Postal Tips

Consulting assistance is an NNA-member benefit. Membership also includes a subscription to Publishers’ Auxiliary, featuring the monthly column, Postal Tips. We can help with:

Interpretations of postal rules
Understanding how to enter mail properly
Assess steps you may be able to improve slow service
Know whether you are eligible for Periodicals permits
And unsnarl a host of other conundrums that arise when newspapers (and their shoppers/TMCs) are in the mail

Mail volume to fall 18%, deliveries up 5%

Feb 1, 2020

The Postal Service’s updated five-year plan predicts mail volume will fall 18% during that period, while delivery points will grow by 5%, or 6.9 million. That, in turn, means revenue per delivery ...

Electronic paid/requester subscriptions can count as valuable add-ons in certain circumstances

Jan 1, 2020

The ability to count electronic subscriptions on the annual postal Statement of Ownership, Management and Circulation, PS Form 3526, has been established since 2012. I have not revisited the subject since ...

Postal Q & A: Statements of ownership run in text form? Late?

Dec 1, 2019

These are questions to the NNA postal hotline that may be of interest to all members but with names and titles removed to protect the identity of the location asking. Q: We forgot to file our Statement ...

In-county newspapers, marketing mail shoppers, get low or no increases in 2020 rate case; distant mail more costly

Nov 1, 2019

The Postal Service filed October 9 for its annual inflationary rate increase effective Jan. 26, 2020. The price cap was 1.9%, limiting the hike for mailing services. In-County was announced as 1.5% and ...

Postal Q & A: What are my options to deal with local delivery complaints?

Oct 1, 2019

Q: One of our newspapers had a question about a postal weight limit on an insert. Disagreement ensued over a 3.3-ounce limit existing (or not). Does one exist?

Maximize postage savings & improve delivery under NNA-won rules, prices

Sep 1, 2019

Compare these to your postage statements and practices.

Postal Q & A: ID statement location, content required

Aug 1, 2019

Tub use to DDU drops

Boost distribution, sell extra advertising and grow subscriptions with mail sampling

Jul 1, 2019

I get frequent contacts about sampling and update my column on this topic every few years. I’m altering my approach some to suggest how to legally keep mail distribution at higher levels weekly, ...