Since I last blogged, I solicited a number of marketers, friends and relatives for feedback on my blog. I got some great advice, including balanced coverage (show some effective pieces), how to post comments and how to get e-mail alerts when there has been an update. I will be incorporating these ideas and features into the blog soon.

Back to the evaluation of direct mail pieces...

I recently received a piece from another real estate agent. The address was printed in blue ink in a fancy typeface, but the professionalism of this piece was quickly lost. The addressed-to name spelled my husband's name wrong and listed my name as if Krug was my first name and Dana, my last name. A quick review of the mailing list would have allowed the mailer to fix this and eliminate the embarassment of this mistake.

Babies R Us sent me a promotion for baby items, most everything listed was for babies two years and under. Babies R Us should have a way to "age" their list. When I signed up for the Babies R Us mailings, I had written my baby's due date. Based on this, they should know that my child is no longer in their target audience. This could save them a lot of money. They do list a phone number for the recipient to make a name change, addition or removal. This seems like a task that Babies R Us should have done and not let this up to the recipient.

Okay, I have not been balanced yet...I received a mailing from the http://www.mjhnyc.org/index.htm Museum of Jewish Heritage in Manhattan. (It was properly addressed!) It peeked my interest since I am a genealogy buff and have recently discovered distant relatives who survived the Holocaust. I did not realize that there was a (new) museum in downtown Manhattan dedicated to Jewish heritage. The piece was clean and provided a straight-forward listing of the museum's events in March and April. The tagline, "Tradition. Expression. Reflection" seems like a positive, yet, enticing "expression" of the museum's exhibits and purpose.