BHP Printing Blog

You have worked hard on your direct mail marketing piece. While budgets and costs are important, you should not let price be the deciding factor when it is time to pick your printer. Be sure that your biggest concerns are:

• Printing quality
• Services offered
• Speed
• Customer service
• Price

Things to consider in a direct mail printing company.

When you’re working with a commercial printer, ask certain questions to make sure the printer is a good fit for your direct mail needs as well as your budget.

1.Ask for samples of printed pieces that are similar to yours. Check for printing and paper quality.

2.In addition to printing, what direct mail services does the company offer? Does the printer offer graphic design, or in-house mailing options? Often it is easier to work with printers who can manage the entire project.

3.What is the typical turnaround time for similar jobs?

4.Request references, and call them. It is important to ask what businesses like and don’t like about working with this printer. You can also find out how different printers handle problems.

5.Will you have one point of contact at the printer?  

6.Ask for an itemized cost estimate that outlines the cost of each service or step. This lets you make accurate comparisons.

Selecting the right printer can save you time and money. But printers have done this before, so with good communication and a partnership, you get good advice which can increase your response rate. Contact Blue Hill Press for your direct mail needs.

Direct mail is one of the most powerful ways to market your products and services, but it is easy to make mistakes and water down the effectivness. Here are 10 problems we often see:

1. Be sure to identify your audience. With mail you can target specific people, so take advantage of that and target the demographics that are most likely to respond.

2. Don’t use a bad mailing list. Sending direct mail marketing to those who don’t match your criteria is a waste of money and can be embarrassing. Blue Hill Press can help you find up-to-date lists that are tailored to your needs.

3. Relying on unclean data. Clean up your in house direct mail lists so you are sure you are not sending mailers to inaccurate addresses, those who are deceased, those who have asked to be taken off your list and people who have moved.

4. Have a compelling offer. Remember this direct mailer needs to motivate people to act. The opposite will happen if you don’t have the right offer. You can change your offer to appeal to different segments.

5. Be personal. Greeting prospect by name creates a personal relationship. This can make your prospects feel like you value them individually and understand their needs and interests.

6. Have a call to action. Be specific on how people can take advantage of your offer. Also, create a sense of urgency so they’ll act fast.

7. Be creative. Your direct mail marketing needs to be engaging and relevant. Professional copywriters and graphic designers can help you best communicate your message.

8. Continuously test. Your campaign can always improve, but you’ll never know how if you don’t conduct small tests of variables like your list, offer, format and colors.

9. Be sure you can track the offer. You need to know how well the marketing piece performed. You can do this with QR codes on coupons and creating a special phone number.

10. Follow-up. Be sure you can quickly fulfill any orders or requests created by your direct mail piece. You don’t want to disappoint new prospects by dropping the ball.

Contact Blue Hill Press for your direct mail piece, we are experts in what works.