End-of-Year Mailing Information Center

Inserts

End of year mailings frequently have one or more inserts along with the letter. Inserts include anything that goes into the envelope that isn't a folded sheet of paper.

We can help you with just about any kind of insert. Reply slips or cards and reply envelopes are by far the most common.

What kinds of inserts can I include with my letter?

We can print and include any of the following:

  • Response Slip (regular-weight paper)
  • Response Card (heavyweight paper)
  • #9 Reply Envelope
  • #6 3/4 Reply Envelope (which is, counterintuitively, more expensive than a #9 reply envelope)
  • 4x6 photo
  • Bookmark

You can also send us a package of inserts to include with your mailing. In this case, you have all sorts of options, provided they'll fit in an envelope. Here are some that we've sent in the past:

  • Magnets
  • CDs
  • Teabags

Inserts generally fall into two categories: things we can include in an envelope using our mailing equipment, and things we have to include by hand.

Not surprisingly, things that we need to include by hand cost more in labor charges. If we can include something using our mailing equipment, it costs $0.02/insert. By hand, the first insert costs $0.20/insert, and subsequent inserts cost $0.10/insert. The first one is more expensive because we also need to seal the envelopes by hand, but that charge only gets added once.

Some of the more creative types of inserts will also require more postage if they're either heavy or especially rigid (e.g. pens or CDs).

How many inserts can I include with my letter?

Our mailing equipment is able to include up to four inserts with your letter. We can include more than that by hand.

Keep in mind that if the total weight per letter is more than an ounce, extra postage will be required.

Four sheets of 24lb paper (our regular weight paper) in an envelope with a stamp weighs almost exactly one ounce.

As a rule of thumb, a reply envelope weighs roughly the same as a sheet of paper, and a heavyweight sheet of paper weighs roughly twice as much. Photo magnets weigh nearly half an ounce, so a letter that has a magnet, response slip, and reply envelope will almost definitely be over an ounce.

Extra postage costs $0.17/ounce, plus $0.05 for stamping.

How should I lay out a response slip/card?

If you are using a #9 reply envelope, use a 1x3 layout. If you are using a #6 3/4 envelope, use a 2x2 layout with a gap in the middle to keep the height of the slip/card from being greater than the height of the envelope.

We have templates available for both these sizes on the insert options page.

Please avoid using smaller sizes. If you want to do so for reasons of style, go for it, but don't do so to save money. Yes, you can fit more on a page that way, but the extra cutting charges alone usually outweigh the printing savings, and smaller inserts need to be added to the envelope by hand, where the manual labor charge will definitely cost more than using one of the sizes that work with our mailing equipment.

For black and white slips/cards, we recommend using colored paper to help the insert stand out, and to ensure that it doesn't get lost in the envelope. Both regular weight and heavyweight papers are common.

For color slips/cards, we recommend using either heavyweight white paper or ivory paper (regular or heavyweight).

What should I include on a response slip/card?

If the response is coming to you, it should include spaces for the following:

  • Name
  • A set of checkboxes indicating what kind of support this is (one-time extra gift, regular giving, increased regular giving, sorry can't support at this time but still interested)
  • A note saying that checks should be made payable to your organization's name (don't ask people to write anything on the memo line – for IRS purposes, it's usually best that it be blank)
  • A section for prayer requests (don't use lines, or else ensure that they're far enough apart to allow for handwriting without a magnifying glass)

If the response is going to your organization, remove the prayer requests section, add a space for their address, and include your name and account number for the sake of the people processing the checks.

Don't ask for any more information than you need – filling out the form shouldn't be onerous. For instance, if the response is coming to you, you don't need their address. If they got the letter, it means the address you already have is correct. If they moved recently, they'll probably let you know on the slip/card anyway.

In particular, don't include more than three or four checkboxes. I've seen people who want to get especially fine-grained who've included seven or more checkboxes. In addition to requiring really tiny print to fit all of them on the page, it takes over a minute for the person writing the check to figure out which box to check.

Also, your end-of-year "ask" is probably not the best time for requesting address updates, phone numbers, E-Mail addresses, or trying to lower your costs by asking people to receive your letters by E-Mail instead of print (I have some thoughts on how to combine print and E-Mail effectively, but that's a topic for another time). Save that for another mailing – the beginning of the calendar or school years are good times – and keep this one focused.

Keep it simple, use large print, and make it easy for people to respond.

Can I include a 4x6 photo?

Yes. We can print these in-house on our photo printer for $0.25/picture, which won't slow down your mailing at all.

You can also send pre-printed photos to us to include with your mailing. Please be sure to include extras, since the height of the picture is very close to the height of the envelope, which results in more frequent jams.

Can I include a magnet?

Yes. We're looking at the possibility of doing these in-house, but we're not sure if that'll happen in time for this year's mailings.

If you have them professionally created such that the entire back of your photo/card is a magnet, we can usually run them through our mailing equipment for $0.02/insert. We recommend using 3x5 magnets, though we've had success with 4x6 magnets as well.

If you use peel-and-stick magnets and attach them to a photo, we'll need to include them by hand, which will cost $0.20/letter ($0.10 to insert by hand, and $0.10 to seal the envelope by hand).

As always, be sure to include extras.

Where do I send a package of inserts for my mailing?

Technically Sound
30 Airport Road, Suite 1
West Lebanon, NH 03784

Please don't ship inserts "loose" in boxes. They're more prone to getting damaged (particularly the corners), and it's no fun to have to try to get them nicely lined up on our end so that we can run them through our equipment. Ziploc bags and elastic bands work well.

Note that UPS, FedEx, and the postal service all have more glitches in December than during the rest of the year, since they're all shipping far more packages than usual. Allow for extra shipping time, if possible.

We've personally found UPS to be the most reliable way to ship a box using normal delivery times, and they tend to be a little less prone to damaging boxes than the postal service. FedEx rarely seems to damage packages, but tends to be more expensive than the other two for heavier packages. Their overnight service is unparalleled, but their ground service is less reliable than UPS.

If you pack the box well, the postal service's flat-rate priority boxes are the most economical way to send a heavy package by a long shot, and delivery is almost always within 2-3 days.

If you're really in a hurry, note that UPS delivers to our office at about 9:30am, compared to noon for the postal service, and 2:00pm for FedEx.