Case Studies

The success of direct mail campaigns is offering your direct mail leads an offer they can’t resist. A compelling offer includes an irresistible call to action and a good response tracking system. In addition, there are other items marketers can use to generate high-quality direct mail leads. There are many marketers that combine direct mail with other inbound and outbound marketing activities as a part of a larger and more comprehensive marketing campaign. Besides targeting your desired audience, direct mail can help you generate new business leads in a more effective manner than other marketing channels. If you want to learn more, keep reading as we go in-depth on the benefits of  lead nurturing campaigns for your business. Six Reasons Why Lead Nurturing for Direct Mail Marketing Works Direct mail marketing has been shown to boost response rates anywhere from five to nine times more than other digital marketing channels. In addition, consumers trust direct mail marketing that is personalized to them more than other digital channels. This level of trust means recipients are both receptive to your message and excited to hear from you. In turn, it also means they are likely to be more motivated to complete your desired action.  Check out these benefits of using direct mail for lead nurturing campaigns:  Timely and Relevant – There is an immediate response to the potential customer which means no time is wasted in establishing a relationship. When a customer realizes your company is interested in developing a relationship, the motivation to do business with your company leads to an increase in sales.  Automated Messages -There is no need to manually track any leads. Instead, set up an automated tracking program that monitors the interest of direct mail leads, provides detailed reports and continues to nurture the leads even when you are not specifically working on that project. Maintain and Grow Relationships – Automated lead nurturing maintains and deepens the relationship between your business and the lead. This can result in a better chance of converting the prospect into a customer.  Targeted Content – Lead nurturing does not involve sending unnecessary and irrelevant information. Instead, it monitors the lead and provides targeted content related to their interests.  Higher Click-Through Rates – Lead nurturing emails have both a high click-through rate and somewhat higher unsubscribe rates than the sending of individual emails. While this might be viewed as a negative in your eyes, it actually shows that lead nurturing is doing its job of confirming leads and removing consumers who are not interested in doing business with you.   Saves Money – Automated lead nurturing helps you save money and still keep up with potential customers. It is also cheaper than direct email messaging. Automated lead nurturing has been shown to be a cost-effective business resource because it is largely automated and does not need as much manpower to maintain it. How To Use Direct Mail for Lead Nurture Campaigns List Segmentation – When it comes to marketing, your leads are obtained from a variety of demographics who require different communication styles (no generic messaging). Segment your list by factors such as products/services, gender, age, and location in order to tailor your message to speak directly to the needs of each group Personalized Content – Personalize your content to create targeted messages based on the specific preferences and desires of each audience segment. Targeted content helps you craft messages that resonate with leads and move them through the sales funnel in an efficient manner. Personalized content can result in 20% more sales opportunities than generic/blanket messages. Use a Multichannel Approach – Direct mail response rates can provide impressive results when combined with digital media such as personalized URLs (pURLs) that incorporate digital strategy into your direct mail efforts. All pURLs lead to a landing page through a URL that is customized for individual recipients. By including the name of the recipient in the URL and the website copy, you provide an enhanced experience that also lets you track the movements of the recipient and measure the overall effectiveness of the campaign. Frequent Touches – Visibility is the key to staying top of mind to prospects. It can take anywhere from six to eight “touches” to generate a viable B2B sales lead. According to a recent study, brand recall among the public has been shown to be 70% higher when the lead is exposed to direct mail pieces. When you are ready to use direct mail for lead nurturing campaigns, trust the leaders in the space, advertisersprinters.com.  Contact us now for more information Phone: (314) 652-9924

Direct mail retargeting is a powerful weapon when planning a direct mail campaign. Retargeted direct mail might sound complicated but it is simply sending a personalized item such as a letter or postcard to a recent website visitor that did not convert or complete the desired action. However, the website visitor did show a strong penchant towards making a purchase from the business, completing the desired application or even subscribing to a newsletter. When designing a direct mail retargeting plan, there are a few things to keep in mind to make sure the campaign is properly planned and executed. Keep reading to see if a retargeted direct mail campaign is a good fit for your business. Direct Mail Retargeting Should Consider The Stage Of The Customer Journey It is important in direct mail retargeting to consider the stages of the customer journey you’re targeting. Here are the four stages of the customer journey: Awareness Stage – One of the most common prompts for retargeting at the awareness stage is when a user browses an e-commerce site but leaves without making a purchase. Retargeted direct mail can plan for personalized mail to be sent to the consumer soon after they look at your website. For example, if the customer was searching a particular product category in your online store, you could send them a postcard that discusses and spotlights the latest trends in that line of products. Consideration Stage – Customers that are considered to be in the consideration stage might browse the same product pages over and over without making a purchase or they might sign up for text updates or an email newsletter from your company. To encourage them to take action, send a direct mail piece that highlights the specific products they were browsing as this can make it easy for them to decide to make a purchase. Purchase Stage – The purchase stage is the point where many customers might add items to their online carts but then they abandon the items. Retargeting with direct mail helps to remind customers of the items they left behind. You can even add an extra incentive to the message by offering a discount on the next purchase they make. Loyalty Stage – The goal of the loyalty stage is to entice the customer to make a transaction. With retargeted direct mail, you have the ability to upsell products that complement a recent purchase. You can also provide information that describes the benefits of joining your loyalty program including member perks and long-term savings opportunities. Understand your Audience Before Starting Your Direct Mail Campaigns Your buyers take the time to identify their problems, search for solutions, and select the products or services that will take care of their specific needs. Keep the following tips in mind when planning your remarketing campaign. Design a Specific Campaign Creating a successful targeted campaign means segmenting and building your audience according to their current stage in the purchase process. Choose a “trigger type” that will generate customer awareness among those who have not converted on your website. Customize the message to meet your business requirements and launch the campaign. Personalize Direct Mail You need to personalize your message so you are not blocked or ignored by customers. Use data to enhance the consumer experience and market products that reflect the needs of the customer along their purchase journey. First-party cookies let you create a unique and relevant campaign for targeted customers that provides a desirable outcome of a consumer purchase. Don’t Overlook Current Customers Retargeted direct mail is not exclusively designed for web store visitors who viewed products and then left the website. Retargeting can also convert existing customers into brand advocates. Use automated cross-selling and upselling messages to inform existing customers about your latest promotions, specials, products and rewards. Incentivize Buyers Direct mail retargeting can give consumers an incentive to make a purchase and grow your customer numbers. Integrate CRM Retargeting This marketing tool can maximize the effectiveness of a direct mail campaign by specifically displaying retargeted ads to customers whose mailing addresses are currently in your data list. You will have an exact idea of how many people you are contacting which makes it easier to measure the response rate of the direct mail piece. This strategy also helps build your brand name without the need to send customers multiple direct mail pieces in a short period of time. Avoid Overexposure Create a schedule for retargeting customers with direct mail pieces instead of damaging your brand by sending one after another in quick succession. Send your direct mail in periodic intervals such as when you have relevant content or specials to share with customers on your website. If you are ready to try a direct mail retargeting campaign, get in touch with our print experts at Advertisers Printing today! Contact us now for more information Phone: (314) 652-9924

Sustainability is both a word and a concept that is discussed time and again in the print industry. There are multiple large corporations who are already practicing sustainability throughout the levels of their company. In addition, many small and medium-sized businesses have started to increase their commitment to sustainability by prioritizing it in every aspect of their daily tasks including the green printing of their materials.  When a corporation of any size decides to embrace sustainable print services, they are creating the opportunity for long-term solutions that benefit the growth of the company as well as increase their success rate. Plus, eco-friendly printing also contributes to the environmental health of their local community. Take a look below to view some different print methods and materials that are conducive to operating as a sustainable printing company. Eco-Friendly Print Materials Recycled Paper – The most popular belief is that only recycled paper should be used in green printing. However, virgin fibers are necessary to maintain the paper cycle because without new fibers from new trees, the paper cycle is not able to be maintained.  It is important to know that recycled fibers start to degrade after several uses which means the paper industry needs fresh fiber to maintain the renewable cycle. As long as these new fibers come from sustainably-managed forests, you have the ability to use virgin paper or recycled paper. Carbon Balanced Paper and Print – If a printer promotes that they use Carbon Balanced Paper, it means the average CO2 that is created during paper production and mill delivery has been offset. A sustainable printing company that chooses to offer this option lets you select a more environmentally friendly printing option.  Carbon Balance Printers measure the CO2 output of the entire company. Once the CO2 output is determined, the printer can invest in ways to lessen their CO2 output or even reverse it to balance the print process. After all of the possible measures have been taken and the CO2 output is at the absolute minimum, the company is then offsetting any unavoidable carbon. It’s easy to identify Carbon Balanced Print materials thanks to the logo. When you use Carbon Balanced Paper, from a Carbon Balanced Printer, you are using one of the most sustainable print solutions available. Uncoated Paper – Uncoated paper is a print method that provides incredible results on a LED UV press. In addition, its natural feel makes it one of the easiest materials to recycle since uncoated paper is a highly fibrous material that is also lighter than coated paper so it is simple to recycle and transport. Eco-Friendly Print Processes LED UV Printing – LED UV is an ideal print method for items such as booklets, brochures, and promotional materials. This print method uses ultraviolet light that creates vivid colors and sharp designs while also instantly drying (which eliminates the need for a sealing coat). LED UV is a popular green printing method since it uses less power than traditional print-drying technology. In addition, the instant “on/off functionality” reduces the level of standby consumption between jobs as well as the overall CO2 emissions. At Advertisers Printing, we use the RMGT UV LED 10 color press with UV LED Technology that is a fraction of the carbon footprint compared to other print companies.  Digital Printing – Digital printing eliminates the need for a printing plate. The ink sits on the top layer of the substrate which means there is less waste than more conventional print methods. In addition, digital printing is ideal for smaller print runs that need to be produced faster than other printing methods. This makes digital printing a much more cost-effective printing method.   Foil Stamping – Foil stamping, AKA foil printing, applies colored foils to a substrate using a combination of heat and pressure to stick foil to the desired material. A foil design can elevate a project and get the attention of an audience. The use of foil on printed materials is a great solution for companies who want to lower their environmental impact as foil printing is both compostable and recyclable. There are even some printers that offer foil printing that doesn’t require PVC and/or they use non-phthalate inks.  Businesses that are looking to partner with a sustainable printing company have found a good choice with Advertisers Printing. We are one of only 50 printers with the Sustainable Green Partnership Certification (SGP for short) meaning we work to drive sustainability and meet the demands of today’s customers. Call today to learn more about our commitment to sustainability and how it can benefit your company. Contact us now for more information Phone: (314) 652-9924

When it comes to direct mail campaigns, it is vital that you do not overwhelm the recipients with too much information that makes it hard to read or process the message. In general, the number one factor that has an impact on the success of your direct mail campaign is your direct mail data. Keep in mind a successful marketing campaign is the result of the data you provide to your printer. If your direct mail lists are not created correctly, the printer will have extra steps to perform in order to fix the data sent to them and make it easy to understand. If you don’t have experience creating direct mail lists, you might not be sure about the first steps you need to take in the campaign process. Take a look below for the ultimate printers guide regarding what your direct mail lists should look like in order to get the ROI you desire. What Pieces of Direct Mail Data Should I Use? The most important thing to remember about the lists used to create direct mail campaigns is to narrow them down. The inclusion of multiple columns and information might look impressive when you are creating the list but you need to be more precise with the information you send. Printers do not want, or need, massive files full of raw data. Use the data points to start narrowing your list so they only include the best matches for prospects for your business. In addition, you can use the following direct mail data to create personalized messaging that leads to better results: Age Income Presence of Children in the Household Marital Status Homeowner Focusing your list on these data pieces allows you to specifically target certain individuals as well as personalize the mail piece. When Should I Update Direct Mail Lists? Depending on the type of file in use, most people who compile a direct mail lists prefer to publish a new version to their databases once a month. There are some files in use, such as the New Mover and New Homeowner databases, that are referred to as “rolling hot-files”. These files are updated once a week and this task is usually done at the end of the week (on Friday).  Besides handling the updating task on your own, there are other ways to make sure your data list does not include records that are old, duplicates or incomplete: Address Change ServicesThis service provides you with a data file that contains changes in address (or other reasons for non-delivery of your mail) after a mailing campaign has been sent out. This service provides you up-to-date changes in addresses at a reduced cost per record. Ancillary Service EndorsementsAncillary Service Endorsements, also known as ASE, is essentially a type of manual address correction that gives postal service options on how to properly proceed after the delivery of your mail is attempted (but not completed). As an example, your mail can include a printed “Return Service Requested” endorsement. The examples above make it easier for both you and your printer since good data creates an efficient and effective direct mail campaign. What Kind of Direct Mail Response Rate Should I Expect? With accurate data and a clean and updated list, you can expect to see successful ROI. The DMA releases studies every year that detail industry standards in regards to multiple types of marketing campaigns. The direct mail response rate in a campaign is based on 90% of the total quantity mailed. In addition, the standard campaigns of 3-drops-over-6-weeks or 3-drops-over-9-weeks are considered multi-drop. Single-drop (1 mailer to 1 address 1 time) should deliver a response rate between 0.8% and 1.6%. Multi-drop (More than 1 mailer to 1 address) should provide a response rate between 1.2% and 2.6%. As an example, if you mail 1000 pieces, your quantifier will be based on 900 pieces. A single-drop campaign should give you at least 6 or 7 responses while a multi-drop campaign should provide around 11 responses. Your ROI can be calculated according to the dollar amount of the responses that result in sales minus any initial investment.  If you are unsatisfied with your results, alter your list to include different demographics, headlines, photos, envelope sizes, or offers to see which one performs the best.  At Advertisers Printing, we use  the power of direct mail enhancement software to increase the total engagement of direct mail campaigns. This allows us to routinely produce campaigns that receive an engagement level between 23%-46%! We can help you see the same results on your next campaign! Contact us now for more information Phone: (314) 652-9924

Direct mail data cleaning, AKA the process of cleaning your data, is a direct mail postal optimization technique which makes the task of cleaning and managing mailing lists an efficient process that also saves on your total mailing costs. In addition, it also works to reduce the waste and missed opportunities caused by addresses that are either incorrect or duplicates.  It has been reported that the average B2B company experiences data errors (up to 25% of the time) when it comes to their customer and prospect mailing lists. Whether the errors are the result of flawed demographic data or improperly entered information, bad data needs to be reduced before a mailing goes out. It should be noted it is not an easy task to achieve a 100% accurate list. When you are performing a “cleaning mailing list” task, you can be sure mistakes will happen simply because names and addresses change on a regular basis. Having said that, you should strive to limit these mistakes as much as possible. It is sometimes hard to comprehend but a simple spelling error can cause the loss of a valuable lead which can result in lost revenue for your company. Direct Mail List Management Process Follow these five steps to manage your direct mail list management process and ensure a successful campaign: Assign Ownership:The task of assigning ownership of your direct mail campaign is essential to ensuring the task is monitored and leads are up-to-date. Ownership of the direct mail process can be assigned to someone on your team or you can outsource the assignment to a third party (while making sure you have an internal point person). The main thing to remember is that someone needs to be designated as the List Keeper and it is their responsibility to make sure nothing falls through the cracks.  Create a Mail List Management Process:Next, you will need to document the direct mail process in order to add, edit, and/or remove addresses on the current mailing list. Mail list management is ideal to make sure your company is following current communication and privacy standards.  Organize the Direct Mail List by Category:There are times when it makes sense to mail your entire database if you have a major announcement or time-sensitive promotion.  On the other hand, what about sending a mailer to one specific group of customers? For example, you might want to offer a discount to a customer who hasn’t made any purchases in the last six months. You might also have the idea to offer a “VIP Special” to your most frequent and valued customers. If you take the time to organize your direct mail list by category, you will start to see patterns that make sense to your business (new customers, past customers, business contacts, etc.) When it comes to creating and maintaining lists, the more steps you take to personalize and target your direct mail message to a specific list of customers, the better your results will be with each campaign. Merge and Purge:This step is simple and to the point. Identify any duplicates or typos to make sure your list is up-to-date and accurate. The ease of this task depends on your database software so ask your assigned List Keeper or direct mail partner about performing this task. Audit Your List: By auditing and editing your list on a regular basis, you can feel confident your list is clean and your message will be delivered to your target audience. You can also review your previous campaign performance and check the ongoing viability of the list. This task would fall under the supervision and execution of your List Keeper or direct mail partner.  Now that you know managing mailing lists is easy to perform, you should decide how often to clean your email lists. (Spoiler Alert: The section below answers that question.) How Often You Should be Cleaning Email Lists Are you wondering how often you should be cleaning email lists? The task of cleaning your data needs to be performed often as opposed to “every once in a while.” You might even want to schedule a regular item on your calendar that simply says “Cleaning Mailing List.” If you have a long list of names and addresses, be sure and merge, purge, and check for duplicate entries. The National Change of Address (NCOA) database includes every individual and businesses who took the time to fill out a change of address form in the past four years. You can use this to your advantage by sending your database to the NCOA so you will have the latest mailing addresses of the people and companies on your list. Methods to Clean Direct Mail Data You don’t need to commit to the first database you find online. There are several databases for direct mail data cleaning which easily allow you to check whether or not your addresses are correct.  Here are some of the most popular examples: CASS: The Coding Accuracy Support System is a certification system that performs address validation and it is available from the United States Postal Service. CASS-certified address validation standardizes your mailing list, lets you fix outdated addresses and verifies your list of addresses is valid. ACS: Address Change Service allows direct mailers to receive change-of-address updates, as well as other reasons for non-delivery, electronically to reduce the number of manual address notifications that a business receives. This service allows you to update your mailing list after an initial mailing is made (and also before the next mailing). NCOA: National Change of Address is a database of around 160-million permanent change-of-address records. This list of records consists of the names and addresses of any individuals, families or companies who have filled out a change of address form with the Postal Service. Apartment Append: This product works to correct records in your files that have been identified as having apartment numbers that are missing or incorrect. Once these records are identified, Apartment Append updates the incorrect or missing information.

So you want to create a Print Ready File or Print Ready PDF?But what is a print ready file? The easiest answer is that a print ready file is a file that when sent to a print company can be immediately put into the production workflow and contains all of the necessary details so the printing equipment can read and reproduce the design without issue. The good news is that most popular design software has the capability to produce a file that is print ready. In most cases, that file will be saved as a print ready PDF which Adobe has designed to be extraordinarily compatible with nearly every printing platform. The Benefits of Creating a Print Ready File The biggest benefit of creating print ready files and PDF’s are that they save you time and money by not having to go back and forth between designer and printer to get answers to questions or incurring additional charges when the printer needs to fix your file to make it print-ready. This allows your print project to be produced more efficiently and cost-effectively. Different Considerations for Print Readiness Most of the considerations for preparing print ready files are the same for a majority of print projects, we will discuss the four most common considerations below. There may be other factors you want to consider if your project needs specialized printing techniques applied such as Die cutting, spot colors, spot varnishes, etc. You should discuss any special project requirements with your print provider in the earliest stages of the design process to save yourself unwanted headaches and unexpected results. Size What is the final trim size of the printed piece?Be sure to create your art at the size you intend the final piece to be trimmed to. For example, if you are designing a 6 in.  x 4 in. postcard, set your document’s page size to 6 in. x 4 in. In Adobe InDesign and Illustrator you can set your document size in the Document Setup window. Do not design your art on oversized pages then add crop marks to indicate the desired trim size. Printing workflows rely on accurate page dimensions for correct output, not visual trim marks. Print-ready PDFs need to have correct Trim and Bleed Box dimensions for automated print workflows to accurately process your project. Bleed Does your art extend beyond the page trim?If you intend for the art in your final printed piece to go all the way to the edge of the page, the art and the document must include bleed. Bleed is achieved by extending the art past the trim edge by a certain amount, most commonly 0.125 inch. Adobe InDesign and Illustrator both have a bleed setting in their Document Setup properties that should be set to 0.125 in. This will provide a bleed guideline in your document that you can use to make sure your art extends far enough beyond the trim edge of the page. NOTE: PDFs for print contain the following page boxes: Media Box, Crop Box, Trim Box, Bleed Box and Art Box. The most important of these are the Trim and Bleed boxes. They are defined by the document settings in your design software. Color Most print projects print in a 4-color process.Most print projects will print in the four process colors – Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black. However, you may have different color requirements for your project such as spot color inks. The colors may depend on the printing method – offset printing or digital printing. Most digital printing is a 4-color process. You can utilize spot color inks for traditional offset printing jobs. In either case, be sure your print-ready file only includes the ink colors the project will print with. Try to eliminate any unused colors, extra spot colors, and RGB or Lab color swatches from your document before submitting the files to your printer. If you do not, the printer will convert those colors to a 4-color process for you which could yield unexpected results. Resolution Do the images in your project have adequate resolution for printing?Art consists of two different types – vector art and raster art. With vector art such as Illustrator line art, resolution is not a concern. Vector art can be scaled up or down without any loss in quality. With raster art such as Photoshop images, resolution matters. Raster images are created from a series of pixels rather than smooth line art. Raster images that are too low in resolution will appear “pixelated” in your final print job. The effective resolution of raster images used for printing should be at least 300 pixels per inch (ppi) for best print quality. The effective resolution is the resolution of an image after it has been placed in your document and scaled to the size you want. For instance, if you place a 300 ppi image into Adobe InDesign and scale it up to 200%, the effective resolution is reduced to 150 ppi. On the flip side, a 150 ppi image placed at 50% has an effective resolution of 300 ppi. As a general rule, increasing the size of a raster image reduces its resolution, and reducing the size of a raster image increases its resolution. After walking you through the common considerations above, you can now move on to exporting your print ready files in InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop. We walk you through that below. Export A Print Ready File in InDesign Here we share the steps on how to create a print ready PDF from Adobe InDesign. Add 0.25 or 0.125 of space outside of the printed area so the actual art doesn’t get cropped when trimmed after it’s printed. This will be your bleed / safe zone. Next click the File menu and choose Export. Make sure the Save as type: is set to Adobe PDF (Print) (*.pdf). Then click the Save button. A pop-up box will appear on screen, and you will need to ensure the Adobe PDF

In a growing digital world, can printing be sustainable and friendly to our environment? Absolutely! Advertisers Printing has spent decades investing in sustainable printing solutions to make our business and our clients’ businesses more sustainable. How does Advertisers Printing make you more sustainable? Over the past 20 years, we have invested in equipment and practices that have moved our business forward and granted us national recognition. We are one of a few printing facilities in the nation with Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP) certification. What does SGP certification mean? First and foremost, SGP certification means sustainability is a daily part of our organization. From stringent record keeping, to recycling whatever we can, to special projects that are reported to and monitored by the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership, SGP certification is not a “one and done” event. We are sgp certified partners and maintain our certification through best practices and innovation aligning with our partners to create a more accountable, sustainable supply chain. Some of our SGP approved innovations and accomplishments include: A fleet of hybrid vehicles Installation of a 25 kWh rooftop solar array Installation of LED lighting throughout our facility Installation of a 10-color press which uses LED-UV drying and chemical filtering/recycling 10-color press First FSC certified printer in the State of Missouri First SGP certified printer in the State of Missouri Implementation of our Plant-wide (SMS) Sustainability Management System An on-staff Director of Sustainability whose credentials include an M.S. in Sustainability and GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) certification What does Sustainability mean for Us? So what does sustainability mean? Sustainability means responsibility, love of our planet, and interest in doing the right thing for everyone. From a business perspective, it means we know there is no planet B. It also means that we take an expansive view of business that includes a triple bottom line philosophy of People, Planet and Profit. We are focused on People for increased social responsibility, Planet for reduced environmental impact, and Profit for continuous improvement of operational efficiencies. The triple bottom line philosophy is supported by an economic leg of good jobs, fair wages, security and fair trade; a social leg of good working conditions, healthcare and social justice; and an environmental leg of reducing waste, conservation, restoration, and landfill avoidance. Another word for this is conscious capitalism. Our heart is a part of everything we do. What does Sustainability mean to You? If you are our partner, sustainability means working with a partner who knows all stakeholders, including the environment, must profit to have a sustainable future. What does sustainability mean to you? It means we are a partner who understands the difference between capitalism and greedism and delights in going above and beyond to serve our partners. At a business level, working with us helps you (and us) with our sustainability initiatives. This leads to increased recognition in the business community and increased ability to attract team members whose concern for the environment and higher purpose, ethical business operation is a top priority. On a personal level, it means better overall job satisfaction and sleep at night.