Target Mail to a Greener World

Dear Reader,

Last week I wrote about the physical component of greening your mail, envelope and paper stack, size materials etc.

This week I would like you to carefully consider where and who your audience is.

A 3-5% response rate is considered good for most direct mailings. Of course, that means that 95% of that mail is garbage, of no value at all to the person receiving it.

Direct mail that doesn't hit the target is junk mail.

So let's review what we can do.

First of all, make sure that you have got the correct, accurate, validated, updated address for the recipient.

Run your database through certified address correction software and national change of address software.

Eliminate any duplicates.

Verify rental lists for recency of updates and complete accuracy/NCOA validation.

Take a hard look at your selection criteria, and choose only the most relevant prospects. You can turn junk mail into "treasure" mail by sending the right offer to the right person.

By following the above considerations, you will reduce waste, improve your numbers and make the world a little bit greener.

Michael Hofmann