It’s the dog days of summer. And while account reps, suppliers and vendors are frolicking on beaches and dancing through dandelion-covered meadows, fundraisers are busy planning for the fall.

To the rest of the world magic just happens. A campaign is pitched, accepted and executed. No problem.

If that were the case you’d be sitting on a patio sipping beergaritas and getting some badly needed vitamin D instead of reading a blog post on making your next direct mail campaign easier.

Alas, there’s work to be done. And you’re the one to do it.

While account reps, suppliers and vendors are relaxing, fundraisers are planning for the fall. Click To Tweet

But the fundamental injustice of this situation irks me. So I’ve come up with some simple hacks that will help you save money and cut down on the amount of work needed to make your fall direct mail fundraising campaign deliver results. If you follow just one of these tips you’ll be in good shape for your next review. Keep on top of all of them and you’ll be the summertime superhero, breaking fundraising records.

Use Machineable Admail rates

Canada Post has slowly been easing up the strict rules surrounding the use of the much cheaper Machineable Admail rate. You may think that postage has gone up recently but with machineable it means your postage costs have decreased. You can save 5 cents a piece if you qualify — that’s $500 on a small 10,000 piece mailing.

A basic postcard or letter in an envelope will almost certainly qualify for this lower rate, but if you use a lot of graphics, make a thick, bulky package or use hard-to-read fonts, then take a bit more care in your design and call on an expert or Canada Post to assess the machinability of the mail piece. You don’t want to find out too late that you don’t qualify. There is a ring of fire waiting for the unknowing mailer who goes over the 50 gram mark…it is a budget-breaking postage cost increase that you’ll want to avoid. Costs jump from $0.45 to $0.67 each. Those extra grams can be a killer.

Use the latest technology

The safest route in business is to simply replicate the same processes year after year. It’s human nature. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But that kind of thinking is killing your summer and probably a lot of your fall.

New variable data print inkjet technology is a shockingly cost-effective alternative to traditional direct mail printing. Beyond the superior customization opportunities with messaging, these new printers eliminate the need for intensive project management, because so many of the steps that were a burden simply go away. Watch this video and see how a typical 5 day job is reduced to just a couple of hours.

The end result is a DM print campaign that not only costs about the same as it did last year, it’s eliminated 5 days from the production schedule – allowing you to enjoy some quality time with friends and family before the first frost.

Canada Post discounts

At the end of the day the biggest cost involved with a DM campaign is usually the postage. Did you know that earlier this year Canada Post started offering discounts based on the amount of money you spend per year? There is a very good chance that your rep at CP told someone about this. There is an equally good chance that this information never made it as far as you. As a result you might be missing out on postage savings you are entitled to. So get on the phone or email your Canada Post rep and ask for a discount. Don’t know your rep or where to start? Call me and I’ll have someone from our award-winning Canada Post Expert Partner Team help you out.

If you have any questions about these hacks, be sure to send me a note. Saving fundraisers time and money, while delivering top-shelf service is what I do.

Steve Falk
President / Business Development
Email info@primedata.ca
Phone 289.802.0584

Did you see this?

Canada Post white paper shows the relationship between direct mail and online marketing using neuroresearch.