What Is A Cooperative Mailing?
First of all, you need to know that there are only two types of mailings – A solo stand alone mailing and a cooperative mailing. A solo mailing is the type you probably know of. You take your offer, print it up and stuff it in an envelope, slap a label and stamp on it and then drop it in a mailbox. However, there is a cheaper and easier alternative to this method that most people are not aware of. That’s called a cooperative mailing. If a solo mailing is mailing out your offer by itself, then a cooperative mailing is simply taking a few offers and mailing them together in one envelope with each offer sharing in the cost. You can put together your own cooperative mailing or use a professional service like ours that will have it done for you.
Why should I use a professional service like yours instead of doing it myself?
It’s easier said than done. Since 1979, we have mailed tens of millions of cooperative mailings for so many satisfied customers like yourself. That’s more than any one has ever done in the history of our MLM industry. We feel we know who to mail it to, we have the equipment to put these mailings together quickly and efficiently, and we have enough clients to keep your costs down and still make a small profit. But the bottom line is this: The only reason to use any mailing service is to save yourself time, effort and money – that is what we will do for you!
What types of offers are in your cooperative mailings?
Usually some sort of direct mail or Internet money making opportunity. We never include two of the same flyers in any one individual mailing and we only mail between 6-8 different flyers in each mailing.
Who are your cooperative mailings sent to?
People who are actively involved in the money making opportunity industry. We in-house over 2 million names ourselves as well as rent hundreds of thousands of names from reputable mailing list brokers. We also place classified ads in dozens of publications to generate fresh hot leads for these mailings.
How are your cooperative mailings sent?
The cooperative mailings are made third class standard bulk mail. Standard mail takes about 2-3 weeks to actually be delivered by the Post Office. So when you order, you won’t get any response for up to 4-6 weeks. On the other hand, since Standard Mail takes a few weeks to be delivered, it’s also very cheap. For every two first class pieces you mail, you can mail 3 third class pieces. For every 20,000 first class pieces you mail, you can mail 30,000 third class pieces. Even though it takes a little longer, third class standard mail is well worth the couple of week delay. That’s why ALL serious mailers use third class mail exclusively.
How do you prove you are mailing?
We provide PS3602 forms certified by the Post Office on a monthly basis as the receipts to prove the mailings have been performed. You should always ask for a receipt from whomever does your mailings. We can also provide the names we mailed to for you on paper (only in advance of the mailing) for $50 per thousand mailed. Then you can do a follow up mailing if you want.
Isn’t First Class Mail better than Third Class Mail?
We certainly do not think so. Our business has been built on third class mail. The fact is if you mail the same exact piece to the same exact list first class mail vs third class mail, you will get the same exact response rate. The only difference is that first class mail gets delivered in 2-3 days and third class mail takes 2-3 weeks. That is the only difference.
What response rates do your mailing get?
Responses vary, as do people. Some people do well and some people don’t. We have heard people tell us they have gotten up to 3.5% response and we have heard people tell us they have gotten zero percent response. However, before you find that conclusive, we have to tell you that we have no idea what you will get. We have not mastered the art of seeing the future yet. We are still working on it and we will let you know when we mastered the art of seeing the future. In the meantime, we only mail the offers you send us. We have no control over what you get or don’t get. The only way you will ever know what you should be getting is by having us mail out your flyers for you – that is called TESTING. The problem of course with this is that each mailing stands on its own. It does not build upon the last mailing. You may try a mailing and get 5%, but the next 5 mailings net you zero? Or the first mailing nets you zero and the next mailing nets you 3%? Advertising is about being consistent and unfortunately, persistent.
Isn’t 2% the national average?
As far as I know, there is no average. – TINA – There Is No Average – TINA. What you need to do is figure out what you will need to average to break even on your specific project and shoot for that when you advertise. Averages are funny though. If 2% was the national average and your project requires 3% to break even, wouldn’t that project die before it starts? Or if 2% was the national average and your project only requires a 1% response to break-even, wouldn’t it be marketed on the NY Stock Exchange as a blue chip investment opportunity? Unfortunately for you mathematicians out there, there is no such thing as an average. Sorry.
Does your price also include postage?
Yes, our price is all inclusive – it includes postage, printing, collating, sealing, the mailing list, the labor and the delivery to the Post Office. You are in essence sharing the cost of the cooperative mailing with others who are not competing with you.
Can I get color paper, color ink, or multi-colored printing?
Color paper costs an extra $7.50 per thousand. We only offer pastel colors, like yellow, blue, green, canary, ivory…..etc. The only ink color we use is black, which is also the most common. And since we use Digital Duplicators to print your material, we can not provide multi-color printing. We only can print black ink on white paper or on a color paper of your choice for an additional fee. We have found that color paper will make your offer stand out among other offers printed on white paper. It may be worth the extra cost. You will have to test your offer to determine this yourself.
Can I print my material and ship it to you?
Yes you can, but there is no cost differential. You will need to use the listed pricing. Since we use machines to collate our mailings, when you send your already pre-printed material, it slows us down because we have to then hand collate your stuff in our envelopes. That actually costs us more money. We prefer if you let us print it ourselves, but we will collate your pre-printed material for the same price if you want to send it. Ship your material to: All-American Print & Mail, 2200 Wilson Blvd #102-57, Arlington, VA 22201.
We are here to help you promote your business successfully. If you have any additional questions, please call me at 315-313-5371. My name is Larry Costello. I’ve own my company for more than 43 years now.