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 Banning advertising mail with a Do Not Mail Registry has been proposed
across the nation for the past five years.
For the obvious reason that the impact of Direct Mail on the environment is enormous. William Craven of the environmental group, Forest Ethics, states that one hundred
million trees are logged every year and 6.5 million tons of paper is used to
produce direct mail pieces.
What would banning
advertising mail mean in terms of the economy? On ZDNet.com, blog reporter Doc,
states that "more than 3.5 million jobs are directly or indirectly supported by
advertising mail." Besides, he says, "I enjoy getting material in the
mail that is of interest to me even if I didn't ask for it."
"Banning advertising mail would be a bad idea in good economic times," he says, "but it is a terrible idea during the economic
crises currently facing the United States. Direct mail contributed more than 700
billion dollars of economic activity, according to a FoxNews report.
The biggest
problem with advertising mail, also fondly referred to as junk mail, is all of the advertising that
you don't want. For instance, if you
just moved into an apartment, you won't want to get advertising mail from
landscape designers or lawn mowers but if you just moved into a house, those
same ads would be nice to receive. The same is true for homeowners receiving
real estate flyers. It's a great way to keep up with the market and know what
your house is worth.
The impact on the US Postal Service, according to an advocate group
Mail Moves America, could cost the postal service between $4 billion and $10
billion annually. "To make up for that lost revenue, the Postal Service would
need to dramatically raise postal rates, cut jobs or cut back on services."
"Do Not Mail
proposals would hurt small businesses." states Doc, "More than 300,000
American small businesses rely on advertising mail to reach potential
customers." Direct mail is an affordable
means to get your message out. Real
estate agents, in particular, rely on direct mail pieces to generate leads. No official law has been implemented
in Colorado.
REALTORS® are required to search the FTC's "Do Not Call" Registry at least every 31 days and drop phone
numbers of consumers who have registered.
The National Association of
REALTORS® helps members keep up with these regulations and others including
regulations regarding faxes and email lists.
"Do Not Mail proposals are
unnecessary," states Mail Moves America. There are plenty of free options already available to
Americans wishing to reduce their advertising mail. The Direct Marketing Association
offers DMA Choice, an online service to remove your name from all mailers or
just certain ones.
- Direct
Marketing Association's Mail Preference Service (MPS) at http://www.dmachoice.org/.
- To reduce credit and insurance offers, visit www.optoutprescreen.com or call
1-888-5OPT-OUT (888-567-8688)
- Contact companies directly and ask to be taken off
their mailing list.
Proponents of the Do Not Mail List state that the average American receives
only 1 personal correspondence each week, compared to almost 18 pieces of junk
mail. This contributes to the destruction of our rainforests and releases more greenhouse gases than 9 million cars, all of which has a major
impact on global warming.
"It takes more than 100 million trees to produce the total volume of
junk mail that arrives in American mailboxes each year - that's the equivalent
of clear cutting the entire Rocky Mountain National Park every 4 months." states
the Do Not Mail.org website.
"Thanks to (sustainable) forestry practices," states the
MailMovesAmerica website, " there are more forests in the United States today
than there were 50 years ago."
Love it or hate it. Direct
mail is the lifeblood of small business in America. Both sides of the issue make good points. So, it boils down to compliance, real estate agents and all small businesses
need to make sure they are in compliance with all new regulations.
Read "The Problems with Do Not Mail Lists" at ZDNet.com
 photo credit: mag3737
Posted on August 16, 2011 10:57:35 by  Scott.Shields
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