7 Mistakes To Avoid When Ordering Campaign Postcards

By Author: Ron Fox
Total Articles: 4
Comment this article

1) Buy election campaign postcards with UV coating (or any coating) one side only

UV (ultra violet) coating is what makes a postcard really shiny. Although technically possible, most mailing houses cannot address over a UV coating. A common solution is to affix labels, which adds cost. To be safe, only request UV coating on the non-address side of a postcard.

(2) Ensure the design of the political postcard meets postal regulations

The US Postal Service has regulations about space needed and location for address placement on a postcard. If you design the postcard, it is your responsibility to get it right, not the printer's. Don't end up with a stack of postcards that can't be mailed.

(3) Probably cheaper to print the postal indicia on campaign postcards rather than add during addressing

The postal indicia is like a stamp and is required for presorted standard (the new term for bulk mailing). It has numbers that tell the Post Office who owns the indicia. This can be printed the same time the card is printed if it is included in the artwork. No extra charge. If you forget to include ...
... it in the artwork, no problem, it can be added when the card is addressed. However, there is usually an extra charge for this.

(4) Cheaper to pay for professional addressing on election campaign postcards rather than have volunteers affix labels

Don't think you are saving money by ordering mailing labels and having volunteers affix them to cards. To get the best postage rates, mail pieces have to be machineable. This means high speed readers have to be able to read the address. If the label is put on crooked, highly likely with volunteers, the piece will be rejected, unless you are paying first class postage. Don't lose an election. Save the time, cost and aggravation by having a mail house do your addressing.

(5) Cheaper to have art on election postcards done professionally than do-it-yourself

Creating print ready art is simple, for a professional with the right graphics software. If you are not experienced, it will probably cost more to correct your art files than to do it from scratch. It will also delay your campaign message when time could be critical.

(6) Use a current, clean mailing list for political campaign postcards even if you have to pay for it.

A free outdated list is not free. You are paying for printing, addressing and postage on a lot of election postcards that will never be delivered. The worst part is you could lose a tight political race because your campaign message never reached the right voters. Don't be cheap here!

(7) Use the mail house indicia on campaign postcards instead of buying one from the post office

No need to pay the post office for an indicia. Almost every mail house will allow you to use theirs for free.

Recommendation: To stretch your political campaign budget, review the selection of WinAnElection campaign postcards (link to postcards) that have been created with cost in mind. Many were designed for specific campaign issues and specific political offices. We really welcome your comments regarding our products.

Ron Fox is the founder of WinAnElection. WinAnElection is dedicated to developing affordable professional election campaign tools so that more ordinary citizens can participate in our democratic processes and find ways how to win an election