Reduce Returned Mail with Address Correction by LetterStream

USPS Return Mail

Some LetterStream customers are already realizing the annual savings created by weeding out and/or correcting undeliverable addresses.

If you acquire new mailing lists (member lists, community lists, etc.), especially from non-qualified list providers, it might be worth a little investment to make sure the addresses that you’ve been provided are valid ones.

Using address correction tools to clean up addresses and discover which ones are incorrect could pay for itself with the first mailing. If the list is used over and over, the savings keep accumulating.

Consider a mailing list of 1,200 names. If 5% of the addresses are undeliverable, you would be wasting more than $25 in postage fees alone, not counting time, paper, printing, envelopes, etc. If you mail to the same list each month, that would add up to hundreds of dollars in no time. Another cost to consider is the time and money wasted handling the return mail; collecting bins of returned mail itself, looking up new addresses, resending documents by hand, shred fees for properly destroying returned mail and environmental impacts.

So, here’s an idea… if you acquire a mailing list or simply get a lot of return mail, try running your mailing list through our address correction tools. You can upload any size mailing list directly to our website for cleaning and we will return the results fast; often in less than 10 minutes. We’ll format the addresses to USPS CASS (Coding Accuracy Support System) standards, correct City and Street spellings, flag undeliverable addresses, and attempt to assign the correct zip code with zip+4 digits.

If you use our Deluxe Address Cleanup, which includes NCOA (National Change of Address) lookups, we can even tell you if the person filed a change of address card with the Post Office, letting you know exactly when they moved and where they moved to.

Reducing returned mail is good for business, good for the pocketbook, and good for your sanity!

"Green" or Simply "Responsible"?

Green and Responsible Mail

Are we green or just being responsible?

I go back and forth on whether we use the greatly-over-used “green” label on what we do; quite often opting instead to use the term “responsible“. After all, we print and mail, and the word on the street is you can’t be “green” if that’s what you do (I could give you compelling reasons why that isn’t true, but I’ll save that for another day).

My point is that we work extra hard to be responsible with the by-products of our production process. We sort it, weigh it, categorize it, and talk about it; all in an effort to be responsible with our waste. Our efforts to improve in this area have been phenomenal over the years and we are proud of the job we’re doing.

Of our total facility waste, we have found ways to reuse a staggering 46% of all production waste. To be clear, this isn’t recycling, this is actual reuse by others outside of the LetterStream organization.  As for recycling, 50% of our waste is being properly recycled, leaving us with only 4% of our waste actually making it to a trash dumpster.

Is that green, or just responsible? Maybe both.

Send Mail Magically With The LetterStream API

LetterStream API Solution

Ever wish for an even faster way to send out USPS First-Class and Certified Mail?

Our website already saves countless hours of tedious work involved with sending mail, but you might be sending so much mail that you need an even faster way.

If so, the LetterStream API might be the solution you need. It allows you to automatically send thousands of pieces of mail instantly through a behind-the-scenes connection to LetterStream computer systems. Most APIs require programmers to implement them, and ours is no different in that regard, but some of our clients have implemented it in just a few days.

Our API is being used by many different types of companies, including software companies, collection agencies, billing companies, etc. and even individuals who need to send a lot of mail quickly. It has access to many of the mailing products available on our website including postcards, first-class letters, invoices, statements, newsletters, checks and certified mail.

You can advertise your partnership with LetterStream or keep it quiet and price the mailings to your customer however you see fit; because with the API your users and customers can send real mail without even knowing about LetterStream.

To learn more, click here to get detailed information about our API, or simply contact us to get started.

Follow @LetterStream On Instagram!

LetterStream photos on Instagram

Hey all you #hashtag #instagrammers!

Over the years we’ve collected a lot of fun #photos of mail and related items, and we thought… why not share them with the world on Instagram?

If you aren’t familiar with Instagram, it’s a great way to share cool photos with friends and family… and the world. You can get the app for iPhone and Android phones alike. If you don’t want to install the app to share your own pictures, you can still use Instagram just with your computer. Go to instagram.com/letterstream to find our pictures, or click on the new Instagram button at the top right of this page.

Anyway, check out @letterstream or #letterstream on your Instagram app, or visit the website above.

When you take a cool picture of a post office box, USPS stamp, mail box, blue collection box, certified mail envelope or any other mail-related item, tag it with @letterstream to let us know!

Baja 500 Update – Class 11 Car #1162 – "PepeAzul"

LetterStream sponsors Baja
PepeAzul

Wow, time flies (as did PepeAzul, the class 11 VW we sponsored running in the Baja 500); I didn’t have time to get a post out telling you I decided to join Chris, Greg and the rest of the PepeAzul team on their journey to Ensenada Mexico for the 45th running of the Baja 500.

Running the Baja is an amazing experience, especially if you like adventuring outside the US, in a 40+ year old car with a 62 horsepower motor with no windows or A/C, traveling on roads that most people wouldn’t dare travel on even in a 4-wheel drive truck.

Turns out we had a top notch team and were surprised to discover that two of our team members were retired USPS employees, go figure!  That meant we were prepared for rain or snow or high water and were determined to get there on time.

The entire event was a rush of excitement from the safety inspection (which was basically a huge parade and photo opportunity for the cars and team) to the race, to retrieving the car which was stuck near the top of a 1500 ft jagged rock hill.

I rode along side Chris from mile marker 95 to 230, bouncing, bumping through 135 miles of the rugged Baja Peninsula.

PepeAzul finally decided he could go no further at mile marker 255, slightly past the half way point.

I’m sure, due to the speed we were traveling, few could make out the LetterStream logo positioned on the hood of Pepe, but we do have operators standing by to pick up all those new customers who were exposed.

How To Send USPS Certified Mail Online

USPS certified mail letters

Have you ever wondered if you can send certified mail online, without having to go to the post office? Well it is possible; but only a few websites exist that can make it happen.

Generally to send certified letters you would need to take your letter to the post office, fill out certified mail forms, apply a certified mail tracking barcode to your letter, and present the finished product to the postal clerk for them to calculate charges and collect payment.

But with LetterStream.com and OnlineCertifiedMail.com, you can completely eliminate the trip to the post office!

Caution: Some companies claim they can do this too, but they often require you to purchase special software, forms or labels. So before signing up for any services for certified mail online, make sure you determine what extra work or purchases might be required of you.

With LetterStream and OnlineCertifiedMail the process is extremely easy. All you need is your document in electronic form (Word, PDF, etc.) and the address you need to send it to. The entire process of creating and sending a certified letter online takes less than 2 minutes.

In addition to saving the time and hassle of going to the local post office, these two sites allow you to track the status of your certified mail online, showing each of the USPS scans of the certified mail barcode and even the signature of the person who signed for the letter. You don’t even have to enter the 20-digit tracking number; you simply click on the letter you need to track. All mailings are neatly saved and organized online.

LetterStream.com has the added bonus of an online search tool that allows you to search by recipient name or mailing name so you can quickly find the information you need. The LetterStream site is much better for mailing large quantities of certified letters as well, as you can upload entire mailing lists in CSV and Excel formats.

So the next time you bemoan the idea of going to the post office and standing in line to send certified mail, take a moment to review these two sites. You’ll be glad you did!

Should You Consider Outsourcing Mailing Projects?

I was working on a proposal this morning for a potential client and found myself pondering the benefits of outsourcing mail room operations and letter shop activities.

For those of you who would like a better printing and mailing solution but are hesitant to enter the world of outsourcing, consider the idea that you are already outsourcing many of your mission critical activities.  Yes, that’s right.  You are already outsourcing a tremendous amount of your business operations.

You are outsourcing the activities of keeping your money safe to your local bank.  You are outsourcing all of your phone conversations to cell and telecom providers.  You are outsourcing your electricity to the power company.  Once you start thinking about it, the only things you don’t outsource are your core competencies… those things that provide uniqueness to your product and a competitive edge to your organization.

Still skeptical?  Check out what other experts say… here’s a good article in Inc Magazine that supports our logic and might shed some additional light.

The question then becomes: Is printing and mailing your competitive advantage?  Is folding and inserting what makes your company unique?

If you’d like to see what it might look like to outsource your printing and mailing activities to an organization as reliable as the local power company and probably more helpful than your banking institution please give us a call and let us show you how our unique and competitive solutions can help you focus more on yours.

Going Out On A Limb

I Love LetterStream Ribbon

We decided to try a different kind of giveaway at our booth at the National CAI Trade Show this year, and to be honest, it could have backfired on us.

This year we took the risk of offering “I Love LetterStream” ribbons to our customers and API partners as they stopped by our booth. We were hoping that a few would attach the ribbon to their trade show attendee badge. But whatever happened, we knew it would be a learning experience.

You see, when you ask someone to wear a ribbon that says they love you, you open yourself up to a whole lot of scrutiny. Would our customers and partners love it or hate it?

We waited patiently as the Expo doors opened and attendees started filing into the aisles. Then the first visitors approached our booth, they looked up to survey our exhibit, they noticed the LetterStream banner, and then we heard these words… “LetterStream!!, We love LetterStream!!” We breathed a sigh of relief and passed out the “I Love LetterStream” ribbons, which were quickly applied to their trade show badges.

Indeed it was a risky move, and one that might have caused us to be accused of excessive boldness. But in the grand scheme of things, it certainly created an honest feedback mechanism. And we discovered what we hoped would be true; that our customers LOVE the LetterStream experience. We passed out slightly over 100 ribbons at the Community Association Institute (CAI) national trade show and the CAI Arizona show.

We work very hard to provide incredible speed, impeccable accuracy and crazy good service; and we are tickled to know that it is appreciated by our customers.

To our customers and API partners that were happy to wear our ribbons, we say “Thank You!”. Thank you for your feedback, your partnership and your appreciation.

For those who aren’t that familiar with LetterStream, check out some of the positive things our customers are saying about us on our testimonials page. And if you have something you want to add, please keep the comments coming!

World’s Longest Receipt?

USPS post office receipt

When we returned from the Post Office the other day, we thought we might have set the world record for the longest receipt. After all, the cash register receipt was 48 feet and 8 inches long! Turns out we were a little short. The longest receipt is well documented online at 57 feet and 6 inches.

Why did we have such a long receipt? Sometimes we print and mail rather unique jobs for our customers, and if that means generating a receipt at the local post office that’s nearly 50 feet long, so be it. In this case we were mailing certified mail flats that necessitated a trip to the post office due to something special we were doing for our client.

If you find yourself pondering how you are going to get your next certified mail project out the door, keep LetterStream in mind. We have a lot of fast, automated processes for mailing certified letters.

And if we don’t already have an automated solution for your complex mailing, you might just be the opportunity we need to get a real world record receipt!

Thanks to the team and our friends at the local post office for making the magic happen when complex mailings arise.