We’re very excited to announce that high ROI bifold self-mailers are now live within Postalytics. Self-mailers are a high performing direct mail format that combine the best qualities of postcards and letters in a single format.
The new bifold self-mailers introduce some new concepts into the Postalytics editor that we’ll discuss below. The good news is that you’ll be able to quickly build campaigns with the self-mailers that take advantage of the same speed, integrations and analytics that other Postalytics formats deliver for you.
What is a Bifold Self-Mailer?
A bifold self-mailer is like an extra-large postcard that has a single fold and a fastener or adhesive that holds the fold together during the mailing process. The USPS revised their mailing standards in 2013 to enable folded self-mailers to be eligible for automation mailing postage rates. The USPS has published detailed guidelines that must be followed in order to be eligible for automation postage and IMB tracking.
Login to Check Out The New Bifold Self-mailers
Why Direct Mail Marketers Choose Self-Mailers: Best of Both Worlds
Self-mailers combine some of the best aspects of postcards and letters into a single format. Like postcards, self-mailers enable large, powerful imagery to be front and center when recipients pick up their mail so that they are immediately engaged with what they’re viewing. At the same time, due to the fold, self-mailers give far more real estate for marketers to persuade and convince the recipient to take action, just like a letter.
Bifold Self-mailers Come In 2 Sizes: 12×9 and 6×18 (Unfolded)
The great part about this release is that it enables marketers to experiment with two different creative styles while leveraging many existing creative assets. When folded, both formats look like our current 6×9 postcard format, meaning the height is measured at 6 inches and the width is measured at 9 inches. The 6×9 postcard is our most popular format, and so there are many front and back creative assets properly sized for the “panels” of the bifold self-mailers already.
Here’s some important specs for the new self-mailer formats:
- Basis Weight: 80# Cover with Gloss
- GSM: 218
- Full Bleed, 1 Side UV Gloss
- Adhesive: Stain resistant, low tack, clear fugitive glue
The 12×9 Bifold Self-mailer
The location of the “fold” of the self-mailer sets these two different sizes apart. The 12×9 format has a horizontal fold across the top of the mailer, so that it unfolds vertically. Here’s an example:
Each of the bifold self-mailer formats have 4 “panels” that contain creative. The 12×9 has “top” and “bottom” panels for both the “outside” of the mailer and the “inside”. Your creative can be focused on the 4 individual panels, as you see in the above top and bottom outside panels, or you can have the creative fill the entire 12×9 canvas as you see below on the top and bottom inside panels:
The Glue Zone
As you can see in the above example, each of the self-mailers has an area called the “Glue Zone”. The Glue Zone is the part of the mailer that will have the sticky adhesive affixed in order to hold the folds in place. While you can put design elements in the Glue Zone, we advise against putting any critical copy or calls to action there, as the adhesive can blur or even sometimes tear at the paper.
Outside/Inside Tab Control
Each of the mailers have a critical control on the upper left hand corner of the editor. The Outside/Inside tab control gives you the ability to quickly move between editing the outside panels of the self-mailer or the inside panels.
The 6×18 Bifold Self-mailer
The 6×18 self-mailer has a vertical fold that enables the mailer to unfold horizontally, creating a wide, 18 inch “inside panel” canvas for your creative. This very large canvas introduces a horizontal scrolling function to the Postalytics Direct Mail Editor, enabling you to slide between the left and right sides of the inside and outside panels.
Plan Types, Mailing Footprint and Postage Types
The Bifold Self-mailers are now live for all Postalytics plan types. Like other Postalytics formats, you can use our Direct Mail Credits feature to pre-purchase either size. If you are a subscription customer, you can access volume discount pricing by either sending 2500 pieces or more at a time or by pre-purchasing 2500 or more direct mail credits.
At launch, the bifold self-mailers are available to be mailed in the United States by the USPS. We are working with our Canadian print partner to introduce one of the sizes to be printed and mailed in Canada in a future update.
Finally, you can choose USPS First Class or Standard Class postage types for the Bifold Self-mailers. We are offering a nonprofit discount to Postalytics Pro and Agency customers that are mailing to the US, but this is not currently accessible in the app. To discuss access to the nonprofit discount, contact your Postalytics sales or client success rep.
Postalytics Bifold Self-mailers Knowledgebase Articles Now Live
A more detailed walk-through of the Bifold Self-mailers is available in the Postalytics Knowledgebase article. Additionally, we’ve updated the Adobe® Direct Mail Template Zip File with the specifications for both of the sizes so that you can generate “Build Offline” images for uploading into the Postalytics Asset Manager.
What’s Next? More Mailer Formats, Integrations & More Features
We’re planning lots of great new features, including several new integration and mailer formats, to roll out in the coming months. As always, if you have product enhancement ideas, we’d love to hear from you!