How to Make Direct Mail Greener

If you use direct mail, you can reduce the environmental impact of your mailings and make them greener, by following some of these tips:

Check Lists Against the Mailing Preference Service

The Mailing Preference Service (MPS) allows consumers and businesses to register their wish to limit the amount of direct mail they receive. Simply checking your data lists will ensure that you do not mail those who have opted into the MPS, and so avoid unnecessary wastage. Visit Clean my List.

Clean Your Mailing Lists Regularly

Accurate addresses provide your business with a wide range of benefits including mailing discounts, better understanding of customers and improved customer service. By reducing the number of inaccurate addresses and duplicate records from your databases, your company can avoid wastage and save substantial amounts of money on postage and print production as well as on the cost of undelivered mail. Plus improved targeting reduces the risk of “Junk Mail”. No business wants their mailings to be perceived as “junk”, and a targeted approach can reduce unnecessary costs to your business and an unnecessary waste of resources. Visit Clean my List.

Review the Format and Design of Your Mailings

Could you mailings be simplified? It is important to review your mailings and consider whether your message is being sent in a powerful yet environmentally friendly way. Pages and pages of information are often preventable, and can actually deter the recipient from reading the mailing. Similarly, are you sending information that includes avoidable inserts? Regularly reviewing the content of mailings can both minimise the environmental impact and also ensure that your business is producing effective content. Visit Create & Post.

Recycled or Recyclable?

Can your mailings be sent on recycled paper, it is important to remember that “recycled paper” can mean anything from 100% recycled to 1% recycled! If this is not something that you could consider, can your mailings be recycled? A small proportion of mailings are not recyclable.?? Staples are acceptable for recycling, but some glues used in binding for example, mean that the whole mailing will be rejected for recycling. Visit Create & Post.

Implementing these simple steps can enable your business to minimise its environmental impact, reduce direct marketing costs, and improve the targeting of your mailings.

For further help and advice speak with a member of the Selectabase team on 01304 383838.