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Accordion fold: Two or more parallel folds in a letter so it opens like an accordion.
Address accuracy: The percentage of matches that a company database
attains when compared with a national address database.
Address block: The format in which name and address are printed on top of letters.
Address service requested: A message appearing on mailing envelopes
that authorizes the post office to charge the sender a fee for providing a new
address (where known) of a business or person no longer at the address on the
mailing piece.
Addressed Admail: Canada Post
Corporation's category for bulk or third-class postage
that applies to large quantities of identical pieces
that are prepared for mailing before being delivered
to the post office.
Appointment rate: Percentage of qualified direct mail leads that result in a sales appointment or demonstration.
Attrition rate: The rate at which customers do not renew their orders,
usually expressed as a percentage of active customers.
Back End: All the activities necessary to complete a
mail order transaction once an order has been received.
Back-end premium: A free gift offered to prospects in exchange for a sale.
Bangtail: Promotional return envelope featuring a
perforated slip of paper beneath the flap. Readers
tear off, complete and include this slip in the
return envelope.
BANT: The acronym for typical lead qualification criteria—budget,
authority, need and time frame. Leads become qualified prospects if they can
afford your offering, have the authority to buy, need what you are selling and
are ready to act within your timeframe.
Bill insert: A slip of paper, printed on one or both sides, and inserted
into the envelope that contains a customer's bil. Also called a bill stuffer and
statement stuffer.
Bind-In: A promotional reply device or order form that is stitched into
the gutter of a catalog or magazine.
Bingo card: A reply card inserted in a magazine
and used by readers to request free samples and
literature from businesses who advertised in
the issue. Many advertisers are listed on the
reply card. Readers circle the advertisers they
are interested in (much as bingo players circle
winning numbers on their bingo card).
Blacklist: A list of domains or IP addresses that are known to be,
or are thought to be, operated by spammers.
Bleed: In printing, the extension of colour to the edge of the page, accomplished by printing on oversized paper and trimming the excess.
Blow in: A promotional card inserted into a magazine during assembly,
which falls onto the floor as you read the magazine.
Body copy: The main portion of a written sales pitch, separate from headlines and illustrations, containing descriptions, features, benefits and offers.
Bounce back: An offer included in the fulfillment
package that is sent to a customer in response to an order. Bounce rate:
The percentage of visitors to a website who leave (bounce away) without
getting any deeper into your site. Each page has its own bounce rate.
Broadside: A single sheet of paper, printed on one
side or both, folded for mailing or direct distribution,
and opening (much as a broadside daily newspaper does)
into a single, large advertisement.
Buckslip: Slip of paper the size of a dollar bill, inserted
into a direct mail fundraising package, reiterating the main points of
the letter, or describing something else, such as planned giving or
monthly giving opportunities.
Business Reply Card (BRC): A card included in a mailing to simplify
reader response. One side contains an order request form, the other side
features the return address and pre-paid postage.
Business Reply Envelope (BRE): A self-addressed envelope
whose postage is paid for by the organization that prints it.
Call to action: Copy that encourages the reader to respond, and describes how
(by mailing in a reply card or phoning a toll-free number, for example).
Call out: A short section of copy, usually rendered in bold or
larger typeface, and often set off from the main text, that emphasizes
key features, benefits or other key messages.
Card deck: One mailing consisting of a series of postcards, each
promoting a different product or service.
Carrier: The envelope that contains the letter and other contents
of your direct mail message. Also called a carrier envelope or outer envelope.
Carrier Route Presort: In Canada, mail that is sorted before delivery to Canada Post, arriving
at the post office in bundles assigned to the routes that each letter carrier walks, and qualifying
the mailer for discounts on postage.
Cash buyer: A direct mail buyer who encloses payment with an order.
Cheshire labels: Address labels printed on specially
prepared paper and mechanically affixed to mailing
envelopes one at a time.
Circulation: The total number of copies of a magazine, newspaper or newsletter that are distributed.
Cleaning: The process of correcting or
removing names from a mailing list.
Clickthroughs: Readers who clicked a tracked link in an HTML email message.
Closed-face envelope: An envelope that does not have a window.
Close rate: Percentage of sales appointments that translate into a sale.
Cluster selection: A list selection technique in which groups of names (clusters)
are taken from a list in a series. A cluster selection on an nth name basis, for example,
might select the first 10 names out of every 100 names.
Compiled list: Names and addresses that are
compiled into a list from directories, newspapers,
trade show registrations and other sources, to
group prospects who share something in common.
Continuity program: A program in which products or services are bought as a series
of small purchases over time, often shipped at regular intervals. Recipies and book-per-month
programs are good examples.
Control: Current and most successful direct mail package against which all other packages
are tested to see which package performs best.
Controlled circulation: Distribution at no charge of
a publication (such as a trade journal) to individuals
or businesses based on their job title or industry.
Readers qualify to receive the publication based on
their ability to purchase or influence the purchase
of products and services advertised in the publication.
(See Paid Circulation.)
Conversion rate: The ratio of inquiries that convert to buyers.
Used in two-step direct mail programs, such as trial offers and lead generation programs.
Co-op mailing: Offers from two or more businesses in the same envelope, with each business
sharing the mailing costs.
CPI (Cost Per Inquiry): A simple formula that tells
you how much money you spent to generate one sales
inquiry. Calculated by dividing the cost of your
mailing by the number of inquiries (not sales orders)
received.
Cost Per Piece: Cost to produce each individual mail piece in a promotional mailing.
Usually includes writing, design, printing, list rental and postage. Calculated by dividing
total costs by the number of pieces mailed.
CPM (Cost Per Thousand): One of the most common
measurements in advertising and direct marketing. Tells
you how much you must spend to communicate your sales
message to one thousand people. The M in CPM stands for
Mille, the Roman numeral used to represent 1,000.
CPO (Cost Per Order): Similar to Cost Per Inquiry
except that it measures your cost to generate a sale
(an order) rather than an inquiry. Calculated by
dividing the cost of your mailing by the number
of sales completed.
Coupon: Slip of paper included in a direct mail package, which the buyer or inquirer
returns to the advertiser, usually in a postage-paid business reply envelope.
Cross sell: Encourage customers to buy products from other departments or
categories beyond the initial offering. Encouraging the buyer of a car insurance
policy to buy house insurance as well, for example.
Data card: Detailed description of a mailing list, supplied by list brokers and list owners.
Decoy: A unique name inserted into a mailing list so
that the list owner can verify that the mailing list
is used according to the terms of the list rental
agreement. If a business mails letters to a rented
list more times than it is allowed to, the list owner
will know because the decoy names in the list will
receive each mailing, and notify the list owner of
what is going on.
Double Opt-In The process of requiring subscribers to an email list to confirm
their membership before being added to the list. Subscribers opt-in once by subscribing to
the list, and opt-in the second time by confirming their subscription.
Drop date: The calendar date when a direct mail campaign is to be delivered to the post
office for mailing.
Dupe: Short for duplicate. Identical or almost
identical names that appear more than once in a mailing list.
Duplex lasering: Laser printing on the front and back of a letter or promotional piece.
Envelope stuffer: Promotional material enclosed in an
envelope with business letters, bills, invoices or
statements.
Exchange: A transaction where two mailers exchange equal quantities of mailing list names.
File: A structured collection of customer records.
Flap: An extra panel added to a standard size sheet of paper and folded over. Used to highlight the offer,
or act as a tear-off response device.
Flyer: A single sheet of paper, usually not folded, with copy and images on one or both sides.
FPO (For Placement Only): Term placed over images or copy during the creative stage to indicate where
an image or block of copy, yet to be created, will appear.
Free ride: A second promotional piece added to a scheduled mailing so that it mails without incurring additional postage.
Free-standing insert: A promotional piece loosely inserted or nested within the pages of a newspaper or magazine.
Frequency: The number of times a customer has ordered
within a given time frame.
Front end: All the activities necessary to generate an
inquiry or an order.
Fulfillment: The process of responding to inquiries and orders from people who responded to a direct mail promotion. Includes sending information, shipping products and billing for products ordered.
Hotline List: The most recent names available on a list, typically names added within the last three months.
House list: A list of names and addresses that a company
has compiled from inquiries, orders or acquisition, used
to promote the company's products and services. Indicia: A unique
printed artwork box in the top right corner of an envelope, authorized by the
post office, indicating that postage has been paid by the mailer.
Inquiry: A person who has requested more information
about a product or service, but has not bought yet. John Samples:
Sample direct mail packages addressed to a fictitious John Sample of Any Street,
Any City, and kept by the mailer as a record of the look and contents of each
mailing.
Johnson Box: Copy placed at the top of a letter and surrounded by a
box or other graphic element, usually highlighting benefits or the offer, to
persuade prospects to read on. Named after Frank Johnson, American direct mail
pioneer, who invented the device to promote magazine subscriptions in the 1970s.
Key code: A group of letters or numbers (or combination
of letters and numbers), colours or other marks,
usually placed on order forms or reply cards, to help
mailers measure the effectiveness of their mailing
lists, offers, creative, timing and other variables.
Lettershop: A business that prepares, assembles, sorts,
addresses and mails direct mail packages. Lift note:
Also called a lift letter. A second letter included in a direct mail package to
reiterate the main points of the letter, or to give other incentives or reasons
for responding. Often signed by a celebrity or person of influence.
List: Also called a mailing list. Names and addresses of
individuals or businesses who share a common characteristic
(such as all being golfers, or all being purchasing managers
at industrial chemical firms).
List broker: A specialist who helps one company use the
list of another company. Services include research,
selection and recommendation of lists. List compiler: An individual,
service bureau or business that assembles mailing lists from directories,
government records and other public sources.
Magalog: A mail order catalog containing articles, editorials and paid
advertising, making it resemble a magazine.
Merge/purge: The act of combining (merging) two or
more lists into one list while removing (purging) duplicate names.
Multiple buyer: A customer who has bought on more than one occasion.
Also called a Multi-Buyer or Repeat Buyer.
Negative option: A direct mail buying option in which
the customer agrees to receive and pay for products or
services at regular intervals (such as receiving a book
a month) unless the customer tells the company in advance
not to ship the product. (See Positive Option, below).
Nixie: A mailing piece returned to the sender by the
post office because of an incorrect or undeliverable name or address.
Non-name addressing: The process of
addressing mailings to a job title (president, chief executive officer, owner)
rather than to a person by name.
Nth name: The method of testing the
pulling power of a list by selecting and mailing to a representative sampling of
the list. The list owner or broker selects every 5th name, 20th
name or other variable (Nth name) that provides a valid representation.
Offer: The incentive that you give prospects to motivate
them to respond to your mailing, either by placing an order
or by taking the next step in the sales process.
One-time usage: The stipulation in a list rental agreement that the
advertiser will mail to the names on the list once only.
Overline: The headline in a letter, usually placed on a line over the salutation.
Package:
The total of all elements that go into one promotional mailing (outer envelope,
letter, brochure, reply device, business reply envelope, and so on).
Package insert: Any promotional piece included in a
product shipment. It may be for refills and replacements
from the same company, or for products and services from
other companies.
Paid circulation: Distribution of a magazine, newsletter
or other publication to individuals or organizations who
have paid for a subscription. (See Controlled Circulation.) Pass along:
The readership of a newspaper, magazine or direct mail letter other than the
addressee. In publishing, the pass along readership is always higher than the
readership.
Peel-off label: A self-adhesive label enclosed in a mailing
package, intended to be removed and attached to an order card.
Piggy back: An offer that accompanies another offer, free of charge.
Poly bag: Transparent polyethylene (plastic) bag used instead
of envelopes for mailing.
Positive option: A method of selling products and services
using the same technique as Negative Option (see above) but requiring the
customer to place an order each time.
Premium: An item offered to a buyer, usually at no charge,
to encourage them to place an order. Premiums that are included
in the mail package are called front-end premiums. Premiums
that the buyer must request are called back-end premiums.
Presort: Discount offered by Canada Post to mailers who transport letters
directly to the post office sorted in the order that they will be delivered by
the letter carrier (usually sorted by postal code). Also called Letter Carrier
Presort.
Prospect: A person on a list who is considered to be a
potential buyer but who has not made a purchase yet.
Purge: To remove duplicates or unwanted names from a
mailing list.
Qualified lead rate: Percentage of all direct mail inquiries who are ready to meet a sales person.
Recency: The latest purchase or activity recorded for an individual or business.
Reply card: A card included in a mailing, which the prospect completes and returns to the
sender in response to the offer. Often postage-paid.
Response count: The number of responses received from a mailing, expressed as
a total number rather than a percentage.
Response device: The coupon, order form or reply card that a reader
completes and returns to the sender to complete a transaction.
Response rate: The number of responses received from a mailing, expressed as a percentage
of the total number mailed. Return
Postage Guaranteed: An endorsement printed on the face of envelopes stating
the sender will pay the post office to return undeliverable standard
(third-class) bulk mail.
RFMR: Recency, Frequency, Monetary Value Ratio, a formula used by direct mailers
to calculate the sales potential of names on a mailing list.
Rollout: Mailing a package to the remaining portion of a mailing list after having tested
the package on a smaller portion of that list.
Salutation: The way in which the reader is addressed at the start of a letter ("Dear Tom,"
"Greetings!" "Hello").
Self mailer: A direct mail piece that mails without an envelope.
Source code: A group of letters or numbers (or combination of letters
and numbers), usually placed on order forms or reply cards, to help mailers know
the source of each order, and therefore measure the effectiveness of their mailing
lists, offers, creative, timing and other variables. Also called a key code.
Split test: A test in which a direct marketer takes two or more samples
from a list, each sample considered to be representative of the entire list, and
mails a different package to each sample to test the effectiveness of each package.
Statement stuffer: A slip of paper, printed on one or both sides, and inserted
into the envelope that contains a customer's bank statement. Also called a bill stuffer.
Swatching: Attaching samples of fabric (swatches) or material to a printed piece.
Teaser copy: Words, usually placed on the outside of the mailing envelope (front or back)
that arouse curiosity and "tease" the recipient into opening the envelope and reading the contents.
Throwaway: A promotional piece, usually printed on inexpensive stock,
intended for widespread, free distribution to houses, businesses or to
passersby.
Tip On:
An
item, such as a promotional piece or reply card, glued to a printed piece.
Token: A device that involves the reader in some way, often consisting of a perforated
label that the reader removes from a sheet and sticks to a designated place on the order card,
signifying a desire to buy.
Traffic builder: A direct mail piece designed to attract recipients to the mailer's place of business.
Universe: Total number of individuals or businesses that might be included in a mailing list, or all those
who meet a set of specifications.
This Direct Mail Glossary is updated weekly with a new definition. Check back soon!
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