How do you send mailers out? :)

[Pompal 09.]

Hey, all!

I'm trying to target 3 nearby neighborhoods with a series of ads/specials, but don't know how to go about it. I went to the post office and the nice lady told me the cheapest way was to take the oversized postcard ads I already have (Yay Vistaprint!) and then just buy a big old roll of poaseforum.xxxe stamps and mail them out. The problem is, I don't know any of the addresses in those neighborhoods.

Is there a way to find addresses without paying and arm and a leg to printing companies and whatnot? Thanks in advance, gang!

 

[Avaldemon]

I don't know if they have it in your area, but go to the local library and ask for the Reverse or Cross Reference directory. It has all the published addresses by town and street, that way you can do a local target by picking one street at a time to advertize. The post office will also have a general listing as "Resident" that they have on a route, they do that for all the local non-profits in the area... but that would be a lot more to deal with.

 

[Leo]

Ohhh, Pandora's Gift! Thanks for that tidbit of info.

The non-free way is to go to a company and have them make a list for you by zip code and whatever other filters you want (homes worth $200,000 plus - likes gardening - likes art - likes to work out----you think of it and they can make that search anything you want).

Here's a company I've spoke with in the past, that seems to have their act together, though I haven't used them as of yet. http://www.alescodata.com

 

[sweetlilbrat26]

How about just driving down the street and writing down the addresses? I have done this before. I dont know the names, so I just print "To our friends at:" This works well in case people have moved. If you have the name, and they have moved, it will be sent back to you. If you use tofa, then the new resident will get your mailing.

 

[mikeyg]

Thanks for the tidbits, gang. Great stuff!

Dunno about the driving down the street methos. Here in the DC Metro area, we get a lil paranoid about random cars stopping in front of every house for no visible reason. LOL But thank you for the suggestion!

 

[Brown Eyes]

Not a big metro area where I am. Here is what we do, and it doesnt require stopping in front of every house. Have someone go along with you. As you are driving, you call out the house numbers and they write them down. You just need the house numbers at this point, your partner can write the street at the top of the paper and just write the house numbers down under the street name in a column. It is easy and quick this way.

 

[Abby M.]

Oh nice! That's a great tip! Or I can just speak into a lil voice recorder.

Thanks much!

 

[Will in TN]

bumping this thread to see if anyone else has any info as to how to get publically avaliable mailing addresses?

 

[MostWanted]

I have a company that will target any selected target group in my area, print the mailing piece, send it out... all for under 50 cents per address.

Stamps are over 41 cents now... can you do all the rest yourself for 9 cents each? Consider the time you will save.

For us, it's a no-brainer. But we're sending out thousands of pieces. On a smaller scale, the labor-intensive approach may be a better fit.

If you haven't already, I recommend talking to some of the professional mailing services in your area to see what they do and what their rates are. That will help you better understand your options before committing to a course of action.

 

[Joseph Taylor]

I have a company that will target any selected target group in my area, print the mailing piece, send it out... all for under 50 cents per address.

Mind sharing the name of the company with us?

 

[DierWriftex]

Vista Print will send out post cards for you now if you buy the list. I am looking into this service. Has anyone tried?

 

[sun8979]

Yes Jason, please share! And I will go to the post office, as well as our local pack and ship stores to see what they suggest.

Any other clever suggestions?

 

[delphispolaris]

I harvested names/addresses from the real estate sale listings in the paper. It was laborious and didn't get me much. Networking is better at getting the word out, in my opinion.

 

[Misty G]

The guy I use is locally based. I have no idea whether he services other parts of the country or not. That said, Michael at MoneyMailer.com has done some good work for us.