Direct Mail List Preparation – Setting Up for Success

How to Prep Your Direct Mail List for Success

Providing a clean direct mail list will help your campaign flow through production and get into the hands of customers faster!

Direct mail is a great way to promote a new business, share an existing business, provide discounts to customers, and much more. Conlin’s Print is here to help you make your dream campaign a reality!

It is quite simple to gather data, organize, and send it off. Follow these tips and you’re set up for success.

Gather Your Data

Who would you like to receive your direct mail piece? It is important to figure out what audience your mail will cater to so it in turn is as effective as possible. Make sure you get all your prospective audiences’ information. It will help to have a full name, address, suite or apartment number, city, state, zip code, email, phone, and any contact information will allow you to reach out to them in the future and ensure delivery to the right people.

Conlin’s Print is here to help you make your dream campaign a reality. Did you know? Direct mail is a great way to promote a new business, share an existing business, provide discounts to customers, and much more.

Direct Mail List Data Organization

Organizing your data is also a key part of mail list preparation. Conlin’s suggests an excel file format for ease of organization and workflow. Here’s an example of column separation – First Name, Last Name, Address Line 1, Address Line 2, City, State, Zip, and the last columns can have any additional information you captured while gathering data.

Prep the Files

Your design file and direct mail list go hand-in-hand. We suggest allowing a block of space for the clients information, barcodes, and postage. Ask us about sending a template or designing your mail piece for you! Send over your ideas anytime to kingofprussia@conlinsprint.com.

The final file preparation is to save a PDF and package your files. The package file should include images, fonts, and design files.

The Final Steps for Your Direct Mail List

Once you have created your data and design files, it is time to send them off to production. Make sure to include important information like:

• Date the mail will go out
• Size of your mail piece (height and width)
• If it is full color or black and white
• If it has an envelope, what size and type is it and does it have a window or not
• Stock you would like (we would love to help you find the perfect paper)
• What kind of postage – first class, standard, every door direct mail (EDDM), stamps, etc.
• Attach all of your prepped files (if they are too big to email, we work with DropBox, WeTransfer, Google Drive, Share Sync, and more)

The more information you include the better! Be aware of time sensitive materials with mail dates.

Let us know if you have questions about the process, and we will gladly guide you through anything.

More Tips for Clean Lists HERE.

Want more info on Direct Mail? View our Direct Mail Newsletter HERE.

Written by 
Heather Feraco
Digital Marketing Coordinator 

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