9x12 system price per mailing

18 replies
Hi guys,

Quick question for those who are using this system. I've read a lot on this forum and elsewhere about people's success using this system. I am in the progress of launching it as a spinoff of my marketing company in my local area. I see there is a big range of prices that people charge, with some of them being extremely low ($200/month). I looked around at other existing companies doing this and priced out my rates based on others and increased them partially. I did this because I think being in a larger area with higher income I could charge more. I think it would be obvious that targeting demographics in Smalltown, USA versus Beverly Hills would be different rates.

Having said that I calculated that my lowest rate per mailed piece can be 6 cents. This is for the smallest ad size and based on 5000+ test mailing. My larger ad is 2.5x more expensive than my smallest ad. This is due to larger ad being much larger than smallest ad.

My question to you is - what is the range per piece do you charge? Are you in small town or large city?
#9x12 #mailing #price #system
  • Profile picture of the author bob ross
    6 cents is at the upper end especially if you're starting out, but it also highly depends on how big the ads are (which directly affects how many spaces you can sell, which directly affects how long it will take you to sell).

    So all those factors come into play and you'll need to think about those in order to figure out how to make the profit you want.

    In my experiences, most successful 9x12'ers are pricing their ads on 5k piece campaigns from $200 to $300, netting them profits of $2,000 to $3,000 each time.
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    • Profile picture of the author Perestroika
      Originally Posted by bob ross View Post

      6 cents is at the upper end especially if you're starting out, but it also highly depends on how big the ads are (which directly affects how many spaces you can sell, which directly affects how long it will take you to sell).

      So all those factors come into play and you'll need to think about those in order to figure out how to make the profit you want.

      In my experiences, most successful 9x12'ers are pricing their ads on 5k piece campaigns from $200 to $300, netting them profits of $2,000 to $3,000 each time.
      I priced it out at higher end because I offer additional services that are included in the price. Other companies doing the same do not offer them.

      What size are the ads? My smallest ad is currently priced at $300 also (upped from $200 that competitor was charging from Smalltown, USA). I live in one of the largest metro areas in USA and it also happens to be one of the most expensive to live in. All services cost a lot more here. For example I was in Utah on business last month and noticed ads for dental exam / cleaning offered at $29 (big billboard sign next to the highway) and in my state / city you will not find anyone offering it for less than $100 (and that would be cash). Same type of procedure costs 3x more in different locality.

      So lets say if my smallest ad is 1x1 and sells for $300 it would only make sense that 2x2 ad would sell for $300. I can fit 2 smaller ads in the same spot.

      Bob,

      Do you think my rate is ok given my circumstances or should I drop it to 5 cents?
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      • Profile picture of the author Boatguy
        I'll throw my 2 cents in having done 2 of the 9x12 cards. I would go with Bob on the pricing. But it is also a good idea to test what works in your area.

        Also, do your best to have really good offers on your card. If you have a card filled with weak offers you will have a very low renewal rate on your card and need to hustle to replace those advertisers.

        A strong offer should be something close to a Groupon daily deal type offer or a strong loss leader offer (free appetizer with a meal type of thing). It is sometimes a challenge to get the advertiser to do that but it makes a big difference to them getting results from the mailing and for you getting renewals.

        Before the mailing talk to the business owner about how he/she plans on tracking the response rate and if they have a good upsell process in place so when that person walks into their business, with the offer in hand, they are ready to maximize that opportunity.
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  • Profile picture of the author Huskerdarren
    Bob,
    What is the thinking on 5,000 postcards vs. 10,000? Does it come down to size of the city, or is it more about a lower cost for an advertiser to get in and test the medium before they want to reach a broader market? thanks
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    • Profile picture of the author bob ross
      Originally Posted by Huskerdarren View Post

      Bob,
      What is the thinking on 5,000 postcards vs. 10,000? Does it come down to size of the city, or is it more about a lower cost for an advertiser to get in and test the medium before they want to reach a broader market? thanks
      I have some really good thoughts on 5k but I can't explain them all in one post, it would take a lot of information to really grasp it.

      But in the meantime, 5k does have its benefits and drawbacks, with the main benefit being that you can sell the spaces at a lower price point. The drawback is there isn't as much profit and response can suffer.

      One of the best ways to circumvent the limitations of 5k campaigns is to run dual campaigns in adjacent areas so that you have an option for the ones who want to get on 10k but you don't miss out on the people who can only cough up $250.

      What I would suggest is that if anyone starts out with a 5k mailing, they look to either run a dual campaign or bump it to 10k as fast as possible.
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  • Profile picture of the author TheCG
    Hey Bob...isn't the PO allowing a 12 x 15 card now?

    Don't you think that would be even better than the 9 x 12?
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    • Profile picture of the author edem_sosu
      How do you guys manage to get your 9 x 12 postcards printed.I am in Wales,UK and I can't find a printer who will do the 9 x 12.Instead I am being offered A4 size which is not quite the same.
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      • Profile picture of the author dave147
        Originally Posted by edem_sosu View Post

        How do you guys manage to get your 9 x 12 postcards printed.I am in Wales,UK and I can't find a printer who will do the 9 x 12.Instead I am being offered A4 size which is not quite the same.

        You might have an easier time finding printers to do an A3 size, but you might have to find a mailing house to distribute for you.
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  • Profile picture of the author Perestroika
    Side note - I know from reading on this forum as well as on Bob's forum that a lot of people have issues finding a place where to print a single copy of the postcard. I want to share my experience from today. I called up a local Fedex Kinko's and they quoted me $5-7 to print 11x17 double sided color postcard on 80 lbs paper. They told me it will be ready in 4 hours and I started walking to the location. I did not realize that there was a location right across from where I work and I stopped by there. The guy at the store told me it used to be only shipping center and they just converted it to print center. I was the only customer in the store and he was able to assist me without any wait. He was able to print the postcard in less then 5 minutes and charged me $0.69 + tax for it. Now I have mockups of my postcards to show to clients.

    Sharing my experience with the warriors.
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  • Profile picture of the author TheCG
    No comment, Bob?
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    • Profile picture of the author bob ross
      Originally Posted by Perestroika View Post

      I priced it out at higher end because I offer additional services that are included in the price. Other companies doing the same do not offer them.

      What size are the ads? My smallest ad is currently priced at $300 also (upped from $200 that competitor was charging from Smalltown, USA). I live in one of the largest metro areas in USA and it also happens to be one of the most expensive to live in. All services cost a lot more here. For example I was in Utah on business last month and noticed ads for dental exam / cleaning offered at $29 (big billboard sign next to the highway) and in my state / city you will not find anyone offering it for less than $100 (and that would be cash). Same type of procedure costs 3x more in different locality.

      So lets say if my smallest ad is 1x1 and sells for $300 it would only make sense that 2x2 ad would sell for $300. I can fit 2 smaller ads in the same spot.

      Bob,

      Do you think my rate is ok given my circumstances or should I drop it to 5 cents?
      I'm a little confused about your ad sizes, 1x1 and 2x2 are microscopic, are you sure these are sizes you'll be selling?

      Originally Posted by TheCG View Post

      Hey Bob...isn't the PO allowing a 12 x 15 card now?

      Don't you think that would be even better than the 9 x 12?
      They've always allowed 12x15, that's the biggest piece of mail that can be sent. However, it's not the biggest size that can be sent unfolded. A 12x15 is going to get folded 99% of the time. 9x12 gets folded sometimes depending on the mailbox but it will arrive in full scale significantly more than a 12x15.

      I still like the idea of a 12x15, it's just not anything new, it's always been a 'postal flat' size.

      Originally Posted by Perestroika View Post

      Side note - I know from reading on this forum as well as on Bob's forum that a lot of people have issues finding a place where to print a single copy of the postcard. I want to share my experience from today. I called up a local Fedex Kinko's and they quoted me $5-7 to print 11x17 double sided color postcard on 80 lbs paper. They told me it will be ready in 4 hours and I started walking to the location. I did not realize that there was a location right across from where I work and I stopped by there. The guy at the store told me it used to be only shipping center and they just converted it to print center. I was the only customer in the store and he was able to assist me without any wait. He was able to print the postcard in less then 5 minutes and charged me $0.69 + tax for it. Now I have mockups of my postcards to show to clients.

      Sharing my experience with the warriors.
      Good to hear! The best thing you can do is simply go out and ask, which you did and it worked out for you. When I first started I got a local shop to print a single copy on a large sheet and then I went to staples to cut it with bleed on their free paper trimmer.
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      • Profile picture of the author SirThomas
        Originally Posted by bob ross View Post

        A 12x15 is going to get folded 99% of the time. 9x12 gets folded sometimes depending on the mailbox but it will arrive in full scale significantly more than a 12x15.
        Do they just fold it when fitting into a mailbox? Or they request you to do it for them before they start delivery?
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        • Profile picture of the author bob ross
          Originally Posted by SirThomas View Post

          Do they just fold it when fitting into a mailbox? Or they request you to do it for them before they start delivery?
          They'll do it. And they won't do it elegantly. Ideally they should bend it like a taco so that it envelopes the existing mail but in reality the carriers will be cranking them in the mailboxes to make them fit.

          All the more reason to befriend your local postmasters and carriers.
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      • Profile picture of the author Perestroika
        Originally Posted by bob ross View Post

        I'm a little confused about your ad sizes, 1x1 and 2x2 are microscopic, are you sure these are sizes you'll be selling?
        This is a hypothetical size that I used only to illustrate that larger ad would be higher price.
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  • Profile picture of the author dave147
    Try these prices for a 10k mailing...

    $495 10cm x 5.5cm (approximate sizes)
    $545 10cm x 7cm
    $595 8cm x 11cm

    However...at those prices a 10k mailing on its own is sometimes not enough (unless you're Bob Ross)
    You should consider adding additional services like newspaper inserts as well.


    Dave
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  • Profile picture of the author BUFFALOBT
    I did something different...one price for all ads...first come first serve...$450 sent to 10,000...4.5 cents per.

    I would discount down to $400 when needed.

    Keep it simple is what worked for me...good luck!
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  • Profile picture of the author wsands
    I am in a smallerish city, but we have several "cities" in our metro. The attitude is that if you are in one area, you basically never go into the other area though.

    For me that works out because it allows me to be able to run 3 or 4 of them simultaneously.

    So the first one we ran, we had our pricing pretty up there, close to $400 on average to begin with, and we also ran two of them in neighboring cities. So if you wanted to get on both, you would get a 50% discount on the second one. This worked well for people who owned multiple businesses in the metro area where they used one space for one business and one for the second. I think we had 4 advertisers pull the trigger on that. Our problem is that we really ran out of time, we wanted to get it sold before thanksgiving, however we didn't find 40 people who wanted on in the two areas, we found 25, and so we ended up simply combining them together and doing one print run where everyone gets on 10,000.

    Around here the price point is pretty set, if you walk into a place and ask for more than around $300, it's going to take longer to close and you will have to visit multiple times and call back and email etc... so for me to mail to 10,000 each time, is just eating at profits.

    In my area, I now have it priced on average of $250, I have 20 slots and it goes out to 5000 homes. I'm now getting ready to finish up the first one in a third city as the original one goes out. Once I come back to you for your second run, I'm locking people in for 3 months this time. Which will still be a pretty easy close at 5000 delivered for my price point, I just don't want to run around like a mad man every month trying to close 4 mailers at once.

    I had thought of tying it into something though, lets see what you guys think. I'm not entirely sure how to execute it.

    I was thinking about tying a $250 or $500 Visa Gift Card to the mailer and run it basically like a lotto, if you use the coupons at the participating locations, you are entered, and after the mailer has been out for like 30 days we draw a name out of a hat.

    So that sounds good in theory, but we all know the process behind that is going to be bad news, if you use the coupon at say Schlotzsky's, then the employee who takes your order has to remember to get you to put your name and number on the coupon, then put it in a special place where I can either come collect them up, or they could mail them to my office in bulk or something. It throws a wrench in the advertisers normal process.

    I could create a facebook page where people could take a picture of themselves using the coupon, or at least, picture of themselves, with the coupon, at the establishment. Then I could just randomly pick someone that posted.

    Anyone ever tried something like this?
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  • Profile picture of the author bob ross
    A4 is the best you'll be able to do. Outside of the USA and Canada, A4 is the best option. It's only slightly smaller.

    Here's where I believe you'll find the best pricing Onlineprinters.com - Your Online Printers for printed products in offset printing and digital printing! (no affiliation).
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