What kinds of direct mail envelope mistakes get in the way of good marketing and lower open rates among recipients? And how can you avoid them in your own campaign?
At Integra Graphics Synergy, we’ve been answering this question for decades. Even though envelopes cost extra and add an extra layer of effort between the reader and their reading, sometimes they’re necessary. And as long as you avoid missteps in your envelope game, you won’t need to worry about whether these envelopes have a negative impact on your campaign.
We’ve seen just about everything there is to see in direct mail marketing by now, including some snafus with envelope usage that could have been avoided with a bit of foresight. We’re here to give you that little bit of foresight so you can sidestep mistakes and get straight to the successful direct mail campaign you’ve been envisioning.
So, without further ado, here are the four most common direct mail envelope mistakes along with the steps you can take to avoid them.
Envelope-Related Direct Mail Mistake #1: Use of Envelopes When They Aren’t Necessary
This may seem like an obvious point, but it’s an easy one to overlook. When you think about something showing up in the mail, you probably picture an envelope, and you might therefore assume that your mailing should have envelopes too. The truth is that many direct mail campaigns see immense success without envelopes.
Think about the reasons you might decide to include envelopes in your direct mail marketing. If you find that they're not applicable to you, you may want to consider another avenue for direct mail marketing, such as postcards or self-mailers.
Envelope-Related Direct Mail Mistake #2: Bad Timing for Your Mailing
If you're planning to go with a stock size, shape and design for your envelopes, you're probably in the clear on this point and don't need to worry about a misstep.
On the other hand, if you're planning to request envelope customizations or select options that aren't generally on hand with most printers, you may want to build at least a few extra days into your campaign schedule.
To learn about the typical timelines for projects handled by Integra, try our turnaround calculator below and receive an estimate for your campaign.
The sooner you can let your printer know about your design and mail preferences, from the envelope to the content inside, the more smoothly your campaign will go from start to finish.
Try to contact a print management company about your campaign roughly three to four weeks before your expected mailing date. If you plan to coordinate all professionals and steps involved in your campaign on your own rather than using a print broker, consider building even more time into your schedule.
Envelope-Related Direct Mail Mistake #3: Easy Visibility Through the Envelope
One of the major reasons many businesses use envelopes in their direct mail marketing is to protect the privacy of their direct mail recipients. One issue to keep in mind is that many paper types used in envelope manufacturing aren’t fully opaque. You can solve this issue in one of three ways:
- Placing the pages inside strategically: You could make sure the paperwork has printed information on only one side, then fold it so that the outsides are blank. As long as the paper inside is thick enough, that combined with the envelope should keep any sensitive content safe from prying eyes.
- Selecting a thicker paper stock for your envelopes: It’s possible — but not always standard practice — to order a thicker, more opaque paper stock for your envelopes. Find out if your supplier, printer or mail house has thicker envelopes on hand, and remember to factor in thickness and weight limitations within USPS regulations before deciding if this route is the best one for your campaign.
- Choosing envelopes with security tint: You’ve probably seen envelopes with a color or pattern on the inside. This coloring is called “security tint,” and it’s designed to add extra privacy to envelopes to obscure what’s inside even if the paper is thin. You can choose two different types of security tint:
- Stock: Most businesses providing envelopes, from printers to mail houses, will keep some envelopes with security tint in their inventory. You might see solid red, solid blue or striped or plaid designs, for instance.
- Custom: If you really want to take your branding to the next level and add an extra personalized touch, you can design your own security tint or ask your print professional to design one for you. Whether it’s your primary company color or a repetition of your logo, it should do the trick for adding privacy to your mailing. Check with your printer to make sure your custom tint adds your desired level of opacity. Bear in mind that the cost of your envelopes could rise anywhere from 30% to 50% with a custom tint on the inside.
- Stock: Most businesses providing envelopes, from printers to mail houses, will keep some envelopes with security tint in their inventory. You might see solid red, solid blue or striped or plaid designs, for instance.
Another option is to avoid including sensitive information in your mailed content altogether, but to instead include a QR code or URL leading people to your site, where they can login through a secure portal. Check out our article on protecting consumer privacy for more tips on secure direct mail marketing.
Envelope-Related Direct Mail Mistake #4: A Bland Exterior
While you don't need to cover every inch of your envelopes to engage your customers, you should be careful to include some graphics or messaging to catch their interest. Using envelopes does add an extra barrier to entry when it comes to getting eyes on your messaging. You'll need to incentivize your prospects at least enough to convince them to open theirs up.
You can boost your envelope open rates with a number of marketing tactics, including:
- Taking them up a size or two
- Adding a window
- Including graphics on the front, back or both
For more on ways to increase your direct mail envelope open rates, check out our article on the topic.
Choose and Design Your Envelopes With Confidence
It's not difficult to make a mistake in the complex and multifaceted world of direct mail marketing, and envelopes are no exception. Fortunately, you can plan proactively to avoid mistakes and design your envelopes — assuming you choose to use them — to add to your overall success rather than detracting from it.
If you're in the process of choosing a professional to help with your envelopes along with the pages inside of them, you may be wondering what it's like to work with Integra Graphics Synergy. Our article on the topic will help you decide for yourself whether or not we'd be a good fit for your project.
Perhaps you're ready to dive right in and make your direct mail strategy a success. Click below to start the conversation about your envelopes — and your campaign as a whole — with our print and mail experts.
Topics:
