Pre-Cleaning and Updating Addresses in Your Database

When you send a direct mail piece using the Addressed Admail reduced postage option, it can cost you anywhere from 60 cents to $1.25 or more for printing, mail production and postage. Items that cannot be delivered will be "recycled" by Canada Post resulting in your money going down the drain. Not only that, without updating your database you will continue to spend money on undeliverable advertising.

It makes $ense for you to spend time analyzing your database to check delivery information before sending it out for data processing and to update your list regularly.

How to Pre-Clean Addresses

No matter how large your list is please take some time to do the following:

Sort your list by city. Scroll through for obvious mis-spellings

Sort your list by province. Ensure you have the two letter designations for each province with no punctuation and match the city to the province.

Sort your list by postal code: a. Missing postal codes will rise to the top ? look them up. b. Scroll through and check that all postal codes begin with a letter not a number. c. Ensure postal codes have one space between the first three alphanumeric characters ? not a hyphen or two spaces. d. Verify that the first letter of the postal code is the right letter for the province. Here is a link to the Canada Post website to view a map of Canada showing the first character of the postal code for each province. http://www.canadapost.ca/cpc2/addrm/ hh/maps/fsa/ca01.pdf

By doing some "pre-cleaning" you will reach a higher percentage of accuracy and increase the odds of having your message delivered.

Updating Address Information

When a customer or prospect moves without notifying you, there are four ways to update your database.

Call each one and verify their address ? very time consuming method but accurate.

Pay to have your list compared against a database of all registered moves within the last 5 years (NCOA ? National Change of Address) ? not very accurate as the name field must match exactly.

We recommend using the Return to Sender service initiated by printing the Return Postage Guaranteed postal indicia on your mail piece ? you will receive undeliverable mail back. Cost: $0.75-$1.50 each. You can then delete them from your database or telephone and get the new address.

Use the Address Correction service by printing that postal indicia on your mail piece ? you will receive it back with the new address or be given a reason for non delivery. Cost: $1.00-$1.75 each. This service is similar to the NCOA process in No. 2 above and we don't recommend using it. One reason is you will pay 25 cents more to get undeliverable mail returned only to learn they have moved if the post office cannot find a new address.

You may pay a little more for using a high quality data processing firm to handle your database hygiene but the results are in the output and deliverability. The better ones have compiled internal processes to catch as many problems as possible and will save you money in the long run.

All About Mail is in the business of helping you save money on your direct mail costs.

This report was written by Sasha Peters who has 16 years experience in the direct mail industry. She is the author of Smooth MAILING, a comprehensive guidebook for using Addressed Admail in Canada. Visit their website at www.bulkmailcanada.com for more information and learn how the new publication "Smooth Mailing" can help you! Tel: 604-729-1300 info@bulkmailcanada.com

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Google News Updated : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 11:50:43 GMT Palin violated ethics law, inquiry concludes - International Herald Tribune Washington Post Palin violated ethics law, inquiry concludes International Herald Tribune - 1 hour ago By Serge F. Kovaleski NEW YORK: Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential candidate, abused her powers as governor of Alaska by pressuring subordinates to try to get her former brother-in-law, a state trooper, fired, according to an investigation ... Palin ethics lapse cited Los Angeles Times Alaska probe finds Palin 'abused her power' Indian Express Baltimore Sun - Boston Globe - New York Times - Reuters all 4,043 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 09:58:28 GMT Morgan Stanley, Goldman May Gain Investment From US Treasury - Bloomberg Wall Street Journal Blogs Morgan Stanley, Goldman May Gain Investment From US Treasury Bloomberg - 7 hours ago By Christine Harper Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the biggest independent US investment banks, may reap cash infusions as part of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's plan to buy stakes in financial institutions, ... As Stock Falls, Morgan Looks to Japanese Bank New York Times Morgan Stanley hangs on Mitsubishi's $9bn pledge guardian.co.uk Forbes - New York Post - New York Times Blogs - Barron's all 895 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 04:30:39 GMT McCain calms supporters, urges respect for Obama - Los Angeles Times The Associated Press McCain calms supporters, urges respect for Obama Los Angeles Times - 2 hours ago 'NO MA'AM': Sen. John McCain takes a question from a supporter who called Democratic rival Barack Obama an Arab at a town hall meeting in Lakeville, Minn. McCain-Palin's hot rhetoric risks GOP backlash San Francisco Chronicle McCain Lauds and Attacks Obama in Same Day New York Times Boston Globe - Washington Post - Minneapolis Star Tribune - Reuters all 460 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 09:04:20 GMT Stevens's Reputation 'Sterling,' Powell Says - Washington Post Washington Post Stevens's Reputation 'Sterling,' Powell Says Washington Post - 8 hours ago By Del Quentin Wilber Former secretary of state Colin L. Powell told jurors in the corruption trial of Sen. Ted Stevens yesterday that the powerful Alaska Republican had a "sterling" reputation among the nation's military and political leaders. Reporter's Notebook: Powell Takes the Stand for Stevens FOXNews Powell says Sen. Stevens' integrity "sterling" Reuters CNN - Kansas City infoZine - The Miami Herald - ABC News all 2,865 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 03:13:53 GMT Mugabe Hands Ministries to His Party - New York Times Voice of America Mugabe Hands Ministries to His Party New York Times - 52 minutes ago By CELIA DUGGER JOHANNESBURG - In a step likely to lead to the collapse of a painstakingly negotiated power-sharing deal, Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, in office for 28 years, has unilaterally declared that his party will retain the most powerful ... Mugabe 'gives Zanu-PF key posts' BBC News Zimbabwe's Mugabe hands key ministries to his party Reuters United Press International - AFP - Aljazeera.net - The Associated Press all 1,687 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:57:49 GMT Thai protest leaders released on bail, vow new rallies - AFP GulfNews Thai protest leaders released on bail, vow new rallies AFP - 20 hours ago BANGKOK (AFP) - Leaders of Thai anti-government protests were granted bail Friday after surrendering to police and immediately vowed new rallies, raising fears of mounting turmoil days after deadly street clashes. Video: Raw Video: Tear Gas Fired at Thai Protestors AssociatedPress PAD leaders surrender to Thailand police United Press International The Associated Press - Washington Post - New York Times - International Herald Tribune all 2,495 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:31:03 GMT Paulson Indicates Need to Purchase Bank Equity `Soon as We Can' - Bloomberg Ottawa Citizen Paulson Indicates Need to Purchase Bank Equity `Soon as We Can' Bloomberg - 7 hours ago By John Brinsley and Rebecca Christie Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) -- US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson indicated that pumping government funds into banks is a priority and said financial markets will remain volatile. US to buy shares in struggling banks Los Angeles Times Obama welcomes Paulson plan to buy equity in firms Reuters MarketWatch - International Herald Tribune - Bizjournals.com - Washington Post all 2,114 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 04:21:05 GMT RSS Software Increase Search Engine Traffic

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