There are two important production steps involved with mailing your research study postcards to targeted audiences that require generation of a mailing list.
When your card has been designed and approved, follow these steps:
STEP 1: Reach out to a mailing services company. The mailing services company can do a count by demographic in the areas for which you provide zip codes. For example, if your research study is targeting households with men between the ages of 45 and 70 within five city zip codes, the mailing services company also can tell you how many households meet that demographic and, therefore, how many cards you will need to print. (You will need to know this to determine how many cards to print!) The mailing services company can tell you how many homes are in your demographic and how much it will cost to generate the mailing lists and to address your cards.
You will need to discuss billing with the mailing services company. Most often, you will open a purchase order and the company will bill to that number. (Your Pitt purchasing representative or administrative assistant should be able to help you open a purchase order.) And you will need to discuss with the mailing services company how you would like the cards to be mailed—at once, or at various intervals over a period of time. It is usually more cost effective to print all the cards at once and work with the mailing services company on delivery timing.
Among the mailing services companies often used at Pitt are the following:
Here’s a tip: Ask the mailing services company to add your home address to the distribution list so you can confirm that your cards have been mailed!
Note: If you already have a distribution list or address labels and are working directly with University Mailing Services, you can skip this first step.
STEP 2: Work with University Mailing Services. You will need to fill out a mailing requisition form so that the mailroom knows that the University indicium is being used, how many cards are being mailed, and what account number should be charged for postage. Your point of contact for bulk mailings at Pitt is:
Chris Kilburg
412-624-6500
cjk56@pitt.edu
With the support of University Mailing Services and an external mailing services company, your cards will reach your target audience in accordance with your plan.