
Business reply cards are a simple yet effective way to make it easy for customers to respond to your marketing efforts. They can be pre-printed with a return address and a unique code or QR code that makes it easy for customers to send back their response.
You can use business reply cards for a variety of purposes, including contests, sweepstakes, and product trials. They're a great way to encourage engagement and get feedback from your customers.
The cost of business reply cards can vary depending on the size and quantity you order, but they're often a cost-effective option compared to other marketing materials. A standard business reply card typically costs between 5-15 cents per unit.
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What is a Business Reply Card?
A business reply card, also known as a BRC, is a prepaid postcard that lets prospects return it in the mail without paying for postage. You can insert them in magazines, periodicals, or mail them on their own.
One side of the postcard can be customized as you see fit, while the other side contains your company address, business reply barcode, and other requirements.
Benefits and Importance

Business reply cards are a game-changer for small businesses, offering improved response rates and immediate feedback from direct mail marketing campaigns. They help businesses improve responses for surveys, subscriptions, and more at an affordable rate.
The cost of business reply cards and envelopes may be a little higher than normal direct mail letters and postcards, but every responded-to card is worth the new lead. Every cent paid extra is worth the subscriptions, survey responses, and more.
Business reply cards simplify the prospect responding process, providing an incentive for replying to your direct mail survey, subscription, or nonprofit donation. This ultimately boosts response rates.
Preprinted addresses on business reply cards increase the accuracy of delivery, removing any mistakes and undeliverable addresses. This ensures that your mail reaches the right people.
Using a business reply card is a great way to get ahead of your competitors, as ordinary and plain postcards sent by them will never receive the same kind of response and attention as your personalized cards.
Here are some examples of who can benefit from using a business reply card:
- Businesses requiring customer feedback or responses.
- Non-profits looking to increase engagement with supporters.
- Event organizers seeking RSVP confirmations.
- Marketing teams wanting to track campaign responses.
- Government agencies using the template to simplify communication.
How to Obtain and Use
To obtain a Business Reply Mail or Qualified Business Reply Mail permit, you'll need to file your application and pay the annual fee. Applications can be found on PS Form 3615 and PS Form 6805.
Once you've filed your application and set up an advanced deposit account, you'll need to have it held at the postal facility where your mailing will return. This postage deposit will be deducted every time a reply mail is sent back to you.
What Is Email?
So you're wondering what a business reply email is? Well, I've got some bad news - there's no such thing as a business reply email. But what I can tell you about is how businesses use a Business Reply Card (BRC) to allow recipients to reply without paying postage.
Businesses use BRCs to send pre-addressed cards with direct mail materials. The receiver can use the pre-addressed card to reply to the marketer without charges.
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A common way to use BRCs is to include a pre-addressed card in a periodical that the receiver can use to renew their subscription without a stamp. Businesses pay an annual, flat fee to the U.S. Postal Service to use BRCs.
BRCs can be in the form of envelopes, labels, self-mailers, or postcards.
How Small Businesses Use Cards
Small businesses can use business reply cards (BRCs) in various ways to grow their business and gather valuable feedback. They can leverage BRCs to motivate prospects and existing customers to subscribe to their club, magazine, journal, or newspaper.
To use BRCs effectively, it's essential to ensure your mailing list is reliable. A trusted direct mailing services provider can help you with an accurate mailing list, whether you require a business-to-business mailing list, zip code mailing list, saturation mailing list, or new mover mailing list.
Businesses can use BRCs to provide an incentive for their prospects, such as a discount or free trial. This can be described on the customized side of the BRC, along with an easy-to-use check box for customers to indicate their interest.
You can also use BRCs to gather demographic data, feedback from users of your products, or to have recipients answer a survey. List a few simple questions on the BRC with easy-to-answer options, such as multiple-choice questions or a rating scale.
Here are some examples of who might need a BRC template for business reply mail:
- Businesses requiring customer feedback or responses.
- Non-profits looking to increase engagement with supporters.
- Event organizers seeking RSVP confirmations.
- Marketing teams wanting to track campaign responses.
- Government agencies using the template to simplify communication.
Costs and Incentives
The costs of using business reply mail can add up. The annual permit fee for a business reply mail program is $265, which is a relatively low cost.
To give you a better idea of the costs involved, let's break down the annual fees. You'll also need to pay an annual account maintenance fee of $800.
Here's a summary of the costs:
Costs
The costs of business reply mail can add up quickly. The annual permit fee is a significant expense, coming in at $265 per year.
If you're planning to use business reply mail, you'll also need to factor in the annual account maintenance fee, which is $800.
Let's break down the costs per piece, but unfortunately, the article doesn't provide that information.
To give you a better idea of the costs involved, here's a summary of the fees:
Incentive Promotion
Using business reply cards can be a great way to promote your incentive program to prospects. You can use them to describe your incentive program in detail.
Images and text can be used to effectively communicate the benefits of your incentive program on the custom side of the postcard. This can include descriptions of rewards, discounts, or exclusive offers.
Providing an easy check box option on the postcard allows prospects to indicate their interest in receiving the incentive.
Addressing and Data Collection
Business reply cards are a great way to collect demographic data from your prospects. You can print easy-to-reply questions on the postcard to get the information you need.
To make it even easier for your prospects to respond, you can add a business reply mail permit, which saves you the trouble and yearly fees of applying for one yourself. This permit is available for a small fee.
Business reply mail services also simplify the prospect responding process and provide an incentive for replying, which ultimately boosts response rates. This is a great advantage of using business reply mail services.
Here are some benefits of using business reply mail services:
- Simplifies the prospect responding process and provides incentive for replying to your direct mail survey, subscription, nonprofit donation, etc.
- Increases the accuracy of delivery as the addresses are preprinted for responders, removing any mistakes and undeliverable addresses.
- Quicker response times as preprinted addresses and the pre-attached postage stamp makes it easy to send back these mailers.
- The price of a postage is worth a new lead!
To design and process your business reply mail, you can take advantage of Addressers' expertise. Their team will design the BRM and QBRM and guarantee its satisfaction with USPS strict guidelines and precise measurements.
Templates and Subscriptions
Business reply cards are an easy way to make it easy for your prospects to subscribe to your magazine. They're most commonly found as inserts in magazines and periodicals.
If you're looking to use a business reply card template, you'll want to consider the type of business you are. Here are some examples of who might need a BRM Card Template:
- Businesses requiring customer feedback or responses.
- Non-profits looking to increase engagement with supporters.
- Event organizers seeking RSVP confirmations.
- Marketing teams wanting to track campaign responses.
- Government agencies using the template to simplify communication.
To get new subscribers, all your prospects need to do is fill in their name and address on the postcard and send it back.
Direct Mail and Return
Business reply cards are a simple prepaid postcard that a recipient can return in the mail without paying for postage.
You can customize one side of the postcard, and the other side must have the company address along with a business reply barcode and other BRC requirements.
A common spec for business reply cards is an 8 x 6 postcard, perforated and folded in half, tabbed and mailed as a 4 x 6 postcard.
Business reply cards can be inserted in magazines or mailed on their own, making them effective for simple surveys, subscriptions, sign-ups, and more.
Adding a business reply card to your direct mail can help generate responses when other methods prove ineffective.
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Qualified and Demographic Data
You can use business reply cards to acquire demographic data on your prospects. This can be done by printing easy-to-reply questions on the postcard.
Business reply cards can be useful for polling a general audience without compromising on privacy. You can add a code on the card to know which customer is replying, without adding identifying information.
Alternatively, you can use business reply cards to collect demographic data without revealing the identity of the respondents. This way, you can maintain privacy while still gathering the information you need.
Qualified
Qualified mail is a type of mail that is processed quickly and efficiently by the USPS. It requires a unique barcode called the Intelligent Mail barcode that speeds up sorting and preparation.
To use Qualified Business Reply Mail, you'll need a QBRM permit, which also lowers postage costs for large quantity mailings. This type of mail is complicated due to its automation compatibility requirement.
You can obtain a QBRM permit by filing an application and paying an annual fee, which can be found on PS Form 3615 and PS Form 6805.
Acquire Demographic Data
Acquiring demographic data is a crucial step in understanding your target audience. You can use business reply cards to collect demographic data from your prospects.
Print a few easy-to-reply questions on the postcard to gather the information you need. A code on the card can also be used to know which customer is replying without compromising on privacy.
Business reply cards can be a useful tool for maintaining privacy while still collecting demographic data.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is business reply mail USPS?
Yes, Business Reply Mail is a service provided by the United States Postal Service. It offers a convenient, prepaid method for recipients to reply to mailings.
Sources
- https://www.theaddressers.com/direct-mail/business-reply-mail
- https://www.mailkingusa.com/kings-corner/power-of-business-reply-mail-brc
- https://www.mailkingusa.com/kings-corner/the-relevance-of-business-reply-cards
- https://www.printfriendly.com/document/brm-card-template-business-reply-mail
- https://formspal.com/pdf-forms/other/business-reply-template/
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