How to Cut the Cost of Mailings
by Janet Attard
If you do a lot of mailing, chances are you can reduce the cost of sending mail to customers and prospects without reducing the number of times you communicate with them.
Here are 9 practical ways to reduce your mailing costs:
Get a scale and postage meter. Weigh each piece of mail and use the postage meter to print up the exact amount of postage for each piece you mail. (Note: Try a postage meter risk-free for 90-days from our sponsor Pitney Bowes.)
If you’re mailing a document that weighs less than an ounce, fold it to fit in a standard business size envelope instead of mailing them flat. Postage for the business size-envelope is only 37 cents, while postage for a 9 x 12 envelope is 54 cents.
Use standard sized envelopes and postcards. You’ll be charged extra postage for odd-sizes.
If your designer suggests very heavy stock for a mailing, get a sample of the paper and envelope you’d mail and weigh it and find out what it will cost to mail the piece. If the weight of the document increases postage, ask the designer to choose a lighter weight alternative.
Send a postcard instead of a letter. You can send a standard size postcard first class for only 23 cents – a savings of 14 cents off a first class letter.
If you regularly mail quantities of letters, ask the Post Office for information about bulk mail permits.
Clean you house mailing lists to eliminate bad addresses and duplicates. When you mail to a bad address you lose the cost of the postage and the cost of the mailing piece
If you want to make an impact, but don’t absolutely have to have a document delivered overnight, consider Priority mail.
Save on boxes and mailing envelopes. If you plan to ship an item by priority mail, use the boxes and mailing envelopes provided by the Post Office and other shippers. They’re sturdy and free. Depending on the shipping location, Priority Mail may only cost a few pennies more than regular parcel rates, too.
About the author
Janet Attard is the owner of Attard Communications, Inc., which provides editorial content, online community and web development services. She is the founder of the award-winning Business Know-How small business web site and information resource. Janet is also the author of The Home Office And Small Business Answer Book and of Business Know-How: An Operational Guide For Home-Based and Micro-Sized Businesses with Limited Budgets. She can be reached at (631) 467-6826 or by email at [email protected].
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