How to Outsource Your Postcard Mailings

I openly admit my guilt. Regular customer contact has not been high on my project list. I know that no matter what size business you run, ignoring proven customers is not wise. That’s why, for me, this practice must change.

The U.S. Postal Service works with small and solo business owners to make customer connections simple and easy. At last week’s Small Business Summit in New York, postal service reps encouraged me to try their mailing service, which is called NetPost. It’s a service that creates postcards and mails them directly from their facility to your customers using your mailing list.

The postcards contain striking colors and include a high gloss coating, making them very sturdy. They’re quite impressive. There’s also a black-and-white color option.

Will using their service cost more than a 24 cent stamp for each postcard? Sure. But think about the benefits of having a mailing service create, label, stamp, and mail postcards to customers. The process is out of your hands, and it gets done within one day. That’s a huge benefit.

One of the postal reps personally took my business card and said she’d call me as a follow up to learn if I tried NetPost. In turn, she gave me her business card and asked me to call her if I had any questions, problems, or concerns while using the service. That’s similar to having my own consultant, free of charge.

I’ve talked about outsourcing in the past, wondering how small and solo business owners can easily pass their projects to virtual assistants and other professionals. I believe this is one job that’s worth the cost.

Here’s the page that tells you about the service.

I must update my customer list before moving forward. Too bad the Postal Service can’t send someone to my office to do this part.

I’ll update the project here as I go through the following steps:

1. Develop a message (what benefit-driven message will I provide to customers receiving the postcard?)
2. Update my mailing list.
3. Select a postcard graphic and submit my list to the post office.
4. Evaluate the ROI (return on investment).
5. Delete bad addresses from postcards returned to me, and continue updating my list on a regular basis.
6. Set a quarterly schedule for postcard mailings.

Have you tried NetPost or, like me, do you plan to use it?

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