Direct Mail Marketing: Metered Mail vs. Physical Stamps

[Jon Mitchell]

Hey everyone,

I'm beginning my direct mail marketing campaign through a third party company as of now. As I grow and expand my business, I would like to start doing most, if not all, of my direct mail in-house to save mailing costs in the long term. Where I'm stuck is whether I should use a metering system that pre-prints a stamp onto the envelop or find a machine that can place a physical stamp onto an envelope (obviously I can't sit there all day stamping).

I'm thinking from the perspective of mail that looks to "businessy" vs. mail that looks more personalized for better response/conversion rates. I also want some opinions on handwritten vs typed letters/envelopes. Is it a good idea to favor one or the other, or incorporate a little bit of both into a single mailer? I'm not too much of fan of yellow letters.. some of the examples that I've seen tend to look a little unprofessional. Just my opinion.