By: T.J. Tedesco, Ken Boone, Terry Woods, John Leonard
Publisher: GATFPress
Published: 2002
Pages: 288
Binding format: Soft cover
Price: $20
ISBN# 0883623781

This is one of our most popular books. It was GATFPress’ third best selling title in 2004.

Publisher's Description
Direct Mail Pal: A Direct Mail Production Handbook is a smart, thorough exploration of the world of direct mail. Forty-four concise yet informative chapters and nineteen appendices provide a truly substantive overview of this powerful marketing tool used by companies of all specialties and sizes. Direct Mail Pal casts light on every corner of the direct mail process, including direct mail planning, preproduction, production, and postproduction procedures. It strikes a perfect balance between being detailed yet not overly technical.

Some of the topics covered include:

• Postal rules and standards
• Data cleansing and management
• Palletization
• Address and barcode standards
• Mailing lists, including merge/purge procedures
• Inserting technology
• Drop shipping and commingling
• Postcard and label programs
• Levels of personalization
• Folding and Gluing
• Quality assurance and testing
• Distribution
• And the list goes on...

Technical tips and pertinent illustrations are sprinkled throughout the text; also included are additional features such as sample checklists, forms, and glossaries. If you’re going to read one book on direct mail, this comprehensive yet accessible book is it.

About the Authors
Each of the book’s four coauthors draws upon a wealth of practical direct mail expertise. T.J. Tedesco is the president of Grow Sales, Inc., a consulting company that helps graphic arts companies win more profitable business by winning top-of-mind positioning. Ken Boone, the founder and former owner of Direct Marketing Associates, is a well-known speaker and author in the direct mail industry. Terry Woods, a former co-principal of Direct Marketing Associates, Inc., and former president of Harte-Hanks Baltimore, is a well-respected direct mail expert. John Leonard is vice president, sales and marketing for SMR/Tytrek, located in Toronto, Canada, and a part-time faculty member at Mohawk College.

Table of Contents

Section 1
Direct Mail Today: 1. Direct Mail: A Compelling Way to Spread Your Word • 2. A Brief History of Direct Mail • 3. Convergence: Direct Mail, Electronic, Print, and Airwave Media • 4. USPS Mail Classifications and Rates • 5. Postal Rate Changes: A Fact of Life • 6. Set Realistic Mailing Objectives • 7. Direct Mail Program Planning • 8. Account Management • 9. Communication • 10. Electronic Updates: The Wave of the Future • 11. Testing • 12. Quality Assurance

Section 2
Direct Mail Pre-Production: 13. Production Friendly Direct Mail Layouts • 14. Postal Friendly Envelope Design • 15. Data Processing: Format and Record Layout • 16. Mailing Lists • 17. Data Cleansing • 18. Palletization • 19. Nth Criteria Select • 20. Building Data Tables • 21. Address and Barcode Standards • 22. PDF Workflow • 23. 100% Mailings o 24. Postcard Programs • 25. Label Programs

Section 3
Direct Mail Production: 26. Letter Text and Variable Imaging • 27. Levels of Personalization • 28. Continuous Laser Imaging • 29. Inserting Technology • 30. Label-Aire • 31. Inside/Outside Inkjet Imaging on Saddle Stitching Machinery • 32. Specialty Direct Mail Products and Finishing • 33. Cutting • 34. Folding • 35. Gluing • 36. Remoistenable Gluing • 37. Matching, Bursting, and Converting High-Volume Mailings • 38. Polybagging • 39. Mail Security

Section 4
Direct Mail Post-Production: 40. Commingling • 41. Drop Shipping • 42. Materials Handling and Logistics • 43. PLANET Codes • 44. Response Management

Appendices: 1. General Questions for a Typical Direct Mail Campaign • 2. Sample Job Checklist • 3. Sample List of Required Information • 4. Sample Quality Checkpoints Form • 5. Incoming File Preparation Form • 6. De-Dupe Merge/Purge Form • 7. Merge/Purge and Data Manipulation Questions and Answers • 8. Sample Merge/Purge Report Fields • 9. Presort • 10. Barcode Standards • 11. Image Proofing Procedural Standards • 12. Lettershop Procedures • 13. An Overs Guide for Specialty Finishing • 14. Drop Ship Logistics • 15. Managing Client Samples • 16. Account Management Materials Handling Tips • 17. Fulfillment • 18. Typical Grain Direction on Cut-Sheet Laser Printers • 19. Common Folding Diagrams

Glossaries: 1. Data Terms • 2. Lettershop Terms

To purchase Direct Mail Pal, click on link:DMP: GATF Press or DMP: Amazon.com. If either link is broken, click www.gain.net (go to bookstore, then click on direct mail) or www.amazon.com (search on "T J Tedesco.")