Mailing Lists - Part 2 of 5 - Geographical Parameters

Mailing Lists - Part 2 of 5 - What are the geographical parameters that I want to set?

Of all the things you will need to consider when determining what mailing list you should purchase, this may be the hardest to quantify:  How wide of a geographic area do you want to mail to?  If you go too far, people may not want to drive the distance to your location.  If you don't go out far enough, then you might be missing out on potential customers.

The easiest way to determine the point of diminishing returns - or when it costs you too much for the revenue your mailing gives you - is to send your mailing out gradually.  Mail to the areas closest to you and then go a little further with each successive mailing.  If you do this, you need to find a way to track your mailing proceeds.  If you don't know how well your mailing is doing then you can't determine the Return On Investment for your advertising.  Without accurate ROI information you can't find what advertising works best for you and you can't determine how far out you should mail.  ALWAYS have a way to track your mailing!!

Another factor to consider is that the distance you choose could affect your postage rate.  The USPS has several different types of discounts available to those who are utilizing direct mail.  One of those discounts is an entry discount, and it is broken down into three types:

1.  DDU (Destination Delivery Unit) has the biggest savings but it is confined to one or two zip codes.  It is also only available to certain Flat sized (a mail piece larger than 6.125"x11.5" is considered a "Flat" sized mailer) mail pieces.

2.  SCF (Sectional Center Facility) discounts are available to both Letter and Flat sized pieces.  These facilities are hub Post Offices for large areas - in some instances an SCF Post Office will cover several counties.  While you can enter direct mail at different postal facilities within this section (but not all Post Offices will accept your Standard (Bulk) Mail, check with your local USPS representative to see which units accept Bulk Mail) you can only receive this discount if you enter your mailing at the SCF Facility.  And only those zip codes within that particular SCF area will receive a discount.  Another way to receive this discount is to enter your mailing at the closest USPS facility to you that accepts Standard mail and then ship that mailing to the SCF Post Office - but please note that there are rules and regulations (plus the usual paperwork) that need to be followed to drop-ship a mailing.  The usual discount for a letter sized piece is $.043 per piece, so if you can ship it to a SCF facility for less it might be worth your while.

3.  BMC (Bulk Mail Center) discounts are for mailings that cover an area that is too large for an SCF discount or for a mailing where there are too many SCF entries to make it cost effective.  A BMC discount is available to Letter and Flat sized mailings.  A BMC Post Office can be thought of as the main Post Office for a State(s).  If you are mailing a piece out across your state then you will want to enter your mailing at your local Post Office that accepts Bulk Mail and then drop-ship that mailing (again, watch those USPS regulations concerning drop-shipping) to your BMC unit.  Any zip that is within that particular BMC area will receive a discount - usually around $.034 per piece.

If you can take advantage of these discounts, you can slash your postage costs.  Contact your local USPS Customer Service Representative to see where you can get SCF or BMC discounts and what zip codes that you are mailing to will receive these discounts.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact us at www.gagepress.com.