Dahlonega's Mail Distribution &

Database Management Specialists

Isn't snail mail obsolete? After all, we have e-mail, faxes, instant messages, cell phones and cheap long distance service. Who needs to send paper around the country anymore?

We consider that a three-part question and give a three-part answer:

• Paper mail (we call it real mail) can go from the East Coast to the West Coast in three days (first class), do it on 44 cents worth of fuel, reach any consumer in the nation, and it doesn't require the recipient to have any special equipment, software or skills.

• The electronic gadgets you listed are great conveniences and we use them in our office; but they supplement, not replace, paper mail. If you're as old as we are, you probably remember when business gurus predicted the "paperless office of the future." When it became obvious that wasn't going to happen, the gurus began talking about the "less paper office". These are the same people who are now predicting the end of paper mail.

• A recent issue of "Mailer's Companion" states that the USPS delivers mail to almost 138 million homes, businesses and Post Office boxes 6 days a week. How any of those pieces carry your competitors' message to the address of your customers? How many of those customers are now your competitors' customers?

Aren't you at least a little bit embarrassed to be advertising paper mail services on a website?

No. Paper communications and electronic communications are complementary - there's a place for both. Some tasks are best handled by e-mail, a few are best handled by telemarketing, and even a few by broadcast fax. We won't hesitate to recommend an alternative medium if we think it is better for your application.

Isn't junk mail wasteful?

Yes. Poorly targeted mass mailings are junk and they're wasteful of paper and postage - wasteful of your advertising dollars! We would be happy to see junk mail go the way of the door-to-door brush salesman. However, carefully aimed mass mailings are not junk and they're not wasteful. They're the most versatile, flexible and efficient advertising medium on the planet.

Why do I need you to address a letter?

You don't. You don't really need us to mail a thousand letters. But unless you have some unusual equipment and skills you do need us to address 10,000 letters. We have the equipment and skills to fold, tab, insert, seal, address and otherwise process your printing into mail pieces and get them in the mail stream at the lowest possible postage rate.

How many pieces do I need to mail to start with?

The USPS sets a minimum of 200 pieces for a batch of Standard Mail and 500 pieces for Presort First Class.

How do I get a mailing list?

Your most productive mailing list is your customer list. They recognize your logo and offerings, and you know they are interested in what you are selling. They are a captive audience. But no company can live for very long on a stagnant customer base. We'll work with you to identify the characteristics that distinguish your customers from the general population, then we'll find a list of prospects who share those characteristics.

There are thousands of mailing lists available and picking the right prospecting list is critical to the success of your advertising campaign. Choosing the correct audience is the most important aspect of your mailing.

How do I protect my mailing list?

Before you send your house list to any outsider, stipulate that the list remains your property and will not be used by them for any other purpose. Then seed your list with a valid address and a plausible, but fictitious, name.

What response rate should I expect from a mailing?

House lists, built from previous customers, typically draw much better than prospecting lists. Our customers have reported response rates on mailings to prospecting lists of 1/10th of one percent up to 6 or 8 percent. We suggest a cut-off level of one percent. That is, you probably should not mail if a one percent response rate times the percentage of responses that you can convert to sales, will not be profitable to you.

Do I need my own Postal permit and how do I get one?

If you mail First Class or Standard Rate you're welcome to use our Postal permits at no additional charge. Please contact us for the correct text prior to sending your job to the printer.

If you are a not-for-profit entity you can still use our Postal permit, but you need to first complete and submit some USPS forms. Call us and we will walk you through the process.

How much postage could my organization save if it had not-for-profit status?

About 40 percent of the Standard Rate postage.

What do the little bar codes on my mail mean? Are they some kind of secret code?

The bar codes are nothing but a machine readable form of your ZIP number. There's no secret coding or ID embedded here. The USPS encourages bar coding because their machines can read and process coded mail much faster than typewritten addresses. This encouragement takes the form of a postage discount of up to 7 cents per piece. In addition, bar coded mail tends to move through the Postal system faster.

Why can't I get the Postal discount when I print bar codes on an envelope using my word processor?

Today's word processors allow you to print a bar code on your envelopes. Using this option on your desktop machine is a good idea and it may speed your letter through the mails, but it does not meet the Post Office requirements for CASS-certified, bar coded mail. That procedure requires machine checking each address against a national database of valid ZIP codes, address standardization, traying, tray tagging and a lot more.

I have a niche product. What can mass mailing do for me?

If you are selling a niche product, a mass mailing won't do anything for you. But a direct mailing to carefully selected prospects can do wonders.

Isn't "direct mail" a dumb name? Whoever heard of "indirect mail"?

Yes it's a dumb name. But it's smart marketing.

Direct mail businesses belong in large cities. Why did you locate yours in a small town in the mountains?

Mail can originate anywhere and be delivered anywhere. Check out these photos and you'll see why we choose to live here!