Here are the answers to your questions...
1. Bulk Mail is the mailing of "usually" advertising materials, that are presorted. as per teh USPS website, "bulk mail" and "Presorted Mail" are used interchangeably.
2. Yes, and no. I believe you have to mail 250 in order to get discounted postage. So, if you had the addresses of that neighborhood, and there were more than 200 homes, then yes you could "bulk mail" to that neighborhood.
3. The USPS most common ways to mail are FIRST CLASS, and STANDARD. (Standard mail rates are much lower than first class.) If Im off by a few days, please understand... First Class is 2-3 business day delivery, 7-10 day delivery. This also depends from where they are being mailed from. (I.E. your customers are in Ohio, and your direct mail piece is being created and mailed form Arizona, time will be increased, than if you shipped them from a closer location)
4. The answer to this question can vary DRASTICALLY. I would say a good estimate would be about .40-.44 cents (=/-) per piece. This wouldn't include a mailing list price, or any design fees.
5. NO... 1000 cards is not that many. The cost of the printer or a local mail house to address your cards for you would probably exceed any discounts you would receive by using standard mail. It would probably be best for you to get the 1000 cards, stamp an label them yourself. If you used 4x6 postcards, the stamp would only be .28 cents.
Keep in mind, 1000 isn't very much. I have read thread after thread on this site talking about the "response rate" of postcards. I disagree with anyone who claims the 2% is still the standard response. I personally feel that if you get 1% you are ahead of the game. I have read that of that response 50% SALE rate would be a good return.
So lets use 1% response rate... 1000 cards would generate 1 phone call. So now you have a50/50 shot at getting a customer.
I'm very sure that there are people on this site that will disagree with me, and have gotten better response, however, I see this all the time. 1000 is not enough.
If you want it to work, here is a very effective way to use "direct mail..."
Get 2000 names, mail to 500 people each month and keep rotating the list. This way those 2000 will see your ad 4 TIMES in one year. This would only cost you about $210 per month for the cards and postage.
Direct Mail is a numbers game, the more you mail the more you get. The more you mail, the lower the cost per sale.
We could talk for HOURS about this, and in fact I have discussed this very issue with many clients. If you want help, or more details, PLEASE feel free to contact me. I'm in the lawn care business along with you, so I know what has worked, and what has not.
Hope this helps,
Bob
www.plan-itgraphics.com
