Print Buying Direct

The best way to survey how effective your newsletter is…part 2 – 14th October 2009

Electronic newsletters let you easily collect feedback from readers. Readers like responding this way, because they don’t have to go through any hassle. They simply select their choice and click “Okay” or “send”.
In addition, depending on how your newsletter is set up, you can also track which articles people read- all without ever asking the reader. This data is automatically provided to the publisher and reader will result in much improved content and design. For the first time in the history of publishing, editors know what people actually look at and how long they look at it.

Tips for increasing response rates to your newsletter

Surveys often suffer from low response rates. Here are five ways to increase your response rates:
Keep the survey short and non-intrusive

• Leave room for people to write and make sure the design of the survey is clean and professional-looking
• Choose your questions carefully; avoid offending or demanding too much
• Provide incentives to reply
• Conduct a follow-up by phone, e-ail or mail to non-respondents

Keep the length to one page or two screens. State within the instructions how long it will take to complete the survey.

Begin the questionnaire with easy questions, such as title and company information. Write as many questions as possible with close answers, and give the reader boxes to check or click on. This encourages respondents to continue, because they see how quickly they’re moving through the questionnaire. Save open questions, such as,” Why are you a member of the professional association?” for the end of the survey.

Incentives also increase response rates. When each respondent wins something, the response will usually be higher than with promised incentives, such as prize draws. Drawings are only effective if the prize is substantial and respondents feel they have a good chance of winning. In one survey, for example, the incentive was a drawing for a product worth £500. In a second example, each person who returned the survey received a flashlight worth about £1. The first survey had an initial response rate of 3%, while the second enjoyed a 14% response.

Follow-up techniques can also help your response rate. About 10 days after the initial mailing, mail all non-respondents a reminder postcard that emphasises the importance of the study and of a high response rate.
Keep track of those who have replied to the survey, and send a second copy of the survey to non-respondents. Usually, between 75% and 85% of the eventual return will be back within three weeks. From this, you can predict the final response rate from the first mailing.

To get a 100% response rate, call the reaming non-respondents and conduct the survey over the telephone.

Look – Check out our NEW Christmas and New Year Promos – promote your business with our offers on Wall Calendars, Desk Calendars, Xmas Cards, Promotional Wall Calendars and CD Calendars. We’ve recently redesigned all of our Print Buying Direct website and cut our prices on all promotional print.

For more information on printing and graphic design please see some of our recent blog articles;

• The best way to survey how effective your newsletter is…
• Every question has a goal (Newsletter printing)
• How to Conduct Your Survey about your Newsletter
• Newsletter Print and Design – Why the Pros Survey Fewer People
• Newsletters – Pinpointing Reader’s Interests – part 2
• Newsletters – Pinpointing Reader’s Interests – part 1
• Printing – Paper and board – Certified and recycled
• Printing – Paper and board – Pricing and availability
• Printing – Paper and Board
• Print Finishing
• Digital Presses
• Digital Printing
• Offset Printing
• Print Production Management
• How to create a marketing plan incorporating promotional newsletters
• All you need to know about Digital Printing
• The Future of Printing
• Print Finishing
• Variable Data Printing
• ISO 12647 and Colour Management in Printing
• Pre-press – In Flight, Pre-Flight and Post-Flight
• Print, Paper and Recycling
• Design of the times – (Article reproduced from Printing World February 2009)
• Pre-press – 20 years of change
• Transactional and Direct Mail
• 7 Guidelines For Good Newsletter Printing
• Graphic Design
• Printing – Where in the world are we?
• Improving Your Response Rates to Leaflets, Flyers and Brochures
• HINTS & TIPS…The sales letter
• The History of Printing
• 10 Tips for Creatives in a Digital World
• Eight Easy Ways to Improve Digital Print Sales to Creative and Design Agencies
• Transactional and Variable data printing
• PUR or EVA? That is the question
• What you need to know about…… Perfect Binding
• What’s the point of Recycling Paper and Board?

Print Buying Direct is a Trading Name of The Printing House Ltd. One of the UK’s leading quality printing companies for short run, long run and large format colour printing. Based in Crewe, Cheshire and delivering to customers across the UK and Ireland.

Also see our other websites

Main Site: www.theprintinghouseltd.co.uk

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Sports Book Print: www.golfclubcentenarybooks.co.uk

Improving Your Response Rate to Leaflets, Flyers and Brochures – 24th February 2009

A huge number of factors affect the response rate to your leaflet, flyer, postcard or brochure campaign. This tip-sheet is designed to make you aware of the main factors and give you some ideas for how to improve the response of your next campaign.

The List
The quality of the list is the single most important factor affecting response rate. Consider also that people who are not inundated with offers are more likely to respond so you may increase response by using lists that are less frequently used, or by targeting so as to avoid the inundated.

As an example, Fleet Managers are among the most frequently targeted people, and yet owner/managers and directors of similar sized companies without a dedicated Fleet Manager rarely receive vehicle related mailings (leaflet, flyer, postcard or brochure), even though their companies need vehicles.

The Offer
If the product or service you are promoting is lacking the basic features expected or your price is too uncompetitive, your response will inevitably be poor. Assuming these fundamentals are OK, you may consider the following to help to boost response;

• Offer a free sample or trial to enable your prospects to experience your product, quality, service etc.
• Offer an incentive (e.g. a free gift). Be careful with the economics here. Ideally link the incentive to purchase rather than simple response. The gift itself should be relevant to your target audience, or failing that, of universal relevance (e.g. a pen that we all have a use for).
• Offer a discount or special price. Again be careful with the economics. You may find that a 20% discount will increase response sufficiently to cover its cost but that a 30% discount fails to pull the extra response needed. Experiment with different ways of describing the discount – “buy one get one free” usually works better than, “2 for the price of 1”, “half price”, “50% off” etc.
• Always set a limited time to respond if providing an incentive, discount etc. This encourages the recipient to actually respond rather than putting it aside until later.
• Provide some sort of contest – people like to prove they are clever, funny etc – or offer a prize draw but again beware the economics (ideally link it to purchase – not response) and make sure you obey the rules (see the Advertising Standards Authority website at www.asa.org.uk).

The Mail-piece
Don’t let your creativity run too wild – but don’t be boring. Don’t sacrifice clarity and response generation in favour of cutting edge creative genius. Relevant photographs (particularly people’s faces, product close-ups and before/after shots) increase response more than drawings or diagrams.

Timing
Obvious really – make sure you time your mailing to drop at a time when your prospect is most likely to buy (e.g. in time for Christmas, ahead of their busy period etc). For business mailings try to avoid times when your prospect is likely to be away or manically busy (industry trade fairs etc). There is some evidence that business mailings that arrive midweek are more responsive than those arriving on Monday or Friday. This is particularly true for email campaigns.

Many believe that consumer mailings are more likely to be read thoroughly at weekends. Many mailers avoid the holiday period altogether but a growing number have realised that not everyone is away at the same time and that those that are at home are more likely to read a mailing (leaflet, flyer, postcard or brochure) when there is less on the doormat.

Follow-up
Very important. To increase your response rate consider contacting each prospect more than once – and at least quarterly. Increasing the frequency normally increases the response rate and many direct marketers now prefer to contact prospects monthly. According to The Royal Mail Guide to Direct Mail for Small Businesses, a follow-up mailing arriving 10-14 days after the initial mailing will normally increase response by 25-40%.

Consider following up your mailing with a telephone call. Particularly in business to business, a follow-up telephone call 3-4 days after the mailing has landed can significantly increase your response. A call-mail-call pattern can produce even greater results.

The Response Mechanism
The simple rule is to make it as easy as possible to respond. Different people will prefer to respond in different ways so make sure you offer all the options (mail, fax, telephone, email, web-site etc).

Do as much of the work as possible for the prospect. If you provide a reply card, fill in the prospect’s details – this can increase response by up to 15%. Always repeat the main points of the offer on the reply-card – people may just keep the reply-card and wonder later what it was about. Repeating the offer may just get it sent back to you. Consider paying the costs of response. Use reply-paid postage (you only pay for the replies that are actually mailed). Use a free-call or local-rate telephone number. If your prospect must pay the full call charge, use a non-geographic number to avoid the “not local – too
distant” argument. Always tell your prospects how much (or how little) the call will cost –
many people confuse 0945 (local rate) with 0898 (premium rate) and will assume the worst.

Test, Measure, Improve
If you are considering a large volume mailing (leaflet, flyer, postcard or brochure), do a test-run initially to a smaller number to ensure the response is acceptable. You may even try two or more different lists, letters or offers to see which works best (make sure you can tell from the responses which campaign they came from).

Beware of mailing to very small volumes as you may get a very low or zero response and conclude (wrongly) that the campaign does not work when the same campaign sent to 1000 or more would deliver more statistically significant (and acceptable) results. Direct marketing is part science, part art. You will not get everything right first time. You will need to refine your campaign over time to maximise your response. The crucial thing is to measure the response from each campaign and learn from the experience, thereby improving your response rate over time.

The Printing House Ltd

Print Buying Direct is one of the Uk’s leading suppliers of design and print, based in Cheshire (UK) but supplying all of the UK & Ireland.

Please feel free to browse our print buying website and use it as a useful tool – we are adding new pages and offers every week. So keep popping back, subscribe to our printing blog, email info@printbuyingdirect.co.uk or call call 0870 950 8444.

For more information please see our websites

Print Buying Direct is a brand of The Printing House Ltd, Crewe, Cheshire, UK

Keep Mailing – 3rd February 2009

In any recessionary period there’s always a danger to panic and start looking into what areas of expenditure can be cut quickly in order to reduce a companies outgoings. Reducing the number of printed or mailed out items is an easy option to cut, especially with the rising cost of postage, but are your competitors increasing their mailings and taking some of your market share?.

There is a cheaper way to send out your existing number of printed newsletter, leaflet or brochure mailings and with the money saved you can actually increase the number of items you send. How?, by speaking to Cheshire’s largest print and mailing company – The Printing House.

Talk TODAY to one of our mailing specialists about the options available via Mailsort.
Mailsort 1 – 1st Class next working day delivery
Mailsort 2 – 2nd Class delivery in 3 working days
Mailsort 3 – Economy package with delivery within 7 working days

So what are you waiting for? Call now and see how we can save you money on your mailings.