With postal rate hikes putting the squeeze on catalog mailers, some alternative print formats are worth a second look, suggests a recent Target Marketing magazine article. One option is the "mini slim" catalog. It uses USPS-approved spot tack closures with fugitive glue for easy opening without page tearing and avoids the expensive, hard-to-open wafer seals of "slim jim" catalogs. The mini slim is also less costly to produce because of reduced page count compared with full-size and even slim jim catalogs. Plus, mini slims offer significant postal savings. While a typical 10.5" x 8" catalog mails at standard "flat" rates, the mini slim catalogs are slim-jim size (10.5" x 5.875") and under 3 ounces with up to 10 pages, which qualifies for standard letter rates and reduces postage 10% to 20%. What about response and sales? The Target Marketing article quotes at least one catalog mailer as claiming to reap sales as good or better from a mini catalog as from a standard 84-page book, in addition to driving prospects to the website -- all for a cost close to that of producing and mailing a postcard. A caveat: The author is a direct mail printer, who acknowledges that mini catalogs are no replacement for a full-size effort. But his piece is a timely reminder that online isn't the only alternative to mail; there are cost-effective supplemental print ideas out there. For more, see the article at http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/article/a-catalog-strategy-offset-usps-rate-hike/1
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