalogs
• Direct Mail Packages
• Flyers
• Magazine and Newspaper Inserts
• Menus
• Newsletters
• Pamphlets
• Post cards
• Posters
• Promotional brochures of all types
• Rack brochures
• Sales Sheets

Marketing Your Web Site
If you build it, they won't necessarily come. That's what many businesses have discovered about their Web sites. One of the keys to getting people to use your Web site is letting people know where to find it. To do that, you must market your Web site extensively. Ask your sales rep for assistance in preparing post cards, direct mail pieces and other products that can help promote your site. Whenever you update a document, mention Web site and e-mail addresses.

Let Us Help You Promote Your Web Site
Any business knows that building a Web site is only half the battle in succeeding on the Information Superhighway. Now that you have a Web site, you need to get customers to see it. Let us suggest a variety of effective marketing tools, including a direct mail campaign and promotional items.

Weighing Costs vs. Benefits
When ordering printed pieces that will enhance your company's image, don't just look at ways to cut costs. Four-color catalogs, sharp-looking presentation folders and other promotional pieces help your company make money. Remember: It's always a good idea to talk to your sales rep about a desired budget, but keep your company's long-term profit goals in perspective.

Making Your Point with Point-of-purchase Displays
We live in an advertising-happy society. We are barraged with messages about the latest and greatest consumer products and services on everything from baseball stadiums to buses. Companies of all sizes have stepped up their marketing efforts, and that's where we can step in. If your company has any contact with the public, we can help out by designing eye-catching point-of-purchase displays. Fast-food restaurants, for example, need counter cards promoting job opportunities or their newest sandwich. Food manufacturers need specially designed displays for grocery stores. Ask us how we can use our design and printing expertise to make your company look good in the eyes of potential customers.

Glossary: Lettershop Terms

Addressing—a direct mail piece can include hand addressing, typing, ink jet or laser printing, labeling via hand or machine, and heat transfer methods. Ask your distributor to recommend the methods that will convey the image you desire.

CASS—coding accuracy support system is a process designed to improve the accuracy of ZIP+4, 5-digit ZIP codes, and carrier route codes that appear on mail pieces. This is done by providing a common platform (NDI--National Deliverable Index) to service bureaus, lettershops and software vendors. The NDI is used to measure the quality of address matching software. You can reduce postage by 20% to 27% if you use a CASS-certified method. If you provide preprinted labels, envelopes, etc., to your distributor or lettershop, and the postage is based on a discounted rate, you must also provide the necessary paperwork.

Co-mingled Mail—promotional mail from two or more customers that is sorted, bundled and/or stacked together in accordance with USPS regulations prior to entering the postal system. The mailer (lettershop) usually arranges this in return for discounted postal rates.

Co-op Mailing—a direct or promotional mailing where several advertisers, usually of non-competing products or services, place their literature in the same outgoing envelope or package. Costs, including postage, carrier envelope, and inserting are shared by the participating advertisers. Fulfillment—the service of handling inbound inquiries or orders and responding with literature or products. Some lettershops offer these services and others offer lock box arrangements that forward inquiries and orders to customers.

Inserting—This is normally done by equipment that automatically places one or more direct mail pieces into a single envelope. The number of allowable inserts will depend on the equipment available. Standard inserting equipment can accommodate up to six inserts.

Mailing Lists—compilations of names, addresses, titles, companies, and other statistical information. Lists usually contain names of persons sharing a similar characteristic, i.e., subscribers to a particular magazine or credit card holders. Mailing lists can be generated from your database, purchased from other companies, or leased for one-time use.

Poly Bag Inserting—specialized service of providing an outer mailing carrier made of polyethylene in which advertising materials are mailed.

Presort Services—the sorting, affixing of postage, bundling, and stacking or traying of flats of mail in accordance with USPS specifications. This service can usually earn a postal discount rate. A typical presort service would be ZIP code + 4 sorting, or affixing a bar code of the ZIP + 4.

Tipping/Affixing—attachment of at least one separate piece to another with an adhesive. For example, a plastic card can be affixed to a letter or carrier.

Let Us Manage Your Direct Mail Project
Mail automation is improving, but it still has some restrictions. Unlike human hands, a machine that sorts a 6 x 9-inch envelope can’t sort a 9 x 11-inch envelope. Similarly, bar code readers can’t read handwriting. It’s important to know and understand how your mail will be handled before your direct mail project leaves the starting gate. Let us handle your mailing from start to finish and ensure you’ll get the biggest bang for your buck.

Get the Biggest Bang for Your Buck
with Personalized Direct Mail
Did you know that personalizing your direct mailings can drastically improve response rates? In fact, a study from CAP Ventures, a business communication consulting firm based in Norwell, Mass., reveals that personalized direct mail receives 36 percent more responses than conventional direct mail. Recipients of personalized direct mail respond 33 percent faster and place orders nearly 25 percent larger than conventional direct mail recipients. Perhaps most importantly, recipients of personalized direct mail place reorders nearly 48 percent of the time. Let us customize your direct mailings and help improve your bottom line.

Want to Get the Word Out? Let Us Help!
If you’ve appreciated the level of service we’ve provided when offering you [business forms, labels, ad specialties, etc.], we invite you to try us for your next direct mail project. We’d love to help you increase sales and find new customers.

Want to get your name out to a targeted audience? Feature a new product or upcoming company event? [Your distributorship’s name] can customize and produce brochures, fliers, letters, charts, pamphlets, catalogs, audio tapes and more.

Every business needs to market itself, and we’d love to join you in the effort.

Make your direct mail clients feel like VIPs and educate them at the same time by inviting them to a seminar on postal regulations. For more information, visit the "News and Events" section of the United States Postal Services web site at www.usps.gov.