Q: I was wondering if you could tell me what the normal cycle/pattern is for direct mailing info to residents/potential customers. You had mentioned that successful parks and recreation organizations are sending direct mail 4 to 5 times a years (or more?).
How are people dividing up the info for their mailings and what is the timing? Are they mailing summer camps info to homes with kids in February? Then mailing youth programs/ classes/leagues to homes with kids and, if so, what months? Then do they mail adult programs separately and, if so, in what months? Is there a separate senior mailing or are all adult programs combined in the mailing? What about “family” programs? Or are people sending summer camps stuff in February, and then dividing everything else they offer into 4 seasonal mailings. For example, are they sending all kids/adult/ senior info by the seasons of spring, summer, fall and winter? Again, what months would the mailings go out?
Is there a better type size, font and size of mailer that works better than others for readability and postage?
Is there a maximum page limit for readability and ease of use. What techniques are people using to move people toward emailed catalogs?
I’m trying to prepare a new budget proposal for this type of promotion and any type of info your can send would be very helpful. Our strategic planning consultant is showing that no matter what group she talks to (Business leaders, public officials, rec users, staff, schools), everyone says we need to be more visible and frequent with our promotions.
A: The most typical mailing strategy is to mail four seasonal brochures and a separate Summer Camp or Youth Summer Program brochure. The Summer Camp/Summer Youth Program Brochure should go out in February. If your summer programs are structured to provide full day activities (or part day camps/activities) for children or youth while school is out, then the February date is important. If you are looking at specific shorter duration activities, leagues, and summer classes, the regular, seasonal brochure is fine for listing these. Summer camps fill quickly because parents are looking for ways to keep their children engaged and supervised during summer months.
The other seasonal brochures should be mailed so that they are received about six weeks prior to the beginning of your first classes or events. LERN does recommend that you mail your brochure twice--once to your total mailing list and a second time, about two weeks later, to your best customers.
Registration should begin as soon as the brochure goes out.
In terms of font size, we recommend a serif font, such as Times New Roman, and a point size of 11 or 12 for the body copy. As far as page limits, most brochures are in the 36 to 42 page range. The real issue with navigability of the brochure is to create a strong table of contents. This is the roadmap to your offerings, and it is critical that you develop a well-organized, readable table of contents to direct people to the areas of their interest.
We do know that online registrations are increasing, but marketing research indicates that the key driver to online sales is the print brochure. There are many things you can do to get people to go to your website. The most important is having your website address easily accessible and prominent in your brochure. Of course, you should use your URL on all your promotional materials, business cards, and other printed material.
You can also use email to drive people to your website, and some programs are beginning to employ Twitter and Facebook as supplementary online resources. Posting information from your site on your Facebook page is another way to get people to look at your content. Just keep in mind that with all these electronic media, your print brochure is still the cornerstone of your marketing effort