The post office offers many tools to help make a direct mail campaign execute problem-free and more cost-effective.

One of the areas that we take great advantage of here at Ballantine is our local Postal Design Specialist.

These employees of the USPS are given the task of making a mail piece design flow through the postal system with no problems such as machine jam-ups or not qualifying for the automated mail postage rate.

The ideal time to take advantage of them is when you’re in the early design stages of your project. You can send them a mock-up of your mail piece and they will respond quickly with suggestions.

All of their information is based on the Domestic Mail Manual — actual written rules that all mailers must follow. If not followed, the consequences could be very expensive.

For example, if the post office deems your letter size mailer as non-machinable, the surcharge could be as high as $0.25 per piece.

For information on a Postal Design Specialist nearest you, contact the USPS.

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We recently joined an educational and networking group called the Postal Customer Council.

The council is made up of businesses that offer and use direct mail services, as well as representatives from the post office. The group gathers many times throughout the year to share ideas, get updates and form relationships.

The most recent meeting was the National Postal Customer Council Day.

This was a national meeting that involved 14,000 council members and postal reps. It was filled with exhibitors, presentations and an address by Postmaster General John Potter (which was also broadcasted to each local meeting via satellite).

The local presentation was “How the Postal Service Moves the Nation’s Mail” and was given by Anthony Pajunas, USPS Vice President of Network Operations.

It was a fascinating step-by-step example of how the post office moves the estimated 213 billion pieces of mail per year.

To get more information on the Postal Customer Council, or to find a chapter nearest you, visit:

http://www.usps.com/nationalpcc/