By Tony Attwood

Of late a number of companies have been contacting Schools.co.uk concerning promotions to schools through the post, and obviously we are always happy to help.

So I thought I would very quickly outline what it is that we do, what we recommend, and why postal campaigns are particularly attractive.

Advertising to teachers by mail is an approach that stretches back to the 1970s, and many companies have continued to use it despite the rise in popularity of email marketing.

The post has a number of benefits: the response rates tend to be a lot higher; it is possible to test a promotion before jumping straight in with a full scale mailing; you can undertake a mailing yourself or ask Schools.co.uk to do it; and there is a choice of approaches.

I’ll deal with the last point first (just because I like to be contrary in such matters).

With postal mailings we offer shared mailings in which your leaflet travels in a pack with a small number of other leaflets, and then each leaflet is passed on to the relevant teacher by the school administrator.

The cost is normally around 10p per school including post, packing and printing, but obviously there can be variations depending on what you wish to send out.

With shared mailings you can opt for schools with sixth forms, all secondary schools, the 5000 largest primary schools, or all primary schools.

The alternative is to undertake a solo mailing in which your leaflet travels on its own, and the envelope is addressed to the teacher of your choice. Here the cost is higher because you are not sharing the cost with other companies, but that also normally means the response rate is a lot higher too.

Many companies choose to test the water first by sending out a few hundred adverts to schools selected from the target market at random, across the country.  But of course that is a matter for you. Certainly when you do undertake a larger postal run you can obtain quite considerable postal discounts.

The best way to approach a postal campaign, be it solo or shared, full scale or a test, is to call us on 01604 880 927 to discuss your plans so that we can advise you on the best route forwards.  Or you can email Stephen@schools.co.uk