Ancillary Endorsements

These endorsements are additional printed instructions on your mail piece that will help you maintain a clean database as well as provide for proper treatment of the delivery of your mail. Endorsements are a service provided by the USPS. The costs for using these endorsements will depend on the class of mail and the service being requested.

If the recipient doesn't live at the address you printed, do you want it forwarded? Do you want it returned? Do you want it just thrown away? However you want the mail piece handled, you probably would like a new address if it is available. Did you know if they don't live at the address you mailed to and you sent it presort standard, it usually is just thrown away? At our local post office, they have a large commercial trashcan just for this purpose, although they are actually recycling these extra pieces. Go here to learn in more detail about using ancillary endorsements.

Drop Shipping

You may have some familiarity with this term. Drop shipping in this case means getting your mail closer to the source of delivery. This can often help speed up delivery but it also is limited to certain situations.

The two most common examples would be when a mailing has a high concentration of pieces going to a specific zip code (ideal for local mail) and mail that is being prepared for an out of area delivery.

To take advantage of drop shipping, we must first have the mail checked at a central location and once verified we can then deliver it to individual branches for local mail or for out of area mail apply express shipping labels. There is of course a cost associated with delivery to cover additional paperwork, travel and labor but we can help you assess what those costs would be. In some cases if your mailing is large enough there could be postage savings that would help offset the additional costs.

International Mail

We can mail internationally for you in bulk. The process is different than mailing domestically and the more you mail the better discounts you achieve. Simply provide your data file for processing and we will figure your postage cost and the total savings for comparison.

Savings are provided by commingling your mail with other mail going to similar destinations. The USPS provides a program for which we can take advantage of this bulk mail processing and drop shipping to foreign countries. After your mail is combined for foreign destinations it is shipped directly into the mail stream of the destination country bypassing the usual domestic processing. This can cut 1 - 2 weeks off delivery and offer significant savings over first class foreign rates. If you have a product or service that would appeal to a foreign market, let us know in the early stages.

Mail\Merge Lasering

Personalized letters in bulk - basically what a mail merge is all about. If you have segmented data of any kind - giving levels, membership tiers, health requirements, or educational needs - we can provide individual letters in small or large quantities. You can even add signatures for a more personalized touch.

It is important that you have good data and that your data is formatted correctly so that the appeal is consistent so take care when building a database for this purpose. We can also provide targeted mailing lists so you can reach an audience that a personal letter about your company or organization would have an appeal to.

When considering the use of signatures planning is needed if you desire them in color (other than black). To use blue for instance would mean designing the layout of the letter prior to the letterhead being printed. This takes some care when using variable data because while the signature must be in a fixed location, the length of the letter may vary. This can turn into a costly mistake if done incorrectly. Running sample merges can help in the planning stages so please contact us as early as possible if we are not involved in the design.

Signatures themselves should be written on white paper with good ink coverage (no skips in the writing) so that a good scan can be achieved. We find that having the signor provide at least 3 samples allows us to pick the best example for use in your letters. Don't wait to the last minute for this! If for some reason the samples don't work out, it might be tough getting the signor to do this again in a timely manner.

Permit Selections

We are talking postage permits here. There are a variety of choices for design purposes so allow yourself to be creative. Most people think that you need a square box with some required text in it - NOT TRUE! Well, the required text is true, but even there you have some flexibility.

A box is not even required. You can have no box at all or it can be a circle or a star or just about any shape you want. You can use reverse print, print it in color and choose your font. Your permit can even look like a meter imprint if you choose.

There is information that is required for everyone. This includes the class of mail, the statement "US POSTAGE PAID" (upper, lower, or mixed case) city and state of permit location and the permit number itself - "Permit #2710" in our case. Also consider the use of a company permit which allows you to replace the city, state and permit# with the company name on the permit account. The 3 main advantages are:

1.) Brand Identity
2.) Appearance of mailing locally
3.) Use of multiple permit locations

With brand identity you can use your company name in the permit for more recognition. The ability to have your mail appear as if it were mailed from a local address (think a national chain of stores) can add appeal to the recipient. Finally, being able to mail out of different locations without having to change the printed piece (because the city and state would change in a regular format) allows for greater flexibility.

Processing Your Own Mail

Why would you do it? Well, for most, there are two reasons.

One is confidentiality. This is certainly a valid concern but when dealing with a reputable company it shouldn't be. Make your concern known so that it can be dealt with up front. We handle sensitive data of all types - church membership lists, medical data, sales data, propriety marketing processes and when needed, we sign non-disclosure statements, some required by law. Rest assured that access to your data we maintain is well protected and secure.

The second reason? To save money, although in reality you can save more money in most cases by using an outside service such as Kama Inc. even when you have your own mailing operations. That is because our experience and production capacity allows us to process in volume at high speeds. We maintain up-to-date CASS certified software which qualifies lists to obtain the lowest postage rates the USPS offers. These rates are often 2.3 to 6.2  cents lower per piece than bulk mail rates you can achieve using labels and processing on your own. Of course, if you had 1 million pieces to send out, you wouldn't use labels would you?

Profiling

Do you have a database you use on a regular basis? Not sure who your typical or best customer is or who you are selling to? Would you like to find more customers like your best ones? Then profile them!

We do this by comparing your database with current consumer and business compiled lists for the attributes in those lists. If a match is found we can then append your database with relevant criteria such as age, income, home value, sales level, ethnicity (for health related issues), pet ownership, computer use - all types of information, even phone numbers when available.

Reply Mail

There are different types of reply mail and the type you use depends on what you need to achieve from your use of reply mail.

Probably the one most people are familiar with is BRM or business reply mail. This type is used when you want to send out a pre-paid envelope, which usually increases response. BRM is broken down into 4 different options. These options have more to do with how much you will pay for each piece returned.

There is always an annual fee and then possible additional fees with the idea of keeping your processing cost low depending on the volume you expect to be receiving back. At the basic level you will pay 74 cents per piece plus the applicable first class postage.  If you expect to receive more than 891  pieces (on an annual basis) then paying an additional $585 will lower your processing charge to 8 cents per piece.  Go here to read about BRM.

The other commonly used reply mail is CRM or courtesy reply mail. Pay attention to this. If you include any reply piece in an automated mailing it must meet certain standards and for the most part must be at a minimum CRM mail with the appropriate bar codes and information. DON'T MAKE THE MISTAKE of inserting an envelope with a simple address if your mailing is automated. Go here for more information on CRM.