Your postcard campaign can have customer-winning copy, design, and offer and still flop because the U.S. Postal Service rejects it or makes it costly to reach target mailboxes. A recent Target Marketing magazine article reminded direct mailers of the sometimes complex postal regulations for postcard design. Some are pretty basic, such as size: To qualify for a postcard postage rate, dimensions can be 3.5 X 5 inches or 4.25 X 6 inches; that 6 X 9 postcard will stand out in the mail, but it will require the higher, letter rate. Paper stock must be at least .007 inch thick; anything flimsier will be devoured by postal machines. The aspect ratio, meaning mail panel length divided by height, must be between 1.3 and 2.5 to run through post office equipment. You also need to be careful with the placement, dimensions and treatment of the barcode addressing area, whether using an address block or a clear zone. For more details on this last point, and other tips for USPS automation and postal rate compliance, see the article at http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/blog/why-cant-i-mail-it-usps-regulations-postcards#
No comments:
Post a Comment