What We Do
Shared Mail
Shared Mail is one of the most cost-effective and highly impactful forms of direct mail advertising options at a fraction of the cost of other direct mail options.
The concept of shared mail originated in the 1980’s when the USPS passed a ruling that allowed multiple advertisers to share the cost of mailing by putting their free-standing advertising into a combined package with other advertisers.
How it works: We prepare professional packages that include your advertisement, along with other select clients, for arrival in mailboxes. We deliver your message on pre-scheduled dates that you select for the best response. By sharing the expense with other businesses, you dramatically reduce your advertising costs. This cost-sharing allows you to deliver powerful marketing direct to every consumer in your target market for pennies per household.
- Highly cost-effective, typically 1/3 the cost of other direct mail options.
- Lower costs yield higher returns on investment.
- Target specific zip codes or geographic areas and reach to every household in the market, providing excellent market coverage.
- High Impact – our package (and your advertisement) won’t be missed in the mailbox; consumers will see you
- Mailed advertisements are ‘sticky’ and engage the consumer. According to Valpak, 68% of Americans collect their mail every day with Milleniums spending the most time sorting and reading/opening their mail.
- Multiple advertising options to fit your needs and budget
- Our turnkey pricing includes design, printing, processing, postage, and delivery.
Shared Mail Products
Our shared mail products fall into five styles: D-Cards, Inserts, Wraps, Remnant Space & Maine Home & Living.
D-Cards
The D-Card (Detached Address Card) is a freestanding direct mail postcard that is delivered separately in the mailbox but accompanies the Mail New England mail package. Mail New Englands’s address label is printed on half of the back, while the front and half of the back are available for your message. D-Cards must be reserved in advance, as there is only one D-Card per zip code, per mail date.
Our D-Cards offer you the opportunity for a free-standing direct mail piece at a shared mail price.
- Traditional D-Card: 5″ x 9″
Printed on 9pt C2S for a gloss finish
Full color on one and a half sides only (half of back side is for address label)
Inserts
An insert refers to any piece that is inside the mail package. We offer turnkey insert products to fit your advertising needs and budget.
- Cards
- Single Sheets
- Multi-Page
You may also opt to design and print your own piece and provide it to us for distribution (See our Shared Mail Specifications Guide for basic requirements).
Card Inserts
Our card sized inserts offer a cost-effective way to reach all of the consumers in your target area. The size and paper stock are perfect for coupons and for consumers to hold on to for future use.
- 5” x 9”
Printed on 9pt coated card stock for a glossy finish
Full color on one side, b/w or full color on 2nd side
Single Sheets
Our single sheet products offer more room to feature your products & services and multiple coupons. The glossy finish adds a more professional look and feel to your message.
- 8.5” x 11”
Printed on 50# coated paper for a glossy finish
Full color on both sides - 10” x 11.5”
Printed on 50# coated paper for a glossy finish
Full color on both sides
Multi-Page
Multi-page flyers provide you with the most advertising space and visibility for your message. Available in several paper stock and finish combinations, our standard folded flyer also offers the flexibility of being used as an insert or in the wrap position.
- 11” x 17” Folded Flyer
Printed on 50#, 60# Offset paper for a matte finish or 50#-60# coated paper for a glossy finish
Folded with a ¼” lip to become a 4 page flyer
Available as an insert in our mail package or as the wrap (based on availability)
Standard Wraps
The wrap is the outside flyer that holds our mail package together. Typically, it’s 11” x 17” folded to 4-pages. The wrap position must be reserved in advance as there is only one wrap per zip code, per mail date. All flyers mailing in the wrap position are required to include an address block. Any wrap that is not being printed by Mail New England must have the size and placement of this block approved before printing.
Mail New England Standard Wrap
- 11” x 17” Folded Flyer
- Printed on 50#, 60# Offset paper for a matte finish or 50#-60# coated paper for a glossy finish
- Folded with a ¼” lip to become a 4-page flyer
- Available as an insert in our mail package or as the wrap (based on availability)
Maine Home & Living (MHL)
A monthly, 4-page tabloid printed in full-color on glossy paper. MHL is the outside piece of our shared mail package also known as our wrap because it “wraps” around the other free-standing inserts. This premium position makes it highly visible when people remove their mail from their box.
This piece offers advertisers the opportunity to promote their business to a large audience and full zip codes. Each month 100k copies are mailed over a two-week period. This is a multi-advertiser product with various ad size options. Zip codes are selected based on availability, the advertisers, and areas where a wrap is needed. Since this is shared with other advertisers the cost per piece cannot be beat!
House Wrap Space
Comparable to our other wrap products, this is the outside position of our mail package. Every zip code in our program must have a wrap to contain/hold the other free-standing inserts and carry our permit. In areas where a wrap is not sold to an individual business, we schedule a House Wrap.
These wraps vary and may be either 4 or 8-pages, black and white or full-color. Hundreds of thousands of copies are printed weekly and zip codes are selected based on need. Like our Maine Homes & Living wrap our House Wraps offer full-page advertising space to multiple advertisers. If you have a product or service that can be promoted throughout the state this is the lowest cost option to reach a sizable number of households.
Shared Mail Works!
Shared mail is relevant to the needs of every household…groceries, home and car care, dining, home improvement, and much more. It offers a sense of familiarity that is hard to achieve with other advertising mediums.
76% Use printed store circulars to compare prices between brands^
54% Say direct mail ads motivate them to try a new business*
Advertising mail is kept in a household for 17 days on average**
*Source: Valassis Consumer Study, 2020, ^ Valassis Consumer Intel Report, 2020, **Smallbizgenius.com 2022)
