Are Your Mail Pieces Getting Tossed by the Post Office?

The post office is one of the most overlooked aspects of direct mail. The reality is, between you dropping off your mail piece and it landing in your reader's hand, a very complicated process has to happen.

Someone has to take your mail stash and put it in the post office system. The mail has to get sifted, then go all over the country to different post offices. Those post offices have to sort the mail, then send individual postmen out to deliver those mailers.

In each of these steps, there's the chance that someone will decide to simply toss out your mailer. Don't think it'll happen? Think again. It's one of the biggest problems in the direct mail industry.

Anytime a mailman thinks that a mail piece is "spam" or unwanted mail, they may think it's okay to just toss it out. After all, it's not like the recipient is looking for the mail piece - who would know if they cut ten minutes off their delivery route and just tossed it in the trash instead?

Learning to get your mail delivered is a crucial component of a successful campaign.

==> The #1 Most Important Factor

The #1 most important thing you should do is apply a physical, real first class stamp.

Do not use a printed or automated first class stamp. That instantly tells the mailman that the stamp was placed by an expensive machine, rather than a real person.

Hire someone to apply real stamps to envelopes. There are also machines that can do this today.

First class mail should either be delivered to the recipient or returned to sender. If the mail piece just disappears, the sender will know something happened. That fact alone keeps postmen in check.

==> The Envelope

The second most important thing to consider is the envelope.

Your envelope should look like one of two things: either an official looking envelope, as if it came from the government, phone company or lawyer, or it should look as if it were a personal letter.

Never, ever use direct mail that looks like direct mail. For example, don't put "Special Offer Inside!" in red on the outside of your envelope.

==> Checking to See If Your Mail Is Delivered

The best way to see if your mail is actually getting delivered is to put test addresses in your mailing lists.

Put at least ten test addresses in each mailer, more if it's a large mailer. Sprinkle these test addresses all throughout the country to get an accurate read.

If only 3 out of 10 of your mail pieces are received, then you know you have a major problem. Try dropping your mail off at a different mail center or changing your envelope.