Invitation mailers (Letter Printing & Mailing)
Our innovative Invitation Mailer – is a game-changer in the world of direct mail marketing. Designed to stand out and engage, our Invitation Mailers deliver results. These invitation mailers are personalized with the information from your mailing list to give a personal touch to your direct mail. It is common knowledge that mail-merged direct mail pieces always perform better than generic mailers, resulting in higher response rates. We offer many paper types to suit your needs and help you stand out. All invitation mailers receive real peel-and-stick stamps for an authentic look. Choose a discounted postage class to lower your cost, and choose our cancellation service to cancel your stamps for a more personalized and authentic appearance.
We offer our invitation mailers in simplex or duplex printing, and you can include any images or graphics, including your signature, at closing. Adding your business cards can increase your effectiveness and make a lasting impression. If you choose the business card option, we will print your business cards and include one with each invitation mailer. Note due to the smaller size of envelopes, your letter is half-folded and inserted into the envelope. We recommend downloading a Ms Word template from below.
Handwritten fonts
Take advantage of our complimentary handwritten fonts to provide your envelopes with a personalized touch - this can easily increase the chances that they will be opened! These beautiful and unique fonts are available in black ink or an array of colors. We can also create a handwritten font based on your own handwriting. Click here to see our handwritten fonts. You can even use our handwritten fonts with discounted bulk postage for our mass mailer services.
Real postage stamps with cancellation
Having mail that stands out can be difficult, but not when you use peel & stick stamps. Your envelopes will never look like the generic junk mail that floods the recipient's mailbox. We can even print cancellation marks on your postage, similar marks to what regular 1st class postages receive from USPS. Read more here.
50 Piece Minimum
If you're looking for low minimums, look no further! With us, nearly any job can be completed with only 50 pieces. And if that's not enough incentive for working with us - we offer discounted postage rates (standard and nonprofit presort classes) on orders of 50 pieces or less!
List setup
The list must be in CSV format; we do not accept Excel. You will be required to upload your list on the next page after you upload your letter/envelope on this page. You can upload multiple lists and choose all of them to be combined and used for this mailing. You will need to map each column/field in your list for a certain purpose, e.g. you will map your field OWNER_FNAME to “First Name”. All the fields/columns you intend to use in this job must be mapped to a field. If your list has extra fields/column that is not needed for this job; you should leave them mapped as “Don’t include”. See the options below if you have a field in your list that we do not show an exact map name.
- Date related: For instance, you have a field for “expiration date” but we don’t have such a map field. There are three “date” fields called Date1, Date2, Date3 which can be mapped to any date-related field in your list. Therefore you can map “expiration date” to Date1.
- Amount related: Same concept as above. We offer three amount fields (Amount1, Amount2, and Amount3) that can be used to be mapped to any field in your list that is amount-related.
- If you have any additional fields in your list where you don’t find an appropriate map name, then use any of the 10 Misc. fields we have; Misc1 to Misc10.
- If you chose any of the map names (Date, Amount, or Misc) from the above three steps then you must modify the tags in your letter/envelope (the placeholder where the merge fields are to be inserted) to correspond to our “map” names. For instance, if you used the map name Date1 for your “expiration date” then you need to modify the tag for the “expiration date” in the letter to Date1. Essentially you need to tell us where to insert the Date1 in the letter.
Letter setup
The letter must be in PDF format. If you have a multi-page letter then you’ll need to upload a multi-page PDF, NOT a separate page for each page. If your letter requires mail merging then indicate the location of the merge fields by inserting the field name in <<>>, e.g. <
- Full bleed letters must include a minimum of 1/16” bleed on every side.
- Non-full bleed letters must have a minimum of ¼” clear margin on every side.
- Graphics: We highly recommend a minimum of 300 dpi for all graphics or your print job may appear low quality.
- All photos, graphics, signature or other elements need to be included in your letter.
- Mailing date: We will update the mailing date on your letter to the date when the letters are mailed only when the date is located on top 1/3 of page 1 and is on its own line; it cannot be within a sentence. If you prefer to use a date outside the parameters just explained then you will need to set up your date as a merge field inside the merge code such as <
> and add this field to your mailing list and populate this field with your desired date. If you chose the “staggered” option, then each drop will be dated based on when it is mailed.
Envelope setup
This information only applies if you are uploading an envelope template. Your envelope template must be uploaded in PDF format. Simple envelopes can be created in Ms Word or similar programs then saved as a PDF to be uploaded here. You can use one of our envelope templates from below to get started.
- Full bleed envelopes: This letter printing product only supports not full-bleed envelopes which means you must have at least a ¼” clear margin on all 4 sides. Your envelopes must be ordered separately if you need to use full bleed envelopes with your letters.
- Graphics: All graphics must be included in the uploaded PDF. We highly recommend a minimum of 300 dpi for graphics or your print may not look high quality.
- Addressing zone: This page shows the areas that must be left clear for addressing, USPS barcoding, and postage.
Templates
FAQs
Invitation mailers are a highly effective direct mail marketing tool designed to personally invite recipients to an event, a special offer, or a specific action. Unlike a generic postcard, an invitation mailer cultivates a sense of exclusivity and direct appeal, making the recipient feel personally recognized and valued. They are crafted to look and feel like a personal invitation, often incorporating premium paper, elegant design, and personalized elements.
Our innovative Invitation Mailer represents a significant advancement in direct mail marketing, meticulously engineered for impactful engagement and superior results. Each mailer is thoughtfully personalized utilizing data from your mailing list, ensuring a uniquely tailored message for every recipient. It is a well-established principle that mail-merged direct mail consistently outperforms generic mailers, directly correlating to higher response rates for your campaigns.
We provide two distinct size configurations to accommodate your specific communication needs: a compact format featuring a 6"x9" sheet, half-folded and inserted into a 4.75"x6.5" envelope, and a more substantial option comprising a 6.75"x10" sheet, similarly half-folded for insertion into a 5.25"x7.25" envelope. To further enhance your brand's aesthetic alignment and market differentiation, we also offer a curated selection of colored paper types, ensuring your message delivers a distinct and memorable impression.
The primary role of invitation mailers in direct mail marketing is to drive attendance or participation through a direct, personal appeal. They prove particularly powerful for promoting events, such as grand openings, sales events, product launches, webinars, galas, seminars, or exclusive previews, where the invitation format helps to build excitement and anticipation. Beyond events, these mailers can effectively encourage specific actions, inviting recipients to join loyalty programs, sign up for free consultations, attend limited-time demos, or claim special, personalized offers; this phrasing frames the call to action as an exclusive opportunity. By extending a personal invitation, businesses can also significantly build stronger relationships and foster exclusivity with their audience, making recipients feel like VIPs, which in turn enhances brand loyalty and engagement. Furthermore, when combined with a well-segmented mailing list, invitation mailers enable targeted outreach, allowing businesses to precisely reach specific demographics or past customer segments with highly relevant and appealing offers or event details.
In essence, invitation mailers strategically leverage the psychological impact of a personal invitation to create a compelling reason for recipients to engage and act, effectively transforming a marketing message into a personal appeal.
Invitation mailers are a highly effective direct mail tool for a wide array of businesses looking to create a sense of exclusivity and personally invite recipients to an event, special offer, or specific action. They're especially powerful for driving engagement by making the recipient feel valued.
Consider using invitation mailers if you're in:
- Retail and E-commerce: Perfect for inviting loyalty program members to exclusive sales events, product launch parties, or private shopping hours. You could also invite top customers to preview new collections.
- Hospitality and Entertainment: Ideal for promoting grand openings of new restaurants, hotels, or entertainment venues. Use them to invite guests to special themed nights, concerts, or VIP events.
- Automotive Dealerships: Send invitations to exclusive test drive events for new models, private sales, or special service clinic days for valued customers.
- Financial Services: Invite prospective clients to financial planning seminars, wealth management workshops, or exclusive informational sessions on new investment opportunities.
- Real Estate: Use them to invite local residents to open houses, neighborhood market update seminars, or exclusive property preview events for high-value listings.
- Non-Profit Organizations: Essential for inviting donors to fundraising galas, appreciation dinners, volunteer recruitment events, or special impact report presentations.
- Education and Training: Invite prospective students to open house events, campus tours, informational sessions for specific programs, or complimentary workshops.
- Home Services: While less common, a high-end landscaping company might invite past clients to a "spring preparation" or "winterization" seminar, or a remodeling company could invite prospects to a showroom open house.
- Arts and Culture: Galleries inviting patrons to new exhibition openings, theaters inviting subscribers to a season preview, or museums inviting members to exclusive tours.
- Any Business with a Loyalty Program or VIP Tier: Invitation mailers are excellent for making your most valued customers feel special and giving them early access or exclusive benefits.
Essentially, any business that wants to make its customers or prospects feel personally invited to a valuable experience, rather than just advertised to, can benefit significantly from using invitation mailers. They transform a transactional message into a relationship-building gesture, which often leads to higher response rates.
Each mailer is meticulously personalized using data from your mailing list, ensuring every recipient receives a uniquely tailored message.
We offer invitation mailers with one-sided or double-sided printing, allowing for optimal utilization of space. You can incorporate any images or graphics, including a digitized signature for closing, to further personalize your communication. You also have the option of having your business cards inserted into the envelope with your card. If chosen, we will print your business cards and hand-insert one with each invitation mailer. For an added layer of personalized authenticity, select one of our complimentary handwritten fonts to give your envelopes a personal touch, a feature proven to significantly increase open rates. These distinct fonts are available in black ink or a diverse array of colors. We can also create a handwritten font based on your own handwriting.
All invitation mailers are affixed with genuine peel-and-stick postage stamps, providing an authentic, non-commercial appearance that effectively distinguishes your mail from typical bulk solicitations. For cost optimization, you can select a discounted postage class and we also provide a cancellation service to print marks on your postage, mirroring the authentic cancellations applied by USPS to standard First-Class Forever stamps, thereby enhancing perceived personalization.
Your project's turnaround time officially begins once you approve your Invitation Mailer proof. The proofing process typically takes one to two business days, depending on when you submit your order and files. Our daily cut-off for proof approval is 12:00 PM PST. If you approve your proof before this time, that day will count as the first day of production. If you approve it after 12:00 PM PST, then the next business day will be considered your first production day. After your proofs are approved the mailing date will be set to mail your invitations within four business days.
We offer a flexible ordering range for our invitation mailers, with a minimum order of 50 pieces and a maximum standard order of 25,000. For any requirements exceeding 25,000 invitation cards, please contact one of our sales associates directly for comprehensive pricing and fulfillment details. For particularly large volume orders, we can also implement a staggered, weekly mailing schedule to suit your campaign needs.
Regarding fulfillment, you have two convenient options. We can manage the entire mailing process for you, ensuring your invitations are delivered efficiently. Alternatively, we can print and address the unsealed envelopes, then box and ship them directly to you. This option is ideal if you prefer to keep them on hand for periodic mailing, allowing you to add personal notes or signatures as needed. Please note that if you choose this self-mailing option, you will be responsible for affixing the postage stamps to the envelopes yourself.
If you need a mailing list, we can certainly help you create one. You can start by completing a questionnaire on our website where you'll provide specific information about your target audience. We'll use this to determine counts based on your requested parameters and email you the results within one business day.
We offer a wide array of mailing lists, including those for businesses, consumers, donors, mortgages, new movers, real properties, and even federal and state tax liens. Just tell us the approximate size of the mailing list you're looking for, or if you'd like all available records.
For geography, you have several options: you can select by a radius around a specific address, by zip code, by postal carrier route, by county, by state, or nationwide. If you choose a radius, please provide the exact street address, city, state (from our comprehensive list of all U.S. states and Washington D.C.), and zip code to serve as the center point. For example, you could specify a 1-mile radius around 123 ABC St, Los Angeles, CA 90022. You can also specify the radius size, or leave it blank and we'll adjust it to help you achieve your target quantity.
Beyond geography, please explain any additional parameters you are looking for in your list. We'll then email you the detailed results of your request within one business day. To complete your request, simply provide your name, phone number, and email address, along with any additional comments.
To initiate your mailing list request, simply click this link. https://itidirectmail.net/mailinglist.html
