Benjamin Franklin, was one of our Founding Fathers, a gifted polymath, first Postmaster General of the U.S., and an all-around clever guy who had a lot to say on a lot of things. As Postmaster General, we are pretty sure when he said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail,” he was talking about mail. Afterall, when you’re in the mail business, you see firsthand how lack of planning and preparation lead to disappointing results, stress, and unnecessary expense.
There is something all companies, marketing campaigners, and anyone planning a large mailing should do – confer with someone who speaks “mail.” You might think mail is simple with just an envelope and postage. Sure. If you know the weight, size, and dimension. But start thinking about the color of an envelope, its size, thickness, what messaging you want on the outside, addressing, what you’re putting in the envelope, or are you better with postcards, how fast do you want it to arrive, and when you want to send it. Before you know it – your simple mailing might become a moon launch.
If speaking mail isn’t your second language, you might have a hard time reading and understanding the USPS Price List. While the USPS offers the best value in town, you need to understand the breadth and depth of the products and services offered to take advantage. We see this confusion, when our customers want to do a large mailing and for example, think they have to use a package and pay that rate. After a few iterations of design, we transition them to a larger envelope saving thousands of dollars in postage. We’ve seen customers who spent countless hours designing and producing a mailer that would not meet postal requirements. Ouch.
As good ol’ Ben Franklin would say, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Before you get too far into designing your mailer, it is a great practice to add a postal expert to your team. With so many regulations, varying prices, and class – utilizing someone who knows the rules of the mail road will save you time, energy, and money. And reduce your stress.
With the holiday season fast approaching, it’s a great time to start planning your mail.
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