Why Hold Off on IMB Implementation?

Ten Reasons Why Mailers Should Delay Implementing the Full Service Intelligent Mail Barcode
* from The Bennett Group

1. Not so much ROI benefit. The current incentives are very low…

2. Passing MERLIN performance verification at the time of mail acceptance may not save the cost of errors….read more

3.The Intelligent Mail barcode requires purchase of scanner equipment, additional software or enhancements of current software will need to be purchased … read more

4.ZIP+4 DPV encoding process produce an Intelligent Mail barcode that appears to be perfectly acceptable...read more

5.Postage statements must be submitted electronically through PostalOne! The GAO has concerns over the safety and reliability of the USPS to protect your security and money...read more

6.The USPS' PostalOne! system crash experienced by mailers from Friday, February 5, 2010 to Tuesday,February 9, 2010 "When the Postal Service's systems crash, it has a significant and costly impact on the mailers' ability to prepare and enter mail." from http://www.postcom.org/

7.Delays have been reported with the access to the FAST system to schedule appointments. http://www.presort.com/?p=230

8.If acceptance issues require rework of a mailing...read more

9.Postal acceptance personnel inducting Intelligent Mail barcode mailings need training and familiarity with new Intelligent Mail barcode mailing procedures. http://www.presort.com/?p=230

10.Programs such as ACS and Confirm with the Intelligent Mail barcode have USPS costs... read more

*** brought to you by Freelance Technologies

Freelancetech Software Blogging Tips

Using the appropriate tiltles and key words in the title to attract search traffic is the first way to start attracting attention.

First, don't use your own name, its not only narcissitic, but also tacky...

• Encourage your readers to digg your posts. (and to use furl and reddit). Do it with every post.
• Post your photos on flickr.
• Encourage your readers to subscribe by RSS.Start at the beginning and take your readers through a months-long education.
• Include comments so your blog becomes a virtual water cooler that feeds itself.Assume that every day is the beginning, because you always have new readers.
• Highlight your best posts on your Squidoo lens.
  Don't include comments, people will cross post their responses.
• Write posts that each include dozens of trackbacks to dozens of blog posts so that people will notice you.
• Run no ads.
• Keep tweaking your template to make it include every conceivable bell or whistle.Write about blogging.
• Digest the good ideas of other people, all day, every day.
  Invent a whole new kind of art or interaction.Post on weekdays, because there are more readers.
• Write about a never-ending parade of different topics so you don't bore your readers.Post on weekends, because there are fewer new posts.Don't interrupt your writing with a lot of links.
• Dress your blog (fonts and design) as well as you would dress yourself for a meeting with a stranger.
• Edit yourself. Ruthlessly.
  
• Give credit to those that inspired, it makes your writing more useful. (Thanks Seth)
• Ping technorati. Or have someone smarter than me tell you how to do it automatically.
• Write about only one thing, in ever-deepening detail, so you become definitive.
• Write in English.
• Better, write in Chinese.
• Write about obscure stuff that appeals to an obsessed minority.
• Don't be boring.

Some other blogs with good advice:

http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451b31569e200d8345dc28a69e2

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2006/06/how_to_get_traf.html

http://melissawiley.typepad.com/bonnyglen/2006/06/secrets_of_the_.html

New Year Boost Sales- Decrease Cost

Is your New Year’s resolution to increase sales without increasing your costs?

A growing number of retailers are looking across the pond to find new customers and increase revenues. Most businesses in the U.S. are asking themselves the same kind of questions.

The international sale is far more complex and difficult than selling in the US. The result is an average of 17% increase in revenue. One secret is a new emerging trend of using international parcel forwarders.

Sellers benefit from the fraud free solutions and consumers benefit from the low cost of shipping through consolidation. The possible revenues are worth considering…

read more

Is your move update plan working for you?

Where is SANTA's MAIL going?

Making sure your mailings reach the right destination is crucial to your success.

NCOA Basics

Mandatory Move Update requirements with the USPS save you money. You must be in compliance by January 2010 to avoid paying heavy penalties!

Making sure your mail reaches the right destination has become even more important this year!

If you are not using NCOA, it is even more crucial to start now! If you are using NCOA, there are some important updates you will need to know about for your business needs this coming year. NCOA Information- so really Where DOES Santa's Mail Go?

Why is NCOA so important?

Starting January 2010, the USPS will begin mandatory regulations with Move Update requirements. If you are sending mailings without it, and reach a certain threshold, you will be required to pay as much as 20% penalties.

Find out more about how to be compliant before you get hit with stiff penalties by talking to your Freelance Consultant today. Call 888-970-9944 (Toll-free)

How to avoid paying penalties?

It’s important to have a software provider to stay on top of market trends and present to you the best information available about your options. NCOA requirements for your business can be complicated. We offer you the best resources for figuring out the conditions and rguations, helping you make the best business decision.

Choosing the best NCOA package can take valuable time and resources. Let us take the guesswork about different options out of the equation and provide honest insight about your personalized solution!

Intelligent Mail® barcode (IMB) Market Trends

Intelligent Mail® barcode (IMB) is one of the newer catchwords for mail solutions on the market but what does it mean for you?

Primary benefits include:

The Intelligent Mail barcode is the result of the Postal Service’s efforts to develop more robust codes capable of encoding more information, while minimizing the space used on the mailpiece. The Intelligent Mail barcode offers:

• Continue earning lowest postal rates
• Better customer intelligence
• Free Address Change Service
• Visibility into the mailstream
• More effective returned mail processing
• Better scan rates and improved deliverability
• Better looking mail pieces (fewer barcodes)
• Delivery ConfirmationTM
• Access to new services

What are the real concerns facing Mailers?

Price. In todays market, the biggest concern is how much this will cost or save. The savings can add up if you mail in quantity. Early compliance for the Intelligent Mail barcode discount offers:

$.01 per 1000 pieces of mail Standard

$.03 per 1000 pieces of mail First class

For smaller mailers, there are other incentives. Indirect savings through a more efficient mailing system also save everyone money and peace of mind. As you consider how to implement Intelligent Mail in your company, you should recognize that every approach offers unique solutions:

• Saving space on the envelope means less product waste
• Less undeliverable mail means higher ROI
• A forward thinking green approach will give you marketing advantage

Why should mailers care about the IMB?

Two reasons: First, mailers must be using the Intelligent Mail barcode on their mail as of May 2011 in order to qualify for automation prices. Planet Code bar codes will no longer be in effect after the May 2011 deadline. The second reason is the extra data and tracking capabilities available through IMB. Even basic IMB can track mail and predict delivery dates. Those using Full-Service IMB will receive mail feedback about address quality and get automated address correction information.

Facts about the INTELLIGENT MAIL® BARCODE (IMB)

To obtain the lowest automation prices on Letters and Flats, mailers must use the 65-bar Intelligent Mail® barcode on each mail piece, encoding the delivery point information plus four new fields including an assigned Mailer ID, the class of mail, an optional endorsement line, plus a mail piece sequence number that must remain unique for 45 days.

New 24-digit tray barcodes and 21-digit container barcodes.

Electronic documentation using Mail.dat,®Wizard Web Services or Postage Statement Wizard® will be required for the full-service option.

Must acquire Mailer ID number(s) from the Postal Service, encode all data into the barcode components and then graphically render this barcode on every mail piece, tray and container.

Program optimization means that you must:

• Create mechanisms to capture data provided by the USPS
• Link USPS data back to your source data
• Leverage this data to improve your business
• The USPS will provide mailers with two options: Full-Service and Basic.

So what does that mean?

The Basic option will have fewer requirements. The Full-Service option will provide access to more services (such as free ACS and Start the Clock information*) and will enable mailers to earn the greatest postal discounts as of the fall of 2009. The details below apply to the Full-Service option.

Where to find more information on the Intelligent Mail barcode...

FTI Q&A Breakdown of questions from the DMNews source:

• Are there other key dates that mailers should be aware of between now and the May 2011 deadline?
• Why should mailers care about the IMB?
• How does it work?
• How do mailers benefit from the Intelligent Mail barcode?
• What are the steps mailers should take to implement the basic IMB?
• What services use the Intelligent Mail barcode and when can I start using it?
• What is the difference between basic IMB and Full-Service IMB standards?
• What is the process for Full-Service IMB clients to qualify?
• What about automation prices?
• Am I required to use the Intelligent Mail barcode in lieu of POSTNET and PLANET codes?
• Where can I place the Intelligent Mail barcode?
• What are the dimensions of the barcode?
• Will I have problems passing MERLIN® program requirements?
• Will I need to complete CASS™ or MASS™ certification again?
• Tell me about the “start-the-clock” statistic and its significance for mailers?
• How many mailers are already using IMB?
• What should printers know about the IMB?
• What tools are available to help me or my provider adopt the Intelligent Mail barcode?
• Where can I find more information on the Intelligent Mail barcode?

For the latest information on the Intelligent Mail barcode, including the full dimension specification, visit the Rapid Information Bulletin Board System (RIBBS) website at:http://ribbs.usps.gov/OneCodeSolution/

IMB is in the Green

IMB is in the Green- incentive to economize your mailing system and get data quality up to par!

New Intelligent Mail barcode specifications will help save space on envelopes and get mail on its correct route with little tolerance for undeliverable addresses.

This eco-friendly move will also put more cash back in your pocket with financial incentives to be compliant when it went into effect on May 11th, 2009.

Now is the time to take a realistic look at your company’s green initiatives and ask whether or not the practices undertaken are “evergreen” – promoting not only environmental conservation, but also sound business practices and solid return on investment so as to be sustainable in good economic conditions as well as bad.

Did you know that six million trees and more than 300 million pounds of paper are wasted each year on undeliverable-as-addressed mail (UAA) Standard class mail? It costs the USPS over two billion dollars annually to process this true “junk mail”. And the cost to mailers is even more dramatic – UAA mail costs direct mailers over six billion dollars a year...

Read More

Why is NCOA so important? NCOA Update - National Change of Address information

Move Update- Do you know where your mail is going?

Making sure your mail reaches the right destination has become even more important this year! The Move Update standard requires periodic matching of a mailer's address records with customer-filed change-of-address (COA) orders. Its goal is to reduce the number of mail pieces in a mailing that require additional handling for forwarding or return.

If you are not using NCOA, it is even more crucial to start now! If you are using NCOA, there are some important updates you will need to know about for your business needs this coming year.

Recently, a notice was filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) to describe the new method that Business Mail Entry Units (BMEU) will use to determine whether or not to assess the $0.07 Move Update charge to First-Class Mail and Standard Mail pieces evaluated during acceptance

For consistency with the treatment of Standard mail, they will also apply the same effective date to First-Class Mail. Both classes will be assessed the additional postage charge on pieces determined at acceptance to have an error rate above a 30% tolerance level. Sample testing will be done for each mailing accepted at MERLIN locations, and the BMEUs will provide feedback to the mailer on the effectiveness of their Move Update process. The assessment applies only to those pieces in the mailing that are found to exceed the tolerance level, based on the sampling.

When will the new regulation take effect?

Starting January 2010, the USPS will begin mandatory regulations with Move Update requirements. If you are sending mailings without it, and reach a certain threshold, you will be required to pay as much as 20% penalties.

For example: if a mailing is found to have an error level of 50%, then 50% minus 30% (tolerance level) = 20% of the mailing that will is assessed $0.07 per piece. Any mailing that has five or fewer update errors is not assessed the fee, regardless of the percentage that is not updated.

How to avoid paying penalties?

It’s important to have a software provider to stay on top of market trends and present to you the best information available about your options. NCOA requirements for your business can be complicated. We offer you the best resources for figuring out the conditions and regulations, helping you make the best business decision.

Choosing the best NCOA package can take valuable time and resources. Let us take the guesswork about different options out of the equation and provide honest insight about your personalized solution!

Find out more about how to be compliant before you get hit with stiff penalties by talking to your Freelance Technologies consultant today. Call 888-970-9944 (Toll-free)