Today I want to talk about the costs associated with a direct mail campaign. There are essentially four different cost factors in your campaign that you need to consider. Printing, design, the mailing list (if your doing a targeted mailing), and the postage.
There are hundreds of direct mail vendors out there, how do you know your getting the best deal. The cheapest is not necessarily going to be the best. Remember if your campaign flops it doesn’t matter how much you saved it’s still a loss. The industry standard for postcards is 14pt gloss card stock, you want your ad to look professional, be specific and invoke likely prospects to reach out.
When looking for a direct mailing vendor you don’t necessarily want the cheapest or the most expensive, either way if it flops it’s a bad deal but if your return on investment is to low that’s a bad deal also. Chances are good that you will need several revisions on the ad before you get it just right so it’s a good idea to see what all is included in the price. Each vendor is different so get all the facts upfront.
Example, most direct mail companies will either charge per revision (which is gonna be costly), per hour (no way to gauge that) or one flat rate. At Gorilla Cards we charge one flat rate with unlimited revisions, we believe it’s your ad and it should be the way you want it no matter how long it takes. Mailing lists are another way some companies nickel and dime you, with us you pay whatever we pay for the list. We’re here to help your business and build a relationship not nickel and dime you until you turn blue. Bottom line do your homework and ask questions.
