Interesting stats Barb about direct mailings, I'm glad that you posted them. Makes me think twice about possibly adding this to my marketing plan.

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Sherri Lynne Barlow
Sequoia Virtual Business Solution

Just when I had decided that postcards were the way to go...now I'm thinking probably emails. You are all helping me figure out things I've never had to figure out before.
Thank you.
Judy

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I send out 176 postcards with each mailing and have received AT LEAST 1 client from each mailing. I create/cut my own cards (4/page) and have OfficeMax copy them on the bulk card stock I purchase at a local paper warehouse (marble print ).

176 cards - 4/page (44 pages)

Paper - $5.72 (.13/sheet @ $33/ream of 250)
Photocopy - $5.28 (.06/page 2-sided b&w - add $44 for color on 1 side)
Postage - $49.28

As you can see, the cost per mailing for black/white print is approx. $60. The cost if I add color to one side is still only $105. Not only is this a tax deduction, but even if I only get a 1-time 2-hour project from the mailing, it pays for itself.

To date, I have sent out 3 mailings and received 2 ongoing clients and 3 project clients. I think the key is making sure that your mailing grabs the potential clients attention...

1 of my project clients also referred me to another client who became ongoing.

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Lily Chambers, The Virtual Office Goddess, LLC
Author "How to Do Your Own Small Business Bookkeeping"

Lily,

Thank you very much for posting the pricing of your mailing. I've wondered if it would be worth it, but not really sure what the price of a postcard mailing *would* be. This makes me think once I go live a mailing would be an affordable option!

Cheers,

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Circle Assistants

Originally Posted by Seaboard Consulting

Does anyone know where to get a list of new business openings in your area? I live in the Tampa Bay Area and have not found anything yet.

Hi Debra,
I live in Florida and my county has a website that has listings of all the new businesses that have registered each month. You may want to check with your local tax collectors office or business registration office and ask them.

Good luck!

Lisa

I took Lily's advice & use ReferenceUSA. I have access from home, which is really nice. The criteria selection for businesses is pretty extensive. You can get a really focused list.

I mixed my list up, too. I have attorneys, accountants, caterers, landscapers, builders, dance studios, photographers, insurance agents, etc. I take the additional step of looking each business up in DEX. If they aren't in DEX, I don't send them a card. I hope this additional & time consuming (!) step weeds out a lot of returned cards.

I calculated that I can afford to send out 70 cards a week. Each week, for 8 weeks, I will mail cards to 70 of the businesses on my list. Starting week 9 I will recycle the weekly lists & send each business a second card & in another 8 weeks, a third card. After the third card, I'll evaluate the response I got & then make a decision if I want to continue with this. My card is really cute & distinctive, so I know they'll recognize it after 2-3 times. Now whether they'll call is another matter!

At a 2% return rate, that would net approximately 11 clients over a 6 month period. I would be thrilled with results that good! Even if I get half that, I'll probably do it again.

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Lezly Harrison
Laserdog Productions - Code that Doesn't Bite

I've found that a direct mailing campiagn must be very focused on the group or industry. If you don't follow-up with a phone call or postcard mailing, you've wasted your time and investment in paper, etc. The return is not high but may be a way to reach businesses who are not out networking.

Janet
eBusinessOnlineSupport

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Janet Falkenberg
ExecuStrive, Details Get Done

Yes I have a direct mailing list. I use my list to send out postcards. Postcards are cheaper to mail ($0.28) than regular letters ($0.44).

I download my mailing lists from Reference USA for free through the library. If you already have a library card, most libraries let you log in online then access Reference USA for free. By logging in online I can download the lists directly to my computer. This saves a lot of data entry time. When using a library link for Reference USA you can only download 25 records at a time, but there is no limit as to how many times you download. Therefore, I just download one page at a time until I have all the requested records. (This still saves time over manual data entry.)

Simply log onto your local library
Search for Reference USA
Click Access Online
Click Go to Residential Phone Directory - Reference USA Website
Click on one of the databases (US Businesses, US New Business, etc.)
Enter your Custom Search Criteria
Create Search
Sort Records and Download

Julie

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Julie | Virtual Resource Services, Inc (VRSI)
http://www.vrsioffice.com

ReferenceUSA is my new favorite tool and best of all I can access it directly from my college's library homepage.

This was definately the place for me. I was jsut gettng a quote for a mailing list. And it was outrageous. Some ran as much as 1000.00

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Linda Henderson, Outsourcing Outlet

Is there a specific sale volume that I should look at to attract more clients?

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Linda Henderson, Outsourcing Outlet

I am loving this info....but I know that if I use direct mail, I will definitely follow up with both an email & phone call. I really like the idea of being able to use Reference USA. This is really encouraging.

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Crystal Chambliss - YourAdminCenter
Owner (Virtual Assistant)

Expressing our business through emails is one of the best way for marketing.For this direct email marketing avail the service from the website tucktail.com Most people welcomes the emails based on marketing,so that they could come to know the business details.

We have a direct mail marketing list hahaha! (its so odd if we didn't) My tip to you is if your doing this for a locally. Talk to the groups of people in the area (Church groups, local watch, newspaper boys etc.) they can give you info on what people are into and you can direct your mail to them. we also do demographic studies so that we can give mail to your target population.

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Ricanela of Community mailers & Printing
Direct Mail company in Los Angeles

Who has the best deals on post cards? Should I go local printing or online?