Fill Up Your Marketing Bus

All those documents you mail -- invoices, statements, cheques, notices, etcetera -- cost you 54 cents in postage.

Mailing an envelope with one piece of paper in it is like driving a school bus around by yourself -- a huge waste. Canada Post will let you mail up to 30 grams for the hefty 54 cents they charge. Within the 30 gram limit, you can include three to five pieces in the envelope depending on the weight of each insert.

Mailing an invoice? You have a pretty good chance of reaching a happy customer (hopefully happy). Who better to learn about the other products and services you offer? Include your new brochure or rack card with a related product offering. If they just stayed at your B&B, they might want to know about the package you offer in other seasons.

Create a bill insert. A bill insert is simply an unfolded piece of paper which will fit in your envelope with an invoice or statement. Launching a new product or changing your hours? Don't send another envelope without at least including a simple bill insert to keep the invoice or statement company.


The piece you include does not have to be yours. Maybe you are selling home heating fuel, how much would a door & window retailer pay to send an upgrade special to your customers? Maybe a cooperative agreement to include each others' inserts with statements and invoices.

Don't limit your inserts to just invoices and statements. For small businesses, suppliers can be customers so include your marketing message with your cheques.

Many businesses use printed envelopes. On the envelope, they have a return address and their logo -- that's it. Canada Post will let you put a lot of graphics and text on the front and back of your envelopes. You need to leave some white space but there is plenty of room for a solid marketing message. Paint the side of your bus!

Still using a blank envelope from a big box store? You might be surprised at how cost effective printed envelopes can be; even in small quantities, the cost of a printed envelope is way less than the postage. Take a look at your mail when it comes in. The larger, professional companies send printed envelopes. What does your envelope tell your customer?

At PrintFusion, all of our own envelopes have a message on the flap. Right now, it is about our business card special: 500 business cards for 25 bucks. Which reminds me, I think it is time to change up our message. Change it regularly but keep the look and feel consistant with your brand.

If you are paying the price for the bus -- maximize the benefit -- stop driving around by yourself. Can you think of a better place to put a marketing message than right in front of a satisfied customer who just purchased your product or service?