February 6, 2019

We recommend that nonprofits consider participating in the Postal Service’s tactile and sensory promotion.  For reasons very similar to nonprofits’ use of physical premiums, the USPS wants to encourage testing of specific kinds of enhancements that have been found to increase response rates.  They are offering 2 percent postage discounts for mailers that follow specific requirements and use one of these three elements:

• Specialty inks
• Specialty paper
• Interactive elements.

Registration is open now and the requirements can be found by clicking here.  The promotion runs until July 31, 2019.  Each mailpiece will be reviewed individually and all treatments must be “both visible and distinguishable.”

Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers corporate sponsor Production Solutions has this advice for nonprofits: “If you are already using metallic inks, spot UV varnishes, textured UV varnishes, embossed/debossed paper, unique/engaging folds, pop-ups or other qualifying sensory engagements, then you may already qualify for this promotion. If not, the expense of investing in one of these element types might be greater than the potential postage savings, but it’s worth exploring these options with your printer to do a true comparison on your package.”