Margie Dana

Every summer we produce direct mail pieces to promote our fall conference. A postcard and a brochure get sent to specific audiences – people who’d make ideal attendees – like print buyers, graphic designers, and marketing professionals who oversee media campaigns.

Our postcards and show brochure are typical in that a team is involved. So I thought it might help people new to the field if I shared some of the important decisions I had to make, and why project coordination was key.

I worked with a copywriter, a graphic designer, a printer and a mail house. I’ve learned over the years that you can’t communicate too much with your team members. Ask questions, communicate with everyone in writing, and you’ll (hopefully) prevent problems with your printed materials.

Important Decisions for Customers to Make

Why print at all?
What to print?
What format and size should each printed piece be?
How to integrate print with other promotional efforts?
How much to spend on print?
What message should print materials deliver?
What do you want your print materials to do for you?
Who should get the print materials?
Who should print the materials?
When should the print materials be produced and mailed?
How should the pieces get mailed?
How will you track the effectiveness of the materials?

Important Steps of Each Printed Piece

Planning the projects
Scheduling each piece
Choosing & working with a writer, designer, printer and mail house
Determining fees/costs with each team member
Copywriting & approvals
Designing & approvals
Spec’ing paper with printer
Determining mailing lists
Readying mailing lists
Deciding which class of mail to use per piece
Coordinating production of each piece with each team member

I would say to you that coordination is the single most important facet of your direct mail campaign. Call it project management if you like (sounds fancier). You may work with award-winning writers and designers, premier printers and top-notch mail houses, but if you (the customer) want to prevent problems like delivery delays, mailing headaches and skyrocketing prices, coordination is critical.

Major Things to Coordinate – and Why

Mailing: I list this first because it’s that important. Get to know who’s responsible for your mailings and start talking. Ask about different postal classes and how each differs (and they do); i.e., speed of delivery, cost per piece, format, and traceability.

Because postage is so expensive, you must discuss your mailings with a mail expert who can advise you. Know all of your options and consider the timeline(s) for each class of mail you are considering.

You can mail your materials 1^st Class Presort and get the undeliverables returned. In this way, you can clean up your mailing lists. It costs more to mail this way, but it’s a smart way to maintain your databases.

Show your mailhouse digital dummies of each piece you’re producing, before anything’s printed. Find out what indicia you’ll need. You need to be sure the format and size of your pieces comply with USPS regulations and that they can be automated by the USPS. Designers should be up to speed on postal regulations.

Don’t wait till the pieces are printed to share the details with your mail house. Contact them first and discuss your plans.

Design: Discuss formats early with your designer. Get samples of pieces you like and share them. Make sure you’re both on the same page. Keep your designer in the loop about mailing issues.

If you work with a designer who’s off site, as I do, you’ll get your designs digitally to proofread and approve. Don’t do it all yourself. No matter how good you are, you’ll miss typos and other bloopers that someone else will catch.

When the design is approved and ready to be sent by your designer to the printer, ask for a real-size proof or make one yourself. Hold this proof in your hands. Review the folding. Make sure nothing is missing – copy or images. Don’t presume you can do this all from a digital proof. You want to hold a facsimile of the real thing and imagine getting it in the mail. Anything missing? Does everything make sense and drive your point home?

Printing: Unless budget is not an issue, find out about efficient format sizes by chatting with your printer. Talk about how the pieces will be addressed and mailed – this will help narrow down the type of paper you spec.

Working backwards from your written production schedule (that you’ve created in concert with your writer and designer), discuss the print production schedule to make sure your printer can make the delivery dates to your mail house.

Get a contact person if your sales rep will be out of the office for any reason, and get this person’s email and phone.

Send your printer a PDF of the designs for each piece you’re preparing – as early as you can. You want to head off any potential problem before the ink hits the paper.

Give your printer explicit written delivery instructions, and always get your samples same day if not earlier than the mail house gets the shipment.

Make sure your printer keeps you up to date on the job status. Peace of mind is priceless.

For two simple print projects, these took a lot of coordination and a mountain of details. You can imagine how much more intense a major print campaign can be.

By failing to coordinate the soup-to-nuts production of your direct mail materials, you could blow a mailing schedule and deliver materials too late for an event. You could produce something the USPS can’t mail efficiently. You could put copy or images on a mailing panel that violate USPS regulations – or which are marred by bar codes at the post office. You could choose a stock that affects the addressing process and causes the ink to smear.

Bottom line: Talk with your team members as early as you can and get their input. Show your printer and your mail expert the early designs and make sure you’re not heading for trouble. Keep everyone informed as the schedule progresses and if anything changes that impacts the schedule.

Every year I learn to ask more questions. So far, this year’s materials have progressed without so much as a hiccup. We’re early with both pieces. That we haven’t had to hit the panic button is a first. It comes from experience and being mindful of who needs to be consulted: The team does. I am lucky. I have The A Team.