Q: What aspects of magazine sizing should print publishers be mindful of to avoid incurring penalties?
A:
Proactive publishers will stay aligned with Royal Mail’s design specifications and packaging guidelines, especially with the new, stricter penalties in place. Make sure your addresses are prominently displayed and tailored to your packaging type, whether it requires varying thicknesses or materials. With the industry trend shifting towards eco-friendly alternatives, many of you have already made the move from polythene shrink-wrap to paper-wraps.To ensure additional postal charges are not incurred, publishers must adhere to the sizing specifications for the complete item; this is the final magazine specification and outer wrap. Partnering with a proactive and consultative postal service can provide the hands-on support necessary to navigate these changes smoothly and cost-effectively.
Q: What strategies can print publishers use to ensure price certainty for postage?
A:
Unforeseen price changes can significantly impact a publisher’s profitability and recent Royal Mail price rises are not helpful to the industry. But they have set out their subscription and publishing mail rates for the remainder of 2024 and all of 2025. In addition, to support forward planning, the Royal Mail have also promised to give a 12-month notice for their postal price changes.So, if you’re a publisher sending a volume of 1,000 (magazines, journals, or newsletters) twice a year or more, special postal rates can be accessed.
Q: How can maintaining good data hygiene practices positively impact a publisher’s bottom line?
A:
No matter the medium, access to reliable data is essential. Direct mail is no exception. Sending campaigns to incorrect or outdated addresses is a waste of revenue and resources, skewing your ROI and diminishing the impact of your spend.For publishers, maintaining good data hygiene is imperative and with data accuracy a legal requirement, it has never been a more important time to make sure that your data is regularly cleansed and suppressed.
Companies like Posthub offer consultative advice and practical support to improve your postal campaign data quality, ensuring data accuracy by correcting or removing data from your database or direct mailing files that is incomplete, out-of-date, or wrongly formatted.
Q: How can print and mail provide an attractive alternative to marketers once third-party cookies are eventually phased out?
A:
It’s been known for a while that marketers will no longer be able to rely on third-party cookies in the same way they’ve been used to, even though their demise has been postponed until 2025. This shift presents a unique opportunity for print and mail to step into the spotlight as a powerful alternative.One of the key advantages of print and mail is the ability to leverage enhanced mail data cleansing tools, as outlined above to reach a targeted audience and minimise wastage. In addition, mail solutions such as Partially Addressed Mail allows publishers to target clusters of circa. 15 households without needing to source address details and is fully GDPR compliant.
As we move away from reliance on digital marketing and the impact of third-party cookies, print and mail continues to offer a tangible, targeted, and trustworthy marketing channel.
Q: How encouraged should publishers be by the recent results seen in increased attention and responsiveness to print media?
A:
Recent data from the Joint Industry Committee for Mail (JICMAIL) has been trending upwards for some time now, which is great news for publishers and those utilising print media. In particular, the average time spent interacting with direct mail has increased from 118 seconds to 134 seconds in the past year. Similarly, the engagement times for partially addressed mail (+36s Y-O-Y) and door drops (unaddressed mail, +3s Y-O-Y) have also seen an uplift in attention.More impressively, JICMAIL found that nearly 40% of website visits prompted by mail resulted in a commercial purchase in early 2024. These statistics not only highlight the increased attention and responsiveness to print media but also underline its effectiveness in driving commercial actions. For publishers, this is a clear signal that investing in print and mail can yield substantial returns and enhance overall campaign effectiveness.
About us
Here at Posthub, the team will continue to support our customers with our consultative approach. With a team of seasoned postal experts, we live and breathe mail and look at little ways to make a big difference to campaigns.
With our tailored approach to customer needs, our in-house mail data cleansing services, relationships with mailing houses, and access to the UK’s largest Downstream Access network, there is always a different way to create extra value to postal activity.
As Platinum members of JICMAIL and part of the Whistl Group, we can provide expert guidance and the best rates in a very price-conscious environment. Whilst what we do day to day will not fundamentally change, we will continue to provide our customers with a reliable and cost-effective postage solution.
Website: post-hub.co.uk
