The first option when seeking a direct mail vendor is to hire a full-service advertising agency. The second option is to hire a direct mail production company; and the third is to work directly with various printing plants.

This direct marketing white paper delivers information at a glance. It is written in an easy-to-read format and provides helpful tips as well as advice for working with the vendor after selection has been made. It also provides pros and cons for each option.

For example, Ballantine advises that while an ad agency may be great at designing an impressive, unique format for a direct mail campaign, the format may not be cost effective. Companies must ensure that budget guidelines are put in place and press efficiencies fully understood at the start of the creative process.

To directly download a PDF copy, click here: www.ballantine.com/dmvendor.pdf

About The Ballantine Corporation:

Family-owned since 1966, The Ballantine Corporation is a New Jersey-based company offering turnkey direct marketing creative and production services to companies nationwide, including digital marketing services.

For more information, visit: www.Ballantine.com .

“Having these specific lists allows businesses to design a much more focused campaign,” says Ryan Cote, director of marketing for the Ballantine Corporation. “In turn, companies will also save money because these campaigns will be narrower in scope, targeting only prospects most likely to convert.”

This direct marketing white paper also provides trend details on e-mail marketing; green marketing; advancements in digital printing methods and how companies can benefit; and how to integrate web-based campaigns, direct mail and social media into a seamless and effective marketing campaign.

And, finally, the state of the economy has pushed companies to examine every penny spent when it comes to its marketing budget achieving an attractive ROI. Each action needs to be efficient and responsive. Businesses can now track effectiveness through advanced measurement tools to determine the success of all steps involved in a campaign.

To directly download a PDF copy, click here: www.ballantine.com/dmtrends2010.pdf .

About The Ballantine Corporation:
Family-owned since 1966, The Ballantine Corporation is a New Jersey-based company offering turnkey direct marketing services to companies, nationwide.

For more information, visit: www.Ballantine.com .

Ballantine Corp

To date, the Ballantine Corporation has provided these new clients with a wide array of services and products that include, but are not limited to: oversized postcards, envelope packages, brochures, self-mailers, double-postcards, stamp-sheet mailers, variable data printing, copy and design and personalized URLs.

“It’s evident that our new business efforts to attract companies from various industries have paid off,” Ryan Cote, director of marketing, Ballantine Corporation, says. “We’re looking forward to watching these clients grow their businesses and we understand our key role.”

About The Ballantine Corporation

Founded in 1966, The Ballantine Corporation offers turnkey direct marketing production services to companies nationwide. In addition, they also offer creative graphic services and personalized URLs.

Ballantine will be exhibiting and speaking at the upcoming CircDayLA conference to be held at the Los Angeles Athletic Club on October 1st. They are also exhibiting at the DMA conference; booth 2322, October 18-20 at the San Diego Convention Center.

For more information, visit: www.Ballantine.com .

“Since we provide a wide variety of direct marketing services, we have access to a large pool of highly-skilled vendors that we trust on a daily basis with our client’s projects,” says Ryan Cote, director of marketing, The Ballantine Corporation. “This tip sheet is a direct result of their expertise and ours.”

The direct marketing tip sheet contains practical tips that can be implemented today for positive results tomorrow. Categories include: creative, PURLs, email, mailing, envelopes and printing.

Here’s a quick preview of actionable tips:

For creative, did you know that customers prefer the look of foil over paper by 16 percent? Direct marketers can increase response rates simply by using silver or hologram labels.

And, based on Ballantine’s experience, staff reports that PURLs work best for lead generation, not for direct sales. However, they encourage direct marketers to test it out because results can of course vary.

If e-mail is the chosen direct marketing medium, before launching, make sure to test how it will look in different e-mail browsers such as Outlook, Gmail, and Yahoo!.

If mailing, always design a folded self mailer so the finished fold is on the bottom. This allows one wafer on top rather than two on the bottom and saves money.

What about envelopes? If you’re looking for an attractive, but inexpensive envelope, check out flexo printing and a web-style envelope. Flexo printing has come a long way and it can also produce half tones and solid coverage.

Finally – printing tips. If a continuous form has large areas of solid print or heavy copy, running it on a UV press will minimize any potential offsetting issues.

For all 50 tips, download here: www.ballantine.com/blog/direct-marketing-white-paper/ . (Note: registration required.)

For additional information on current direct marketing news and advice, visit: www.ballantine.com/blog .