Onfire_02_01
Member
I was wondering if anyone has done a cost benefit between paying someone to hang door hangers and paying the post office to do Eddm? Do customers see one as better than the other?
Fliers vs. Eddm
- Thread starter Onfire_02_01
- Start date
Desk Jockey
Member
EDDM is pretty damn cheap. Its so nice since you can pick routes within the chosen zip code.
Goomer
Member
EDDM all the way, and cost has nothing to do with it.
Onfire_02_01
Member
And why do you say that? What do you feel is its advantage?
mirf
Supportive Member
around here people do not respond to door hangers
Desk Jockey
Member
You pick the demographic target and can drill down to get the exact people you want to receive it in a zip code. Skip routes that don't have homes you want to deliver to.
You also control how many you send, when you send. No list of names needed to purchase or label.
Desk Jockey
Member
Free Hall
Free set of Stairs
Free chair cleaning with cleaning of like size
Free Divan cleaning " "
Half off Dining room
Half off area rug
Clean two rooms get the third 1/2 off
It needs to be compelling to get those fence sitting to make a decision.
Free set of Stairs
Free chair cleaning with cleaning of like size
Free Divan cleaning " "
Half off Dining room
Half off area rug
Clean two rooms get the third 1/2 off
It needs to be compelling to get those fence sitting to make a decision.
Onfire_02_01
Member
Lots of peiple talk about compelling offers. What is a compelling offer? (Those you listed) I may be the odd one out but i have never been compelled to buy anything off a flier/advertisement unless it was come in today and get this free thing for just showing up no need to buy. I have always been nicely surprised when I get something on an item I already want to buy. Maybe that is why I am a bad salesman, because I dont feel the need to spend my money as soon as it hits the bank.
Desk Jockey
Member
People are strange....you included. 
Ok seriously, I shop at Harbor Freight and you should see the fools carrying the flyer or holding the free flashlight coupon.
People want a deal, even when its lame. Compelling, well a cleaning prospect is more likely to chose "the deal" over one not offered.
Make it so they must spend enough for them to get the deal. No minimums. Don't give away all the profits but if they spend enough they are rewarded.
Ok seriously, I shop at Harbor Freight and you should see the fools carrying the flyer or holding the free flashlight coupon.
People want a deal, even when its lame. Compelling, well a cleaning prospect is more likely to chose "the deal" over one not offered.
Make it so they must spend enough for them to get the deal. No minimums. Don't give away all the profits but if they spend enough they are rewarded.
Goomer
Member
In utilizing EDDM you are gaining direct access to the valuable resources the USPS electronic system and their databases, as well as third-party databases and demographic data.
Mailing campaign specifics can be saved, changed, modified, and tweaked as needed, and your own personal customer list can be integrated with it as well.
Choose and change zip-codes and income levels, target businesses or residential addresses only, and be able to MANAGE it all electronically.
A key asset of anyone's business is their customer list, and creating and maintaining that list in an electronic format that can be integrated into EDDM, or any other direct mail service for that matter, should be an important goal of any business if it has not been yet done.
Other than being constrained by a very limited budget, and trying to drum up any business you can, in looking long-term, there is no comparison between what the USPS can offer, compared to a couple of Chavez's wandering around with sacks of doorhangers.
Desk Jockey
Member
Fooker! 
Onfire_02_01
Member
I was under the impression that you selected a mail carrier route and everyone in that route got a mail piece residential and business, owners and renters alike. Am i mistaken?
tmiklethun
Member
For me door hangers have worked better. However, I think it depends on your piece.
If your piece really pops in the stack of mail like an extra large full color postcard then people may see it.
The one I tried was an 8 1/2 x 14 newsletter style, in grayscale. My return was much better leaving it on doors, because I wasn't competing with the stack of stuff they got in their mail box.
I think ultimately either would work fine as long as you understand the psychology on how to make each medium work.
If your piece really pops in the stack of mail like an extra large full color postcard then people may see it.
The one I tried was an 8 1/2 x 14 newsletter style, in grayscale. My return was much better leaving it on doors, because I wasn't competing with the stack of stuff they got in their mail box.
I think ultimately either would work fine as long as you understand the psychology on how to make each medium work.
Goomer
Member
Kinda right, the 2 choices are either all residential, and all residential+all businesses if you stay within the USPS system and don't import your own address list to them.
The fact that you can import your own list opens up the opportunity to create your own, or purchase custom targeted mailing lists from third-party providers that offer more demographic options and tweaks.
Onfire_02_01
Member
Another thing that i have been wondering? Do people even use their front doors anymore or does everyone use the car garage door?. I have been doing door hangers and keep wondering hoe long untill people see them. I would put them on the garage doors but it seems like most places, mine included, dont have handles anymore.
Shane Deubell
Supportive Member
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2011
- Messages
- 4,052
The main part for me is flyers i have to recruit, hire, train and supervise people to deliver them. With eddm we can just place an order with a printer or drop them off and be done with it.
Managing people is just not easy.
That and the layout of the neighborhood, thousands and thousands of dense row houses make a lot of sense but not spread out or luxury neighborhoods.
Managing people is just not easy.
That and the layout of the neighborhood, thousands and thousands of dense row houses make a lot of sense but not spread out or luxury neighborhoods.
TomKing
Supportive Member
Listen to this guy he has made a career out of never getting out of his office chair. Let someone else do the work is his motto. LOL
We like the EDDM.
TomKing
Supportive Member
You might think about renting a helicopter and dropping Turkeys over the Holidays with you business card attached. It worked for a radio station in Cincinnati once.
Onfire_02_01
Member
Damn good gurilla marketing idea there. How about a load of dirt poured over the neighborhood.
This guy is just starting out, what is it like a year and a half?
If you have paper boxes where you are, flyers are the way to go! Get a well designed flyer(full color,glossy,professional looking) and go to town anytime you aren't cleaning.. I can stuff at least 10 boxes in a minute(I know Nate won't believe that, but it's true).. I think a flyer costs me like 3 cents, so for 30 cents plus gas and time(which starting out you have plenty of) you reached 10 potential customers in 1 minute.
I have done 500,000 flyers myself since my business started in 05'.. Buying in bulk was important, I would buy 50,000 at a shot. I don't have any printed right now,but if it gets slow I will put in a order
When you have more money then time EDDM sounds good.
If you have paper boxes where you are, flyers are the way to go! Get a well designed flyer(full color,glossy,professional looking) and go to town anytime you aren't cleaning.. I can stuff at least 10 boxes in a minute(I know Nate won't believe that, but it's true).. I think a flyer costs me like 3 cents, so for 30 cents plus gas and time(which starting out you have plenty of) you reached 10 potential customers in 1 minute.
I have done 500,000 flyers myself since my business started in 05'.. Buying in bulk was important, I would buy 50,000 at a shot. I don't have any printed right now,but if it gets slow I will put in a order
When you have more money then time EDDM sounds good.
Onfire_02_01
Member
That is what I was thinking but I wasn't sure if there was a perception difference between the two.
Barry-QDCC
Supportive Member
A few years ago I decided to spend an hour a day putting door hangers out in neighborhoods. I found I was putting my doorhanger on the door over a bunch of other hangers and flyers - alot of the time they were dirty and dusty for exactly the reason you mentioned - people drive into their garage and don't use the front door. So pick your poison - join the stack of junk mail in the mailbox or the stack of flyers collecting on the front doorstep.
Shane Deubell
Supportive Member
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2011
- Messages
- 4,052
Well that makes sense. One thing you can do is use the usps tool to map out your door to door routes.
This way you can start off with door hangers and as you grow transition to eddm.
If you have more time then money go for it. Find nice neighborhoods that are dense so you can knock out a lot of them.
Also good idea to go out on saturdays when people are around working on the house anyway.
Barry-QDCC
Supportive Member
Hopefully your postcard campaign will bring you a few jobs but you better be doing a whole lot more than that or you better have a nice nest egg to live on. If you have no jobs spend your time walking around to business or wherever there is alot of people and hand out your postcard. That's about the cheapest thing you can do.
