Standard size sheets were not created for the envelope industry. As a result, many envelope vendors use sheeters (a machine) to convert rolls of paper into the most efficient sheet size possible.
For paper that does not come in rolls, ask your vendor if a larger size envelope may run on a standard size sheet more efficiently.
For example, a 6” x 9” envelope will run 6 out on a 28” x 40” sheet with roughly 6 inches of waste. For the same amount of paper, you can fit 6 up of a 6” x 11.5” envelope with minimal additional charges.
The December 2008 issue of our ‘Sample of the Month’ case study features our client New Jersey Monthly.
The story centers around a #10 outer envelope test they mailed out last year.
They tested 2 different #10 OEs against their control in a December 2007 mailing with a quantity of 25,000 each. The guts and offer of both test packages were exactly the same…the only difference was the outer envelope.
Neither test package beat the control, but when comparing the two OE tests, one performed about 18% better than the other.
The winner was the OE with the picture of NJ on it.
Next, I asked the Circulation Manager the following two questions…
What was the creative strategy behind both OEs?
Sage Communications created both OEs and the creative strategy behind them was to develop a design that was more official and business-looking, but built around the word “Free” pertaining to our premium.
The addition of what looks like handwriting on the red bar OE adds a sense of urgency to the value the potential subscriber will receive if they act right away.
On both OEs it presents a clear offer of a free gift upfront and makes the reader want to open the envelope to see what it’s all about. Also, both had metered postage which added to the authenticity of the packages and increased the chances of the recipients opening them up.
What lessons did you learn?
What we learned from the test is that a clean professional look with a bold color design can make direct mail stand out a little more and increase response. The addition of the bold orange state of NJ outline on the one OE showed a sense of familiarity to a potential subscriber. Since an OE is the first representation of our offer, it made the recipient want to open it to see what the free gift was about.
We wrote a post recently that gave some test ideas for outer envelope variations, and we thought it would be good to follow this up with a video giving visual examples.
We mention about a dozen tweaks in the video so I think you’ll find it very helpful.
And if you’d like to add some ideas to the list, please participate by leaving a comment below. Thanks!
Want Samples? Send your request to ryan (at) ballantine.com
Standard size sheets were not created for the envelope industry. As a result, many envelope vendors use sheeters (a machine) to convert rolls of paper into the most efficient sheet size possible. 
The December 2008 issue of our ‘Sample of the Month’ case study features our client 
