Direct Mail Marketing: A Hidden Gem for Small Business Success

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_00]: I always price stuff in color because y'all, when's the last time you got something black

[00:00:04] [SPEAKER_00]: and white in the mail?

[00:00:06] [SPEAKER_01]: If I got something black and white, like my first impression would be that someone died,

[00:00:14] [SPEAKER_01]: you know?

[00:00:14] [SPEAKER_01]: Or like it's a crematorium or something.

[00:00:17] [SPEAKER_01]: Like that's my first impression.

[00:00:18] [SPEAKER_01]: Like if your postcard has like two people smiling on it but it's in black and white,

[00:00:23] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm gonna be like, okay, someone died.

[00:00:24] [SPEAKER_01]: Why are you sending this to me?

[00:00:26] [SPEAKER_01]: Hey everyone, welcome to the S.O.B. Marketing Podcast where we celebrate the S.O.B. that you are

[00:00:32] [SPEAKER_01]: and if you haven't figured it out yet, we mean small own business.

[00:00:36] [SPEAKER_01]: We don't mean S.O.B.

[00:00:38] [SPEAKER_00]: Listen, we know that as a small business owner, you are working hard on the daily to keep

[00:00:43] [SPEAKER_00]: your business fully operational while trying to promote it.

[00:00:47] [SPEAKER_00]: And while some days it may feel like the business is owning you, if we're being

[00:00:52] [SPEAKER_00]: honest with each other, I bet you would admit that you wouldn't give up the insanity for anything.

[00:00:57] [SPEAKER_01]: Our commitment here at the S.O.B. Marketing Podcast is to give you the real talk, what

[00:01:03] [SPEAKER_01]: works when it comes to advertising, marketing, promoting your business and then what doesn't

[00:01:08] [SPEAKER_01]: really work.

[00:01:08] [SPEAKER_00]: And Chelsea and I promise to always keep the conversation real.

[00:01:12] [SPEAKER_01]: Hey everybody and welcome back to another episode of the S.O.B. Marketing Podcast.

[00:01:17] [SPEAKER_01]: S.O.B. as in small own business, I promise we are not calling you guys names.

[00:01:22] [SPEAKER_01]: Before we get started, I just want to say thank you for listening.

[00:01:26] [SPEAKER_01]: If you have a small business owner that does not listen to this podcast but you think

[00:01:31] [SPEAKER_01]: would benefit from listening to this podcast, send it to them.

[00:01:35] [SPEAKER_01]: Do it, okay?

[00:01:36] [SPEAKER_01]: And make sure that you follow if you're on YouTube, you subscribe, you like comment,

[00:01:43] [SPEAKER_01]: send us stuff.

[00:01:44] [SPEAKER_01]: We just want to hear from you guys, okay?

[00:01:46] [SPEAKER_01]: And leave us a five star review.

[00:01:48] [SPEAKER_01]: We're only accepting five stars.

[00:01:50] [SPEAKER_01]: Just kidding or not, okay?

[00:01:53] [SPEAKER_01]: I've had, I just want to preface this by saying that I've had coffee and I don't

[00:01:58] [SPEAKER_01]: drink coffee so I am like wired right now.

[00:02:02] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm ready to go.

[00:02:05] [SPEAKER_01]: Before we start this conversation, before I even tell you guys what the

[00:02:09] [SPEAKER_01]: topic is, I want to say we are here to give you guys the news, right?

[00:02:15] [SPEAKER_01]: The marketing news so that you guys don't have to.

[00:02:17] [SPEAKER_01]: And in marketing news right now, I'm sure it'll still be relevant, okay?

[00:02:24] [SPEAKER_01]: But right now this just came out.

[00:02:26] [SPEAKER_01]: Google Vivian, I don't know if you've heard about this, but Google is

[00:02:31] [SPEAKER_01]: retracting their plan to get rid of cookies on Google Chrome.

[00:02:34] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I was not aware of that until you just shared that with me because

[00:02:38] [SPEAKER_00]: it was such a big news that they were getting rid of it.

[00:02:42] [SPEAKER_00]: So I'm kind of intrigued by what made them change their mind.

[00:02:48] [SPEAKER_00]: And so when Chelsea says cookies, y'all, she's not talking about baking.

[00:02:52] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay?

[00:02:52] [SPEAKER_00]: She ain't talking about no frosted cookies or oatmeal cookies, which are my

[00:02:56] [SPEAKER_00]: favorite, but she is talking about oatmeal cookies.

[00:02:59] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm sorry.

[00:03:00] [SPEAKER_01]: No, just keep going.

[00:03:01] [SPEAKER_01]: But oatmeal.

[00:03:02] [SPEAKER_01]: Okay.

[00:03:02] [SPEAKER_01]: Sure.

[00:03:03] [SPEAKER_00]: You don't like what's wrong with oatmeal.

[00:03:05] [SPEAKER_01]: There's nothing wrong with them, but they're not my favorite.

[00:03:08] [SPEAKER_00]: I like the raisins.

[00:03:10] [SPEAKER_00]: I've always liked raisins.

[00:03:10] [SPEAKER_00]: I used to put raisins in my corn flakes jail.

[00:03:16] [SPEAKER_01]: Straight to jail.

[00:03:18] [SPEAKER_01]: Straight to jail.

[00:03:18] [SPEAKER_01]: I used to put sugar in my corn flakes.

[00:03:22] [SPEAKER_00]: I think this explains a lot.

[00:03:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

[00:03:24] [SPEAKER_00]: I also like black licorice and Werther's originals.

[00:03:28] [SPEAKER_01]: Well, Werther's slap, but black licorice is gross.

[00:03:34] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

[00:03:35] [SPEAKER_00]: So back on track cookies.

[00:03:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Cookies.

[00:03:37] [SPEAKER_00]: Besides the fact that it means an old lady and has old lady taste

[00:03:41] [SPEAKER_00]: and likes tapioca and Chelsea over there says jail to all of them.

[00:03:47] [SPEAKER_00]: Cookies are not what they do is they, the purpose of cookies on

[00:03:54] [SPEAKER_00]: the internet are to track a person's movement online.

[00:03:58] [SPEAKER_00]: And so what that provides y'all, we've said this time and again,

[00:04:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Google, YouTube and Facebook now, right?

[00:04:09] [SPEAKER_00]: Those are what the top three websites, Chelsea.

[00:04:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Y'all, they are not just like websites.

[00:04:16] [SPEAKER_00]: They're not just like social media.

[00:04:18] [SPEAKER_00]: They're not just sharing videos.

[00:04:19] [SPEAKER_00]: They are data collectors and that is their power.

[00:04:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

[00:04:25] [SPEAKER_00]: It's the reason that Facebook ads is so popular.

[00:04:28] [SPEAKER_00]: It's because they can collect all of that data and then target

[00:04:32] [SPEAKER_00]: very specifically a group of people with their ads.

[00:04:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, Google does the same thing.

[00:04:37] [SPEAKER_00]: If you've ever taken a Google ad out for your small business,

[00:04:42] [SPEAKER_00]: it's all of the data that they're collecting that they're able to

[00:04:45] [SPEAKER_00]: retarget and to put that ad in front of the most relevant people

[00:04:50] [SPEAKER_00]: that are going to get you those clicks that they can then charge for.

[00:04:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:04:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

[00:04:55] [SPEAKER_00]: So that's their true power.

[00:04:56] [SPEAKER_00]: The cookie thing was such a big debate or discussion point

[00:05:00] [SPEAKER_00]: because if essentially they got rid of cookies, it meant they can no

[00:05:04] [SPEAKER_00]: longer trail you or see where you are moving online and that would cut

[00:05:09] [SPEAKER_00]: into the amount of data they would have available.

[00:05:12] [SPEAKER_00]: And so I'm going to look further into this.

[00:05:15] [SPEAKER_00]: Chelsea, I'm glad you brought this up because I'm genuinely curious

[00:05:18] [SPEAKER_00]: to see what it is and the reason I can give you a little more,

[00:05:24] [SPEAKER_01]: a little more about it.

[00:05:26] [SPEAKER_01]: So talking about Google in 2020.

[00:05:30] [SPEAKER_01]: Announced that they were getting rid of cookies because remember, this was

[00:05:32] [SPEAKER_01]: the time where everyone was like privacy is very important.

[00:05:35] [SPEAKER_01]: I don't feel comfortable with everyone tracking my information, which I will

[00:05:40] [SPEAKER_01]: say as a marketer and then as a human being.

[00:05:44] [SPEAKER_01]: What?

[00:05:45] [SPEAKER_01]: We're human beings.

[00:05:49] [SPEAKER_00]: I thought we were robots.

[00:05:52] [SPEAKER_01]: I thought I this is such a chaotic episode already.

[00:05:58] [SPEAKER_00]: My point, we're to the wise, we're not letting Chelsea drink any more coffee

[00:06:02] [SPEAKER_00]: ever again.

[00:06:03] [SPEAKER_01]: That's facts.

[00:06:04] [SPEAKER_01]: That's very fair.

[00:06:06] [SPEAKER_01]: So as a marketer, like cookies are great.

[00:06:08] [SPEAKER_01]: I get to really niche down on my target and really use my money to

[00:06:15] [SPEAKER_01]: like the smartest way, right?

[00:06:17] [SPEAKER_01]: Like it's very efficient.

[00:06:18] [SPEAKER_01]: It's very effective.

[00:06:20] [SPEAKER_01]: But tracking people is a little uncomfortable.

[00:06:24] [SPEAKER_01]: Right.

[00:06:24] [SPEAKER_01]: So Google had announced in 2020 that they're going to slowly phase out their

[00:06:29] [SPEAKER_01]: third party cookies.

[00:06:30] [SPEAKER_01]: And now recently, I want to say this week, they announced, hey, we're no

[00:06:36] [SPEAKER_01]: longer doing that.

[00:06:37] [SPEAKER_01]: So instead of getting rid of third party cookies, what they're going

[00:06:41] [SPEAKER_01]: to do is they're going to allow people like Chrome, we're specifically

[00:06:45] [SPEAKER_01]: talking about Chrome.

[00:06:47] [SPEAKER_01]: They're going to allow people to make an informed choice that applies

[00:06:51] [SPEAKER_01]: across their web browsing.

[00:06:54] [SPEAKER_01]: So that they can choose at any time whether these cookies are tracking them.

[00:06:59] [SPEAKER_01]: So it's kind of like, it's kind of like what Apple did, right?

[00:07:03] [SPEAKER_01]: Like Apple now, when you download an app or when you're on a website, it says,

[00:07:08] [SPEAKER_01]: hey, you know, they use cookies.

[00:07:10] [SPEAKER_01]: Do you want to opt in or opt out?

[00:07:12] [SPEAKER_01]: Interesting.

[00:07:13] [SPEAKER_01]: What happened, wrote quick, what happened was a lot of advertisers push back.

[00:07:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, that's the in, I think you brought it up from the perspective

[00:07:22] [SPEAKER_00]: as personal for us because we're marketers and we're also apparently humans

[00:07:27] [SPEAKER_00]: and not robots, which is a shame.

[00:07:30] [SPEAKER_01]: But well, let me tell you these advertisers that push for it.

[00:07:33] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm pretty sure our robots just saying.

[00:07:37] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, no, because I was going to say as a small business owner, and we'd

[00:07:41] [SPEAKER_00]: be curious to hear from y'all about this.

[00:07:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

[00:07:43] [SPEAKER_00]: So leave us a comment if you're listening to this on Spotify and you

[00:07:47] [SPEAKER_00]: could leave us a comment or on, you know, Facebook, wherever you're

[00:07:51] [SPEAKER_00]: listening to us, go ahead and just leave a comment and tell us your thoughts

[00:07:54] [SPEAKER_00]: about this.

[00:07:55] [SPEAKER_00]: If as a small business owner, you have a conflicted interest because like Chelsea

[00:08:01] [SPEAKER_00]: said, if you're spending money on running ads to promote your small business,

[00:08:08] [SPEAKER_00]: you want that data.

[00:08:10] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

[00:08:10] [SPEAKER_00]: But does it conflict with your idea of it as a human or as a user online?

[00:08:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Do you do you care if somebody tracks how you're moving online?

[00:08:24] [SPEAKER_00]: I do think the consent thing is a really big part.

[00:08:27] [SPEAKER_00]: I think a lot of websites do this on their own, but I'm also curious Chelsea,

[00:08:34] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to do some digging because if I remember correctly, whenever they

[00:08:37] [SPEAKER_00]: made the announcement in 2020, they were talking about this like digital

[00:08:40] [SPEAKER_00]: sandbox.

[00:08:41] [SPEAKER_00]: So essentially what they said is no longer were they going to collect,

[00:08:44] [SPEAKER_00]: they were still going to try to, they had created a digital sandbox.

[00:08:49] [SPEAKER_00]: And in that sandbox, they were basically going to dump the data, but it was

[00:08:55] [SPEAKER_00]: going to be un, it was going to be cryptid.

[00:09:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

[00:09:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Does that make sense?

[00:09:01] [SPEAKER_00]: And so basically you wouldn't be able to, you could get the aggregate

[00:09:05] [SPEAKER_00]: data value and percentages, but you wouldn't be able to track the

[00:09:10] [SPEAKER_00]: individual across the board.

[00:09:13] [SPEAKER_00]: And so I'm wondering, yeah, it would real quick.

[00:09:15] [SPEAKER_01]: So it would be like, instead of saying Chelsea was on the hot topic website

[00:09:21] [SPEAKER_01]: for like two hours this day, it would be some 26 year old who probably

[00:09:27] [SPEAKER_01]: should be an adult by now was on the hot topic website for two hours.

[00:09:31] [SPEAKER_00]: No, it would be even more aggregate than that.

[00:09:34] [SPEAKER_00]: It would be basically this many 26 year olds across the world.

[00:09:42] [SPEAKER_00]: On hot topic or this many people on hot topic website.

[00:09:46] [SPEAKER_00]: So it was just a way to kind of remove the, the idea that they were

[00:09:52] [SPEAKER_00]: infringing on your privacy.

[00:09:53] [SPEAKER_00]: Yes.

[00:09:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

[00:09:54] [SPEAKER_00]: So they were trying to just say like, Hey, we're just going to collect,

[00:09:57] [SPEAKER_00]: like we're going to do a generalities sale.

[00:09:59] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:09:59] [SPEAKER_00]: But if you said that's not as effective for targeting people, right?

[00:10:06] [SPEAKER_00]: So love that you brought this up and I'm glad you heard it here first,

[00:10:10] [SPEAKER_00]: you guys, we're going to probably do a longer episode on this.

[00:10:15] [SPEAKER_00]: Just explain cookies.

[00:10:16] [SPEAKER_00]: I think that's a great topic because it can be a little hard to

[00:10:20] [SPEAKER_00]: kind of wrap your head around.

[00:10:22] [SPEAKER_00]: So we'll do that in the future episode.

[00:10:24] [SPEAKER_00]: But what is the actual topic topic that we're covering today?

[00:10:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Chelsea.

[00:10:29] [SPEAKER_01]: Okay.

[00:10:30] [SPEAKER_01]: Y'all today we are talking about direct mail marketing and direct

[00:10:34] [SPEAKER_01]: mail marketing is still very relevant.

[00:10:36] [SPEAKER_01]: Okay.

[00:10:37] [SPEAKER_01]: I have some very interesting statistics to share with y'all.

[00:10:41] [SPEAKER_01]: You know, I love my statistics.

[00:10:42] [SPEAKER_01]: So the USPS did a really interesting study on direct mail and different generations.

[00:10:50] [SPEAKER_01]: So for example, boomers prefer direct mail over other marketing

[00:10:56] [SPEAKER_01]: communication methods.

[00:10:57] [SPEAKER_01]: So instead of an email instead of social media, they'd rather get

[00:11:01] [SPEAKER_01]: like a postcard or something for Gen Z.

[00:11:05] [SPEAKER_01]: This is really interesting for Gen Z.

[00:11:07] [SPEAKER_01]: 72% would be disappointed if they no longer received mail and they're

[00:11:15] [SPEAKER_01]: actually excited to discover what they get in the mail every day.

[00:11:19] [SPEAKER_00]: I would argue that depends what we're getting in the mail.

[00:11:22] [SPEAKER_01]: That's fair.

[00:11:24] [SPEAKER_01]: That is fair.

[00:11:25] [SPEAKER_01]: Part of that statistic, 33% are also more inclined to make a purchase

[00:11:30] [SPEAKER_01]: if they see it in the mail.

[00:11:33] [SPEAKER_00]: Wow.

[00:11:33] [SPEAKER_00]: So for you guys listening, are you surprised by any of this?

[00:11:38] [SPEAKER_00]: Does that surprise it?

[00:11:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Chelsea, when you read that, what did, what were your initial thoughts?

[00:11:43] [SPEAKER_01]: I was surprised.

[00:11:44] [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, I, how do I feel about the mail?

[00:11:49] [SPEAKER_01]: I like getting mail.

[00:11:50] [SPEAKER_01]: I do like getting mail.

[00:11:51] [SPEAKER_01]: I like getting mail from specific like Ulta when they send their booklets.

[00:11:58] [SPEAKER_01]: Love that.

[00:11:59] [SPEAKER_01]: When Carnival Crews sends me another flyer, I don't like that.

[00:12:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Why?

[00:12:05] [SPEAKER_00]: Why is it different for the two?

[00:12:07] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, okay.

[00:12:07] [SPEAKER_01]: You send me too many.

[00:12:08] [SPEAKER_01]: Like there, it's too many.

[00:12:10] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm not, look y'all, I don't have time right now to be going on a cruise.

[00:12:14] [SPEAKER_01]: Please stop sending me flyers.

[00:12:16] [SPEAKER_01]: But when Ulta sends me their little packet, their magazine of all the sales

[00:12:22] [SPEAKER_01]: for the month or whatever it is, I love that because I like flipping

[00:12:26] [SPEAKER_01]: through and then they send you like the perfume samples.

[00:12:30] [SPEAKER_01]: Love that.

[00:12:31] [SPEAKER_00]: All right.

[00:12:32] [SPEAKER_00]: So interesting here, I'm going to give you some real life experience

[00:12:35] [SPEAKER_00]: that I've had with this and then also something that I heard that I thought

[00:12:39] [SPEAKER_00]: was pretty astonishing and it takes a whole lot to astonish this old gal.

[00:12:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

[00:12:44] [SPEAKER_00]: So all right.

[00:12:46] [SPEAKER_00]: Healthcare marketing.

[00:12:47] [SPEAKER_00]: Yes.

[00:12:48] [SPEAKER_00]: One of the interesting things is there are different initiatives

[00:12:51] [SPEAKER_00]: that people do for healthcare marketing.

[00:12:54] [SPEAKER_00]: And one of them is obviously Medicare who's targeting people 65 and up

[00:13:01] [SPEAKER_00]: who are entering into these Medicare programs.

[00:13:05] [SPEAKER_00]: They are starting to do a little more of like the text marketing

[00:13:08] [SPEAKER_00]: and also the email marketing, but do you know what they predominantly

[00:13:12] [SPEAKER_00]: spend the most money on postcards?

[00:13:15] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, I personally have.

[00:13:17] [SPEAKER_00]: And if we haven't covered this, you guys, just because we failed

[00:13:21] [SPEAKER_00]: to mention it when we say direct mail campaigns, those equal postcards.

[00:13:26] [SPEAKER_00]: That's what that is.

[00:13:27] [SPEAKER_00]: It's just a fancy marketing term because y'all know we've got

[00:13:30] [SPEAKER_00]: to give everything a new name.

[00:13:32] [SPEAKER_00]: So direct mail.

[00:13:34] [SPEAKER_00]: But the reason they do that is because they tap into that sentiment

[00:13:38] [SPEAKER_00]: that you just talked about, which is they know that they still enjoy

[00:13:43] [SPEAKER_00]: receiving mail and that they will check their mail and that that's one

[00:13:47] [SPEAKER_00]: of the best ways that they can get new information about some of these

[00:13:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Medicare programs into their hands.

[00:13:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Now they are trying to mix in emails and they have a pretty good

[00:14:00] [SPEAKER_00]: success rate with that, but nothing hits home and nothing gives them

[00:14:04] [SPEAKER_00]: the effectiveness that these direct mailers do.

[00:14:07] [SPEAKER_00]: All right.

[00:14:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Now the other thing with that I heard recently that was astonishing

[00:14:12] [SPEAKER_00]: and you jogged my memory whenever you said you enjoy getting mail from Ulta.

[00:14:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[00:14:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

[00:14:20] [SPEAKER_00]: There was a lady who her entire thing is direct mailers.

[00:14:23] [SPEAKER_00]: Like that's all she loves direct mailers and she's like a specialist in it.

[00:14:27] [SPEAKER_00]: And I watched a video of her talking about how Saks Fifth Avenue apparently

[00:14:34] [SPEAKER_00]: they had this huge decrease in sales one year.

[00:14:38] [SPEAKER_00]: And when they trailed it back to what actually triggered this, it was

[00:14:43] [SPEAKER_00]: the fact that they dropped their direct mail campaign because apparently

[00:14:48] [SPEAKER_00]: I think it was Saks.

[00:14:49] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:14:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Apparently they have this thing where it's like a loyalty program.

[00:14:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Like many of these companies do like Ulta does, Sephora, all that.

[00:14:59] [SPEAKER_00]: So they have these like box that they call them or something like that.

[00:15:04] [SPEAKER_00]: And people the more you spend, the more they'll give you it's kind

[00:15:07] [SPEAKER_00]: of like Cole's rewards, right?

[00:15:08] [SPEAKER_00]: So they'll give you like $10 here and there.

[00:15:11] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, the guy I guess he was an incoming CEO and he was like, you

[00:15:15] [SPEAKER_00]: know what cut the direct mail and just send it to Paul via email.

[00:15:19] [SPEAKER_00]: And so they thought that that would be just as effective.

[00:15:22] [SPEAKER_00]: But what they figured was that people were not coming in to make extra

[00:15:26] [SPEAKER_00]: purchases to use those dollars because they just weren't.

[00:15:31] [SPEAKER_00]: They didn't like opening their emails or they weren't connecting the dots, right?

[00:15:35] [SPEAKER_00]: They were so used getting these postcards that would tell them how much

[00:15:39] [SPEAKER_00]: money they had in dollars.

[00:15:41] [SPEAKER_00]: So they went back and they added the direct mail again with these

[00:15:49] [SPEAKER_00]: bucks because that was the way.

[00:15:51] [SPEAKER_00]: So think about this, you guys.

[00:15:53] [SPEAKER_00]: Direct mailers are a little more expensive and we'll talk about that here in a second.

[00:15:57] [SPEAKER_00]: However, what it did is if you had $20 to spend, it triggered you to go in

[00:16:05] [SPEAKER_00]: and obviously spend way more than 20 bucks because I don't think

[00:16:08] [SPEAKER_00]: there's anything at Sax Fifth Avenue for $20.

[00:16:11] [SPEAKER_00]: I even think you could get like an eyeliner for 20 bucks there.

[00:16:14] [SPEAKER_00]: All right.

[00:16:14] [SPEAKER_00]: So obviously you were purchasing way more than the discount that they were giving

[00:16:20] [SPEAKER_00]: people.

[00:16:21] [SPEAKER_00]: And so they lost a lot of money because of that.

[00:16:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I believe it.

[00:16:27] [SPEAKER_01]: Look, these loyalty programs and all these coupons and stuff, they'll get you.

[00:16:33] [SPEAKER_01]: Let me real quick.

[00:16:35] [SPEAKER_01]: Ulta was doing their $10 off 50, $20 off 100.

[00:16:41] [SPEAKER_01]: And I had to buy new moisturizer because I was running out and it's one of those

[00:16:47] [SPEAKER_01]: things where you just got to suck it up and buy it because I need it.

[00:16:49] [SPEAKER_01]: I take very good care of my skin.

[00:16:51] [SPEAKER_01]: It's very important for me.

[00:16:53] [SPEAKER_01]: And same with my hair and I had to buy more curl cream.

[00:16:56] [SPEAKER_01]: My total was like $86.

[00:17:00] [SPEAKER_01]: And I was like, well, I might as well just spend what the $14 more

[00:17:06] [SPEAKER_01]: dollars to get to 100 so I can get 20% off.

[00:17:09] [SPEAKER_01]: If anything, I'm saving $6 because I was going to spend 86 and now it's 80.

[00:17:15] [SPEAKER_01]: What is it?

[00:17:16] [SPEAKER_01]: They call that girl math.

[00:17:18] [SPEAKER_01]: Girl math.

[00:17:19] [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, that's girl math.

[00:17:20] [SPEAKER_01]: So I grow math this week.

[00:17:22] [SPEAKER_01]: I do going back to the topic at hand, direct mail.

[00:17:28] [SPEAKER_01]: Also, we had shared this on social media last year, but I want to bring

[00:17:32] [SPEAKER_01]: it up again in 2023.

[00:17:34] [SPEAKER_01]: Direct mail marketing was the third most used marketing channel.

[00:17:40] [SPEAKER_01]: So it's still very relevant.

[00:17:42] [SPEAKER_01]: Like obviously it's very relevant with the story that you just told.

[00:17:48] [SPEAKER_01]: They lost so much money.

[00:17:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and it's not going to be, you know, just like we tell you guys

[00:17:54] [SPEAKER_00]: with every discussion point or every topic we bring to you on this

[00:17:58] [SPEAKER_00]: episode is by drawing attention to this topic, we're not suggesting

[00:18:03] [SPEAKER_00]: that this is the right fit for your small business.

[00:18:06] [SPEAKER_00]: We think that you as a small business owner is the only person

[00:18:09] [SPEAKER_00]: that truly knows what is a good fit for your small business.

[00:18:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

[00:18:13] [SPEAKER_00]: And unless I intimately know more about your business and what you do,

[00:18:17] [SPEAKER_00]: I cannot tell you that across the board.

[00:18:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Direct mail campaigns are good for everybody.

[00:18:21] [SPEAKER_00]: What we can tell you and what we'll go through here in a second is

[00:18:24] [SPEAKER_00]: it is ideal for certain initiatives or for certain businesses.

[00:18:30] [SPEAKER_00]: There are some caveats to it.

[00:18:32] [SPEAKER_00]: It is more expensive.

[00:18:34] [SPEAKER_00]: There is more new wants to it, Chelsea, because you can't just like

[00:18:41] [SPEAKER_00]: slap something together and throw it out.

[00:18:44] [SPEAKER_00]: It's a, you know, and you can't also be delivering these yourselves.

[00:18:49] [SPEAKER_00]: All right.

[00:18:52] [SPEAKER_00]: So we have, we'll go through all of the appropriate way to get this done

[00:18:56] [SPEAKER_00]: in the items that you're going to have to think about before you put

[00:19:01] [SPEAKER_00]: a direct mail campaign together.

[00:19:03] [SPEAKER_00]: But Chelsea, let's go ahead and start talking about when is a

[00:19:07] [SPEAKER_00]: direct mail campaign a good idea?

[00:19:10] [SPEAKER_01]: So I'm thinking of a specific example that you and I have.

[00:19:14] [SPEAKER_01]: Direct mail can be great for bringing in and building brand

[00:19:18] [SPEAKER_01]: awareness and bringing in new customers.

[00:19:21] [SPEAKER_01]: So Barrow County Farmers Market had come to us.

[00:19:24] [SPEAKER_01]: They wanted to bring in new people, people who were new to the

[00:19:29] [SPEAKER_01]: community and maybe didn't know about the Farmers Market.

[00:19:33] [SPEAKER_01]: So what we did is we sent out postcards specifically to, I want to

[00:19:38] [SPEAKER_01]: say it was a 10 mile radius.

[00:19:40] [SPEAKER_01]: Okay.

[00:19:42] [SPEAKER_01]: Specifically 10 mile radius around the address for where

[00:19:47] [SPEAKER_01]: the Farmers Market is held.

[00:19:48] [SPEAKER_01]: And it was specifically for new, new families that had moved within

[00:19:55] [SPEAKER_01]: the past like six months.

[00:19:57] [SPEAKER_01]: They were a specific income level.

[00:20:00] [SPEAKER_01]: They had maybe one or two kids, like they had a family.

[00:20:05] [SPEAKER_01]: It was very, and I think that's the great thing about direct mail

[00:20:08] [SPEAKER_01]: is that you can get very specific about who you want to send postcards to.

[00:20:15] [SPEAKER_00]: That is a great example of it.

[00:20:17] [SPEAKER_00]: And the nice thing about that is, I think for one, they knew when

[00:20:23] [SPEAKER_00]: they approached us about it, they were just thinking and maybe that's

[00:20:27] [SPEAKER_00]: the key point here is I think maybe as a small business owner, if you've

[00:20:30] [SPEAKER_00]: never done direct mail, you're just thinking, Oh, well, I just pick

[00:20:34] [SPEAKER_00]: a certain neighborhood or I just pick a certain area and it gets

[00:20:37] [SPEAKER_00]: blasted out.

[00:20:38] [SPEAKER_00]: But what if those people are not really my target audience?

[00:20:42] [SPEAKER_00]: No, you can narrow it down.

[00:20:45] [SPEAKER_00]: And so with them, the reason that we recommended that they

[00:20:49] [SPEAKER_00]: narrow it down to new residents is because what better way, y'all, when

[00:20:54] [SPEAKER_00]: somebody just moves into a community and they're new from the outside

[00:21:00] [SPEAKER_00]: that area, what do they typically look for?

[00:21:02] [SPEAKER_00]: They'll typically look for a new dentist, a new doctor, things to do.

[00:21:07] [SPEAKER_00]: And the reason we included families in there is because

[00:21:10] [SPEAKER_00]: they're looking for things to do with their kids.

[00:21:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Right. So they're like, we want to get out.

[00:21:15] [SPEAKER_00]: OK, well, one of the nice things is if you're moving

[00:21:18] [SPEAKER_00]: out to this county in particular, it's outside of Athens.

[00:21:22] [SPEAKER_00]: It's not super big.

[00:21:23] [SPEAKER_00]: It's a smaller community.

[00:21:27] [SPEAKER_00]: And I think that's the thing that we're trying to sell them on.

[00:21:30] [SPEAKER_00]: It's like, hey, you moved out here, take advantage of like having

[00:21:34] [SPEAKER_00]: this local farmers market there that has fresh vegetables and has all this.

[00:21:38] [SPEAKER_00]: And then I do remember Chelsea, there was something and we didn't

[00:21:42] [SPEAKER_00]: use direct mail campaign to it, but there was something to do with

[00:21:45] [SPEAKER_00]: SNAP benefits, too, that they had.

[00:21:49] [SPEAKER_00]: So like SNAP benefits for y'all that don't know, that's for low income families

[00:21:53] [SPEAKER_00]: who need a little help with supplementing their grocery costs.

[00:21:58] [SPEAKER_00]: And so they basically give them these vouchers that they can go into grocery

[00:22:03] [SPEAKER_00]: stores and spend X amount of money for some of the food basics, right?

[00:22:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Fruits, vegetables, healthy stuff.

[00:22:11] [SPEAKER_00]: They were then using them now at the farmers market.

[00:22:15] [SPEAKER_00]: And so if we wanted to take it one step further, they could have done

[00:22:20] [SPEAKER_00]: a direct mail campaign to those SNAP benefit recipients promoting this and saying,

[00:22:26] [SPEAKER_00]: hey, by the way, did you know that now you can use your SNAP benefits

[00:22:30] [SPEAKER_00]: at the farmers market?

[00:22:32] [SPEAKER_00]: That's five miles up the road.

[00:22:34] [SPEAKER_00]: So it's really great for hitting being able to hit home that message.

[00:22:38] [SPEAKER_01]: I think we think of digital marketing as a, oh, we can get really specific

[00:22:46] [SPEAKER_01]: and we can really narrow down our audience and target the people we want to target.

[00:22:51] [SPEAKER_01]: You can do that with direct mail, too.

[00:22:53] [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, you know, what do you think the census is?

[00:22:56] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I hate to tell you, but people track you.

[00:22:59] [SPEAKER_01]: OK, they know what's going on.

[00:23:02] [SPEAKER_00]: Census thinks I'm a 68 year old lady with five cats.

[00:23:05] [SPEAKER_00]: And now I'm joking.

[00:23:06] [SPEAKER_01]: I don't have to say do they now?

[00:23:09] [SPEAKER_00]: OK, I don't lie.

[00:23:10] [SPEAKER_00]: I don't lie to the US Census Bureau.

[00:23:15] [SPEAKER_00]: They get locked up.

[00:23:18] [SPEAKER_00]: The the one thing I will say the caveat to all this is

[00:23:23] [SPEAKER_00]: if you guys are wondering, oh, my gosh, well, how would I even go about

[00:23:28] [SPEAKER_00]: researching that information?

[00:23:30] [SPEAKER_00]: My recommendation is there are two approaches to

[00:23:35] [SPEAKER_00]: working with direct mail campaigns.

[00:23:38] [SPEAKER_00]: The first approach is you want to decide if you're a little on the tighter budget,

[00:23:42] [SPEAKER_00]: you can actually just do this through the United States Postal Service.

[00:23:48] [SPEAKER_00]: OK, and what that means is you're going to print the cards out yourself.

[00:23:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Of course, it has to be all formatted in the way that they want.

[00:23:57] [SPEAKER_00]: And we'll get into that later.

[00:23:59] [SPEAKER_00]: But you print the postcards off yourself, you incurred that cost.

[00:24:03] [SPEAKER_00]: And then you take them down to the US Post Office and then you tell them

[00:24:09] [SPEAKER_00]: which routes you want, you know, and then they send it out for you.

[00:24:13] [SPEAKER_00]: That takes a little longer, but it is more cost efficient.

[00:24:16] [SPEAKER_00]: The other way, which I prefer because it's a little less hands off

[00:24:20] [SPEAKER_00]: and you're not doing the bulk of the work is you find a local printer

[00:24:25] [SPEAKER_00]: that you can work with and you approach the printer and they're

[00:24:30] [SPEAKER_00]: the ones that can pull all this information.

[00:24:32] [SPEAKER_00]: You can tell them, hey, this is what I'm thinking.

[00:24:35] [SPEAKER_00]: Are you able to pull a list for me of X, Y and Z?

[00:24:39] [SPEAKER_00]: This is probably the budget I'm looking to stick around.

[00:24:42] [SPEAKER_00]: They're going to urge you for that list because that's work

[00:24:45] [SPEAKER_00]: that they're having to manually do.

[00:24:46] [SPEAKER_00]: And also they will charge you for like printing the postcard

[00:24:51] [SPEAKER_00]: and then also the postage, right?

[00:24:53] [SPEAKER_00]: But usually their postage rate is better sometimes than you could get on your own.

[00:24:58] [SPEAKER_00]: So that might work out in your benefit.

[00:24:59] [SPEAKER_00]: So first thing to decide is, am I going to try to do this on my own

[00:25:04] [SPEAKER_00]: or am I going to find a local printer that can help me?

[00:25:07] [SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely. And I'm going to be honest.

[00:25:09] [SPEAKER_01]: I also prefer working through printing companies.

[00:25:12] [SPEAKER_01]: They have the experience.

[00:25:14] [SPEAKER_01]: They're like a well oiled machine, so they can get it out pretty quickly for you.

[00:25:20] [SPEAKER_01]: And if you pick like a local printing company, then you're helping,

[00:25:23] [SPEAKER_01]: you know, and a fellow small business out and they'll probably give you

[00:25:27] [SPEAKER_00]: like a decent deal.

[00:25:28] [SPEAKER_00]: And I have, I've done it both ways.

[00:25:30] [SPEAKER_00]: Chelsea, like when I worked at one of the the other companies years ago,

[00:25:35] [SPEAKER_00]: I they didn't want to spend money on working with a printer.

[00:25:38] [SPEAKER_00]: And so I had a shoestring, you know, on a shoestring budget

[00:25:42] [SPEAKER_00]: had to put all this together so it's doable.

[00:25:45] [SPEAKER_00]: We don't want if you guys think this would be a good fit for your business.

[00:25:48] [SPEAKER_00]: We don't want you to deter away from it because you don't have a big budget.

[00:25:51] [SPEAKER_00]: OK, yeah, just kind of see how much it would cost to do it on your own.

[00:25:55] [SPEAKER_00]: And then also you can ask a printer for a quote.

[00:25:58] [SPEAKER_00]: So any time you approach a printer, you can ask them for a quote

[00:26:01] [SPEAKER_00]: before you sign up to do any of the projects with them.

[00:26:04] [SPEAKER_00]: So that way, you know ahead of time what that's going to look like.

[00:26:07] [SPEAKER_00]: But the thing with the if you're going on your own

[00:26:10] [SPEAKER_00]: with the United States Postal Service, I would just say go online.

[00:26:15] [SPEAKER_00]: They have a wonderful resource on their website

[00:26:18] [SPEAKER_00]: that outlines the process of this and also go make friends

[00:26:23] [SPEAKER_00]: with the people at your local post office and ask them.

[00:26:27] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm telling you right now, I have met some of the nicest people there

[00:26:30] [SPEAKER_00]: because it's even they even have a different section for it.

[00:26:34] [SPEAKER_00]: So like, for example, I remember when I was doing this in my 20s,

[00:26:37] [SPEAKER_00]: I walked into the post office and I said, hey, I'm interested in sending out

[00:26:41] [SPEAKER_00]: postcards. We would provide the postcards.

[00:26:44] [SPEAKER_00]: Who do I need to talk to?

[00:26:46] [SPEAKER_00]: They sent me around to the back of the building.

[00:26:49] [SPEAKER_00]: I had to drive my car around to the back of the building

[00:26:51] [SPEAKER_00]: because they had a whole separate entrance for it.

[00:26:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and they had people that were dedicated to it

[00:26:57] [SPEAKER_00]: and they even would supply me with the little male bins

[00:27:02] [SPEAKER_00]: to bring the mail in so that way it was, you know, Postal Service certified all this.

[00:27:07] [SPEAKER_00]: So they're very helpful.

[00:27:09] [SPEAKER_00]: You just have to ask and, you know, just go in there and tell them like,

[00:27:12] [SPEAKER_00]: hey, I'm starting from scratch.

[00:27:15] [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know much.

[00:27:15] [SPEAKER_00]: So please just walk me through this.

[00:27:17] [SPEAKER_00]: How would this work and what would I need to pay for?

[00:27:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Right?

[00:27:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, don't be afraid to ask questions.

[00:27:23] [SPEAKER_01]: Yes.

[00:27:24] [SPEAKER_01]: Thing we say all the time, ask questions.

[00:27:26] [SPEAKER_01]: So your next step or probably your first step, who knows?

[00:27:31] [SPEAKER_01]: You need to know.

[00:27:33] [SPEAKER_01]: Chelsea's like a step, a step, like something you have to consider.

[00:27:37] [SPEAKER_01]: You have to know what your budget is.

[00:27:39] [SPEAKER_01]: OK, don't go into this blind because that's going to make it

[00:27:44] [SPEAKER_01]: very difficult to understand what you need to do.

[00:27:48] [SPEAKER_01]: You need to give yourself parameters.

[00:27:50] [SPEAKER_00]: So let's say I would say I have $750 that I'm willing to spend on this.

[00:27:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Go do the research and then you can see how much you could get for $750

[00:28:04] [SPEAKER_00]: and what all you could do.

[00:28:06] [SPEAKER_00]: It may mean you're not sending out as many postcards

[00:28:08] [SPEAKER_00]: because you're having to pay for other stuff.

[00:28:10] [SPEAKER_00]: You have to pay for the postage.

[00:28:12] [SPEAKER_00]: You have to pay for the printing.

[00:28:14] [SPEAKER_00]: Things to consider, are you going to print on one side or both sides?

[00:28:17] [SPEAKER_01]: That's going to cost more money.

[00:28:19] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, you're also going to want to know whether you're going to print

[00:28:22] [SPEAKER_01]: in color or black and white because that's going to change how much money you spend.

[00:28:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, color printing is always a little more expensive.

[00:28:30] [SPEAKER_00]: Funny story.

[00:28:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Years ago, this is true life.

[00:28:35] [SPEAKER_00]: I true life.

[00:28:37] [SPEAKER_00]: I was working with a physician and

[00:28:42] [SPEAKER_00]: we did a postcard campaign where, you know, I presented him.

[00:28:46] [SPEAKER_00]: He loved the imagery he was like done and done.

[00:28:49] [SPEAKER_00]: And he's like, how much is it I shared with him?

[00:28:53] [SPEAKER_00]: Now, I always price stuff in color because, y'all, when's the last time

[00:28:57] [SPEAKER_00]: you got something black and white in the mail?

[00:28:59] [SPEAKER_01]: If I got something black and white, like if my first impression would be that

[00:29:06] [SPEAKER_01]: someone died, you know, or like it's a crematorium or something.

[00:29:10] [SPEAKER_01]: Like that's my first impression.

[00:29:12] [SPEAKER_01]: Like if your postcard has like two people smiling on it, but it's in black and

[00:29:16] [SPEAKER_01]: white, I'm going to be like, OK, someone died.

[00:29:18] [SPEAKER_01]: Why are you sending this to me?

[00:29:20] [SPEAKER_00]: OK, so I priced it for color and I guess maybe it was a little too rich

[00:29:25] [SPEAKER_00]: for his taste and he asked me, he's like, what's the black and white cost?

[00:29:30] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm like, well, I really don't recommend that we do that.

[00:29:33] [SPEAKER_00]: And he insisted he wanted it.

[00:29:34] [SPEAKER_00]: So I gave him the black and white cost and it was significantly lower

[00:29:37] [SPEAKER_00]: because we're sending it out to quite a few people.

[00:29:41] [SPEAKER_00]: So he asked me to do black and white and I did not feel good about that.

[00:29:46] [SPEAKER_00]: I was like, OK, I can't imagine that.

[00:29:49] [SPEAKER_00]: Now listen, very different if you're sharing something with a lot of text.

[00:29:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe, right?

[00:29:57] [SPEAKER_00]: But like Chelsea said, this kind of goes into the are you are you printing front

[00:30:02] [SPEAKER_00]: and back? So maybe the front of it has an image and you could get away

[00:30:06] [SPEAKER_00]: with doing just the front in color and then the back only has text.

[00:30:09] [SPEAKER_00]: So then you could get away with doing just black and white on the back.

[00:30:13] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, these are all things that are going to affect your cost.

[00:30:17] [SPEAKER_00]: So let's really quickly when we've some of the talking points

[00:30:21] [SPEAKER_00]: that we talked about in regards to budget, are you doing just front

[00:30:25] [SPEAKER_00]: or just back? Are you doing front and back?

[00:30:27] [SPEAKER_00]: That's going to affect your cost.

[00:30:28] [SPEAKER_00]: The amount of postcards you're going to do is going to affect your cost

[00:30:33] [SPEAKER_00]: because remember, you're not just printing the postcard.

[00:30:35] [SPEAKER_00]: You're also paying for the postage.

[00:30:38] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. Then also, if you're targeting the mailing list,

[00:30:43] [SPEAKER_00]: that list is going to cost you something.

[00:30:46] [SPEAKER_00]: And then like we just said, the black and white variation,

[00:30:51] [SPEAKER_00]: which we hope all of you choose color.

[00:30:54] [SPEAKER_00]: OK, we live in a colorful world. Please choose color.

[00:30:58] [SPEAKER_01]: OK. I mean, unless you find a way to make it part of...

[00:31:03] [SPEAKER_01]: Like if you can creatively make it work, then fine.

[00:31:07] [SPEAKER_01]: But like if you're just trying to save a few cents,

[00:31:10] [SPEAKER_01]: yeah, black and white will be cheaper, but you might get the wrong impression.

[00:31:16] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. And let me go back to the mailing list thing.

[00:31:20] [SPEAKER_00]: If you guys, what could save money is if you guys are targeting

[00:31:24] [SPEAKER_00]: and doing a campaign that's targeting people that have already purchased from you,

[00:31:29] [SPEAKER_00]: current customers like, let's say, Sephora.

[00:31:32] [SPEAKER_00]: Sephora is like, we provide the printer with the mailing list

[00:31:36] [SPEAKER_00]: because we have the detailed information.

[00:31:39] [SPEAKER_00]: But you're not going to be able to do that unless you guys are capturing

[00:31:44] [SPEAKER_00]: somebody's mailing address.

[00:31:46] [SPEAKER_00]: OK. So if you're a spa and you are only capturing people's

[00:31:53] [SPEAKER_00]: email addresses for whatever reason, then you wouldn't be able to

[00:31:57] [SPEAKER_00]: take advantage of the direct mail.

[00:32:00] [SPEAKER_00]: So, but that would eliminate that cost.

[00:32:05] [SPEAKER_00]: If you provided them the list, then obviously they're not going to be charging you

[00:32:08] [SPEAKER_00]: for to pull any type of list.

[00:32:10] [SPEAKER_00]: And then also remember if you're using a printer, that's going to affect your cost

[00:32:14] [SPEAKER_00]: because a lot of times they're not just going to charge you

[00:32:17] [SPEAKER_00]: when you secure a quote from a printer for direct mail piece,

[00:32:21] [SPEAKER_00]: you're going to see that they're going to add a line item in that quote

[00:32:24] [SPEAKER_00]: that typically says like labor.

[00:32:27] [SPEAKER_00]: And what that is is whoever they are utilizing on their team to take them

[00:32:33] [SPEAKER_00]: from the printer to actually run them to the post office because they're doing

[00:32:37] [SPEAKER_00]: all that for you.

[00:32:38] [SPEAKER_00]: So they're going to charge you like an admin fee for that.

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[00:33:45] [SPEAKER_01]: Before we move on, Vivian, two things that we're forgetting for budget,

[00:33:51] [SPEAKER_01]: the size. Because postcards come in two different sizes.

[00:33:54] [SPEAKER_01]: You can do, I want to say three and a half by five or you can do six by nine.

[00:34:01] [SPEAKER_01]: Okay.

[00:34:02] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah so those are, think about it, you'll typically, you'll get like a four by six

[00:34:08] [SPEAKER_00]: postcard size.

[00:34:09] [SPEAKER_00]: So if you go on something like VistaPrint.com or Canva.com

[00:34:14] [SPEAKER_00]: or you can easily just put in Google like standard postcard sizes.

[00:34:19] [SPEAKER_00]: I think there are actually three different ones.

[00:34:21] [SPEAKER_00]: There's the really small one, the medium size one and then the jumbo ones.

[00:34:24] [SPEAKER_00]: I know a lot of you guys get in the mail and those are really effective because they stick out.

[00:34:30] [SPEAKER_01]: Exactly.

[00:34:31] [SPEAKER_01]: So the size that you pick is going to affect your budget.

[00:34:34] [SPEAKER_01]: Also what's going to affect your budget is if you need help with your design.

[00:34:39] [SPEAKER_01]: Chelsea why would we need help with our design?

[00:34:41] [SPEAKER_01]: We have Canva.

[00:34:42] [SPEAKER_01]: Okay.

[00:34:43] [SPEAKER_01]: Here's the thing.

[00:34:45] [SPEAKER_01]: When it comes to postcards and direct mailing,

[00:34:47] [SPEAKER_01]: there are a lot of rules you need to follow because it's mail, correct?

[00:34:54] [SPEAKER_01]: Like they need a fine, they need the address and the barcode.

[00:34:59] [SPEAKER_01]: So if you don't want to spend the extra money on help with the design,

[00:35:04] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to explain to you guys the rules that you need to follow.

[00:35:10] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to preface this by saying,

[00:35:12] [SPEAKER_01]: well link in the show description a link to like the image on USPS so that you can visually see it.

[00:35:21] [SPEAKER_01]: And I'm also going to tell you guys what I like to do is I like to like

[00:35:25] [SPEAKER_01]: take a screenshot of that image and then overlay it on top of my design

[00:35:31] [SPEAKER_01]: so that I can see how everything lines up.

[00:35:34] [SPEAKER_01]: This probably sounds so confusing.

[00:35:37] [SPEAKER_01]: Let me start.

[00:35:39] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, it's so let me say it's a template basically.

[00:35:43] [SPEAKER_00]: So you're utilizing it as a template and then you're making sure everything fits correctly in that template.

[00:35:49] [SPEAKER_00]: So that way the post office doesn't say ma'am we ain't going to mail this.

[00:35:54] [SPEAKER_01]: Once you visually see this, you're going to be like,

[00:35:56] [SPEAKER_01]: yo, because it is very confusing.

[00:35:59] [SPEAKER_01]: So for one, postcards cannot be smaller than three and a half by five.

[00:36:05] [SPEAKER_01]: Okay.

[00:36:06] [SPEAKER_01]: If you want to send out your postcards first class rates,

[00:36:13] [SPEAKER_01]: then it has to be no larger than six by nine.

[00:36:16] [SPEAKER_01]: If you want to do standard rates, it can be no longer than six and one eighth by 11 and a half.

[00:36:25] [SPEAKER_01]: Okay.

[00:36:25] [SPEAKER_01]: So that's sizing any wording, any logos, any important art has to be

[00:36:32] [SPEAKER_01]: one sixteenth from the edge.

[00:36:36] [SPEAKER_01]: If it's closer than that, it's probably going to get trimmed during the printing process.

[00:36:40] [SPEAKER_01]: You have to leave a one by one space in the upper right hand corner of your design

[00:36:48] [SPEAKER_01]: for like on the front of the postcard for postage.

[00:36:51] [SPEAKER_01]: Okay.

[00:36:52] [SPEAKER_00]: So that's one inch by one inch.

[00:36:54] [SPEAKER_00]: So basically, and y'all think about this, okay, a stamp.

[00:36:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:36:58] [SPEAKER_00]: A old school stamp needs to fit in that area and you don't need to go buy a stamp to see this

[00:37:05] [SPEAKER_00]: because what they do is as long as you leave that space clear for them,

[00:37:09] [SPEAKER_00]: they will put the insignia on there for you.

[00:37:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:37:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Exactly.

[00:37:13] [SPEAKER_01]: There should be no more than 7% of ink coverage.

[00:37:17] [SPEAKER_01]: So really don't put any ink there in the barcode areas to ensure that the scanning

[00:37:23] [SPEAKER_01]: machines and postal workers can all read everything easily because that's going to be

[00:37:28] [SPEAKER_01]: how they send out the mail.

[00:37:31] [SPEAKER_01]: The mail barcode, the barcode that you see on postcards is going to be about

[00:37:41] [SPEAKER_01]: three inches by five eighth inches.

[00:37:45] [SPEAKER_01]: It can be included in the address box if there is three and a half

[00:37:52] [SPEAKER_01]: inches of horizontal space available in the address area.

[00:37:56] [SPEAKER_01]: If there is no space in the address block, then it is going to be placed on the bottom of the

[00:38:01] [SPEAKER_01]: postcards toward the right corner.

[00:38:05] [SPEAKER_01]: So you're going to want to leave a three fourth inch by four and seven eighth inch space

[00:38:13] [SPEAKER_01]: in the lower right corner so that it can fit there.

[00:38:18] [SPEAKER_01]: You're also going to want to keep important design elements outside of this space because

[00:38:23] [SPEAKER_01]: again it's going to be covered by a barcode.

[00:38:27] [SPEAKER_01]: This all sounds so confusing.

[00:38:30] [SPEAKER_01]: That's what I'm saying.

[00:38:31] [SPEAKER_01]: We're going to link to a visual.

[00:38:33] [SPEAKER_01]: It's like a template.

[00:38:34] [SPEAKER_01]: Again, what I do is I like to like take a screenshot of it and then overlay it on my

[00:38:40] [SPEAKER_01]: postcard design so I can make sure where it says do not add ink or do not have anything

[00:38:47] [SPEAKER_01]: leave a blank.

[00:38:48] [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, and I'm almost certain that those they also have images of this available probably on the

[00:38:54] [SPEAKER_00]: USPS.com website.

[00:38:57] [SPEAKER_01]: That's what I'm going to link to.

[00:38:59] [SPEAKER_01]: Perfect.

[00:38:59] [SPEAKER_00]: But the interesting part of this is as we mentioned if you're using a print company to do it

[00:39:07] [SPEAKER_00]: and let's say that you don't want to mess with the design like you just want them to

[00:39:12] [SPEAKER_00]: put it together they have graphic designers in these print companies that will do that for

[00:39:16] [SPEAKER_00]: you that's going to come out a little bit more of a added cost.

[00:39:20] [SPEAKER_00]: So if you are going the route of doing it yourself like Chelsea said do what she does and take

[00:39:26] [SPEAKER_00]: it import it into whatever platform you're using to create your postcard design and then

[00:39:32] [SPEAKER_00]: just be sure that in the areas that they have marked off as like do not put stuff

[00:39:36] [SPEAKER_00]: here that you keep it clear.

[00:39:38] [SPEAKER_01]: Once you get the visual of it, it will make sense and it's not difficult again

[00:39:44] [SPEAKER_01]: just put it on top and make sure you don't have anything in the spaces that say don't put

[00:39:49] [SPEAKER_01]: anything.

[00:39:51] [SPEAKER_01]: Speaking this like trying to explain it very confusing.

[00:39:55] [SPEAKER_01]: I am sure that I lost a bunch of you.

[00:39:57] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm sorry.

[00:39:59] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and I think the like you said once you get the hang of it though once you've

[00:40:03] [SPEAKER_00]: done one you're like oh it's really easy.

[00:40:05] [SPEAKER_00]: I just I'm you know just sure that my design and keep everything like within this area

[00:40:10] [SPEAKER_00]: and it should be good to go but the other thing I do want to bring up with regards to

[00:40:15] [SPEAKER_00]: direct mail and you guys please refer back to the website if you to the usps.com website

[00:40:23] [SPEAKER_00]: if you have chosen the route of doing this on your own

[00:40:27] [SPEAKER_00]: and you're going to work directly with the USPS you know people

[00:40:33] [SPEAKER_00]: there is something you could go in there and actually for your small business you can

[00:40:38] [SPEAKER_00]: apply to get you know that insignia so what happens is your business can apply to get an

[00:40:46] [SPEAKER_00]: account to do direct mail postcards that account basically you kind of feed it like it's like

[00:40:53] [SPEAKER_00]: you'll put money in there and then that's what they use to pay the postage that you're paying

[00:40:59] [SPEAKER_00]: for particular like you know routes that you want to send to when you're working with a

[00:41:04] [SPEAKER_00]: printer you're using the theirs okay but what this does is it drops down the price so you're not paying

[00:41:12] [SPEAKER_00]: how much are stamps these days Chelsea I don't even know.

[00:41:16] [SPEAKER_01]: I was going to say you're asking the wrong person whenever I need stamps I say hey dad can I have a stamp?

[00:41:23] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay so you actually pay it's lower than what you're paying for postage because your

[00:41:30] [SPEAKER_00]: your it's a bulk rate that's what's called bulk postage rate okay so you can apply to get that for

[00:41:38] [SPEAKER_00]: your small business so that way you're not paying this outrageous fee for every single one of the

[00:41:43] [SPEAKER_01]: postcards that you send out. I just want to stress again that all of this probably sounds kind

[00:41:50] [SPEAKER_01]: of complicated it's not Vivian told you she did it when she was in her 20s okay or you can get

[00:41:57] [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know what that means. Well I'm just saying like you you were from a shadow college and you

[00:42:02] [SPEAKER_01]: were doing this killing it so you can figure it out I'm not okay now I hear it I'm sorry

[00:42:09] [SPEAKER_01]: that's not how I meant it my point was y'all can figure it out your independent SOBs your small

[00:42:17] [SPEAKER_01]: own businesses but if you don't want to do it yourself again you can find a mailing company

[00:42:22] [SPEAKER_00]: and they're usually really helpful. Yeah and I do hope that at least this conversation sparks some

[00:42:29] [SPEAKER_00]: interest the one thing that we want you guys to just recognize is there is a lot of talk about

[00:42:36] [SPEAKER_00]: social media marketing but let's not forget about some of the more traditional methods that

[00:42:41] [SPEAKER_00]: we have available to us because they are still effective as Chelsea said at the beginning

[00:42:45] [SPEAKER_00]: of this podcast she gave you guys some of the data points okay if people are still looking at their

[00:42:53] [SPEAKER_00]: mail and it's still effective and it makes sense for your small business why wouldn't you want to

[00:42:59] [SPEAKER_00]: throw that into the mix is it a little more expensive yeah it could be but I'm gonna give

[00:43:05] [SPEAKER_00]: you a perfect example of what I'm hoping one day that we will start to implement it has

[00:43:11] [SPEAKER_00]: always been my hope because we are here for small-owned businesses that anytime a small

[00:43:17] [SPEAKER_00]: business owner opens or applies for a business license that we would send them a mail or

[00:43:24] [SPEAKER_00]: a postcard that says hey congratulations by the way here are free resources that we have for you

[00:43:30] [SPEAKER_00]: right so that you're not on this marketing journey alone that is just one way that we

[00:43:35] [SPEAKER_00]: could utilize postcards to reach people that are potentially our target audience so there may be a

[00:43:43] [SPEAKER_00]: way that you can do the same for your small business it won't benefit everybody it may not

[00:43:49] [SPEAKER_00]: be a good fit for you but if you've never thought about it give it some thought this week and just

[00:43:54] [SPEAKER_00]: say hmm could that possibly benefit me and even if I can't do that today is it something I maybe

[00:44:00] [SPEAKER_01]: want to try next year I love that but that's really at its key we want you guys to at least

[00:44:06] [SPEAKER_00]: consider direct mail marketing and so that Chelsea concludes our discussion about direct mail

[00:44:15] [SPEAKER_00]: campaigns aka postcards so we hope that you guys found some value in this episode as my

[00:44:21] [SPEAKER_00]: beautiful little baby sister said earlier please go ahead and share this episode with a small

[00:44:27] [SPEAKER_00]: business that you think could really get some good information from it or take some good

[00:44:33] [SPEAKER_00]: information from it also please don't forget to go ahead and hit that subscribe button so that

[00:44:39] [SPEAKER_00]: you could get notified every time a new episode is released and y'all we want to hear from you

[00:44:44] [SPEAKER_00]: if you have a topic that we haven't covered or that you would like for us to cover please

[00:44:50] [SPEAKER_00]: email us at help at theseasonmarketer.com so that way we could get it in queue to bring a really

[00:44:57] [SPEAKER_00]: great discussion your way so thanks again and we hope to catch you in the next episode go out

[00:45:03] [SPEAKER_00]: there be the best SOB you can be