Category: 'Direct Mail'

The College Decision-Making Process: Tips From the Front Line

By Barbara Esposito

College choiceThis fall, our son will be a freshman at a small engineering school at a university in upstate New York. When my husband and I say our good-byes, we’ll also breathe one huge sigh of relief. It’s not because we’re happy to see him leave (not really, anyway), or because his partial academic scholarship makes his private school tuition just about affordable, or even because he’ll get to continue to pursue his passion for soccer at the varsity level. It’s because the college selection process – which has pretty much consumed our lives for the last two years – will finally be over (at least until our daughter becomes a junior in 2011).

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What's in a name? A lot: Tips for direct marketing that delivers.

By Ken Greenberg

I'm amazed every time I get a letter that starts off "Dear Ken Greenberg." Amazed because for as long as I've been in the business, it's been pretty easy to address the letter properly - the way you would if you were actually writing one: Dear "Mr. Greenberg," or "Dear Ken." As a result, when I see "Dear Ken Greenberg", I know I'm reading junk mail. Even if it could be important, I'm immediately turned off. How would Mr. John H. Jones, III, feel if he got a letter that started "Dear John H Jones III?" (They never get punctuation right, either.)

What's so difficult about doing it the right way? Nothing really. It simply takes more time to run a single field containing all the parts of a name through special software or routines that will break it apart. Yet I can't imagine that any good mailing house doesn't have that software.

Effective personalization increases response. In most cases, having a person's name on the mailing piece and in the letter makes them pay more attention than when they get a piece addressed to "occupant" or "current resident."

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Hot Trends, Emerging Technology & Cool Tools: A Look Ahead at 2010

By Megan Kilgallen

Happy New Year!With the countdown to the New Year fast approaching, annual “best of/worst of” lists, forward-thinking forecasts and soon-to-be-broken resolutions are all the rage. Not to be left out of the fun – but not quite ready to share our weight-loss goals or the bad habits we’ll break – here’s our predictions for the world of marketing in 2010: hang on; it’s going to be quite the ride!

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Top 10: Save Time on Your Next Business Mailing - Part 2

By Henry Luhmann

These top-five tips are sure to help even the busiest agency keep its clients happy!

Self Mailer

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Top 10: Save Time on Your Next Business Mailing - Part 1

By Henry Luhmann

Custom envelopes, embossed labelsAustin & Williams' Director of Production Services shares these tips for ensuring your clients’ direct mail pieces drop on time, every time – no matter how tight the deadline!

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