The US Postal Service has introduced new postal rates from today for all its market-dominant services, with a 44-cent First Class Mail stamp rising to 45 cents.

Direct mail isn’t what it used to be—boring and impersonal. Thanks to digital printing capabilities, new marketing technologies like QR codes, and an integrated multi-channel approach, direct mail today can be interactive and meaningful. As a result, marketers are recognizing this medium as a critical part of lead-generation campaigns.

Here are three ways savvy marketers are using direct mail to build, qualify and nurture leads while saving time and money.

The US Postal Service has been given the green light to allow its major direct mail customers new ways to pay for their mailings.

While direct marketing is often divided into two camps — traditional offline channels against nontraditional digital channels — smart marketers know that is not an us–versus–them story. In fact, marketers are finding that the best direct marketing programs are those that marry the best of both worlds with a multichannel integrated approach.

Dallas—Despite the rise of digital marketing and channel proliferation, direct mail is preferred over email for receiving marketing messages, according to a new study by multichannel marketing company Epsilon.

If you run a B2B catalog company, chances are you have been following the continuing saga of the USPS wondering how future postage increases will affect your business. The short answer is that the magnitude of postage increases in the near future will have a meaningful impact on your business; just how meaningful remains to be seen...