Bulk Rate or First Class?

Your first idea is a good way to get put on a black list, better to go inside the trade shows, and I'll give you more on this in a moment.

The guy with the 6x13 folded thing will be back, probably setting up his next move here.

As for printers. We are brokers, and can get discount rates from the really big national printers. But also, you might have a mom and pop small shop who needs the work, and will work with you on payments or give a discount. You have to ask, and it helps if you know the printing business too.

This is anecdotal, our experiences over the last 6 years or so, and may not apply to your area. That being said. I think a co-op with two is a waste of time and effort. Three, maybe, if you are one of the advertisers and just seeking a free ride for your own thing.

Six is the sweet spot, five if on a tight deadline. 12 for a tradeshow (spaces available, some want 3 or 4 so you charge for them as it a single ad). Prices are determined by location. We don't have a typical fee. Each vehicle has its own requirements.

On a few of the vehicles where we have only 2 or 3 ads, we can command at least 495 for the ad, although most of these are long term vehicles placed in locations.

So, how much and how fast determines our costs. From now until the end of the year is traditionally a bad time to get a co-op in the mail, businesses just too busy for their own holiday season. It is a good time to set up a co-op for a bridal show in Feb/Mar.

Here is one example you may find useful for an event, like Bridal Show. A 6 x 9 with a host on the front, FREE, and six advertisers on the back. Each one getting some to give away at their booth. Good hosts are cake people, photographers, caterers, locations, etc.

Each advertiser should offer a substantial coupon, I like 100 dollars or 25% off. This way it makes the card worth 700 dollars or more and is likely to stay around after the show is over. But they can be profitable with only a few ads on the back too.

Home Improvement cards may have fewer with bigger money discounts.

Anyhow, here is the downside to all of this, and this applies to all advertising selling.

Runaround. First getting to the decision maker, getting a yes, getting the proof approved, getting paid, and this is why we abandon the big cards with over 10 advertisers on them, they take too long to get done. I like fast cards, lower prices for the advertisers, lower numbers on the mailing, most businesses don't need to send out 5,000, pretty much a waste of money.

Prices. It seems that every business you will talk to, and you'll find this out as you get out there, is broke. Just went over budget. Can't afford it at this time. Thinks it is too much. Want guarantees. Want a discount. You'll see.

A test mailing of 1000 EDDM, is good enough and if the location is in a populated area, then you can mail weekly around the horn, which means in each direction, finding 1000 in the zip zones.

Now our evolution over the last decade has been speed over quantity. NO more cards with over 10, in fact, 6 is the max. But there are other vehicles available, like the chalk boards in restaurants. Or the black board in gyms. Or billboards on a postcard, distributed by the advertisers (saves postage costs).

But if mail is your preference, then you set your prices in a way in which it competes with local advertising, which means you have to know what a billboard costs, what an ad in the newspaper costs, what a co-op mailing like Val-Pak costs or the TV or Radio ads.

Once you know what people are paying, because you see their current ads or see them on TV or hear on Radio, you can figure out your costs. Smaller retailers seem to stick at under 250, bigger ones at under 500, tradesmen and higher cost services at under 1k.

So, you have to first know what you want to do, your intent. How many will you mail, an what is the cost, then how many ads to break even and how many above that to profit and how much profit and how fast do you want it.

Hope this helps a little. Feel free to ask more questions, I'll try to answer if I can.

GordonJ

PS. Too many co-op advertisers don't know or use any direct response techniques, and almost all of them are coupon type, but havimg a good copywriter on board will give your card an advantage too.

Before I had a press to Print this type of material I used Got Print ( https://www.gotprint.com/home.html )

In terms of a "Fee" there is no "Typical" what are your expenses... Designing Printing and delivering the piece? THAT is your break even point ( minus your time and effort ) The question then becomes - what are YOU worth?

Until you understand what YOU are worth, I would come up with a figure of what I think I am worth TODAY, and multiply times 3 or 4. Or you could use an equation such as Cost of Product and Delivery x2

So Got Print 5000 cards 4" x 11" Gloss and color both sides Delivered to my door is $300 ( +/- ). Delivery is rounding up $.19 a piece $950.00 and then add your "Creatives" cost and to keep things somewhat even we will say $250 for creatives Leaving you with a cost of $1500.00

$1500.00 X2 is your overall ticket, and then dividing the number by 2 ( number of advertisers - you would charge $1500 for each client - making your clients cost $.30 per piece.

Keep in mind this is for 4" x 11" and REALLY you want 3 across the back and 1 in the front. ONE of those spots being YOURS . So having 3 Clients on a card then drops the client cost to $1000.00 each or $.20 per unit.

Regardless of how you do this you walk with $1500.00 in your pocket with each and every mailing. Start developing this idea based on business's grouped within the same EDDM area and produce 3, 5, 10 of these in a single city market - and you have decent cash flow.

And thinking "within the box" you could use the Google Contribute APP process as the trip wire to setting these accounts up.