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Moonlight Mailing Services President, Certified by the USPS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Moonlight Mailing Services President, Certified by the U.S. Postal Service

Palatine, IL, January 28, 2004: Shelly Blake, President of Moonlight Mailing Services, recently received certification from the United States Postal Service as a Mailpiece Quality Control Specialist. This designation allows Moonlight to serve customers with the latest specifications in mailpiece design, processing and rate guidelines.

This training was developed by the Postal Service to offer mailers, printers, and mailing services the opportunity to enhance their knowledge and expertise in proper development/design of a mailpiece, making it 100% automation compatible. Mailpieces that meet USPS regulations can significantly reduce costs and improve product deliverability. Additionally, mailers will be able to take advantage of automation discounts, further reducing mailing costs.

In today's mailing industry, staying competitive and designing quality mailpieces have become a necessity. Poor mailpiece design causes processing and delivery delays. Mailpiece quality control is a systematic method of ensuring that designs are acceptable for mailing and are eligible for worksharing discounts from the Postal Service.

MQC Specialists are recognized as having achieved a high level of proficiency in mailpiece design and adherence to postal addressing standards. To become an MQC specialist, Mrs. Blake took the MQC certification test and scored 90% or better. Certification is valid for a two-year period.

Moonlight Mailing Services is a Palatine, Illinois based mail house. They provide mailing and lettershop services, as well as offering mailpiece design consultation to companies in the marketing industry. Working closely with advertising agencies and printing companies, Moonlight has helped many companies to enjoy higher postage discounts, faster delivery times and better relationships with the postal service.

Moonlight Mailing Services, a division of Moonlight Productions Inc. is celebrating a decade of direct marketing services to the Northwest Suburban Chicagoland area. Moonlight is women-owned and operated. Moonlight is a member of the American Marketing Association (AMA) and the Mailing and Fulfillment Services Association (MFSA). For more information, contact Moonlight at 847-776-9697 or online at www.moonlightmail.com.

# # #

CONTACT:
Shelly Blake
Moonlight Mailing Services
Phone: 847-776-9697
www.moonlightmail.com
info@moonlightmail.com


Moonlight Mailing Services Moves

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Moonlight Shines On...Again A Business Success Story

Palatine, IL, September 15, 2004: On October 1st, Moonlight Mailing Services, Shelly Blake’s woman-owned direct mail business, is moving to a new 8,000 square foot facility at 715 S. Vermont Street in Palatine. They need the increased space to accommodate the latest mailing equipment and services. This will be the fourth move for the fast growing company.

In 1993, Shelly began her company in her Palatine townhouse. Her husband, Ian, worked full time, helping out in the evenings and on weekends. In 1996, the family moved to a new Palatine home where Shelly conducted business from a larger 800 square foot converted garage.

The Blake’s wanted to start a family and Shelly wanted to remain home based, but the business quickly outgrew the house. In 1998, two months after Matthew, their first child was born, Moonlight moved to a 1,750 square foot commercial site at 411 West Colfax in Palatine. “I really didn’t want to work outside the house, especially with a new baby,” says Shelly. “But we needed the space, so the baby just came to work with me.”

Moonlight could now purchase the latest equipment and add new services. In addition to designing direct mail pieces and processing small mailings, Moonlight could create customized databases, processes larger direct mailings, add in-house printing services for postcards, fliers and newsletters; all with quicker turnaround. Customers were thrilled with the additional services and their mailing cost savings. Many customers started turning projects over to Moonlight that they previously did in-house.

Ian, who has been in the computer industry for over a decade, is Moonlight’s programming guru and database administrator. He has elevated the sophistication of Moonlight's services so clients can save even more time and money.

The new, larger space on Vermont Street will allow Moonlight to provide the same high level of service and leaves room for additional equipment they have planned. There’s also more room for their second child, Abigail. “Seems like every time I have a new baby, the business expands,” says Shelly. Although their kids are now in daycare, the family-friendly atmosphere extends to the entire Moonlight team and is also felt by their customers.

Shelly credits much of the new business to the recent “do not call” legislation. “Companies are finding they have to contact their customers the old fashioned way, using direct mail. Phone calls, faxes and SPAM e-mails are failing while direct mail is still working. Direct mail is still the most economical, effective and least intrusive way to reach prospects and clients,” says Shelly.

“Addressing is printed directly on the mailing piece, no labels are needed. Four-color technology is cheaper today than ever before. But to keep pieces pristine, most customers opt to have their mail pieces varnished (a process that covers the piece with a type of plastic coating). While most mailing equipment can’t print on plastic, our new equipment will use an ink process that will print directly on any piece regardless of material, and we can handle high volumes.”

Moonlight handles all facets of mailing including collating, folding, tabbing, inserting, sealing, affixing labels, postal sorting, sacking, strapping and delivery to the post office, regardless of whether the job is first class or bulk, 200 or 2 million pieces. They also consult on, create and manage mailing lists. They offer database services including data entry, detecting and eliminating duplicates, file restructuring, bar coding, CASS Certification, pre-sorting, ink jet addressing and variable data printing.

Shelly and her Production Coordinator Carol White are both certified as Mail Piece Quality Control (MQC) Specialists. They have both passed rigorous testing by the United States Postal Service to obtain their certification, which enables them to better consult with their customers on effective mail design that will also meet postal regulations. In 2004, Shelly received her WBE Certification as a woman owned business. She is a long-standing member of the Palatine Business and Professional Women’s Organization (BPW). Moonlight is a member of the Mailing and Fulfillment Service Association (MFSA), and the American Marketing Association. Moonlight recently won an award from the MFSA for the design and success of their own direct mail multiple-wave postcard promotion.

Visit Moonlight’s website at www.moonlightmail.com for information on their services. Practical advice is provided under Mailing 101 on postal regulations and proper mail design. There’s even a postal rate calculator to help determine the postage costs of most mailing types.

“I see the mailing business becoming even more targeted,” says Shelly. “Variable data mailings carrying the recipient’s name and other information creates an instant relationship and makes more sales happen faster.”

Moonlight Mailing Services can be reached at 847-776-697 or by email at mail@moonlightmail.com.

Moonlight is again on the move.


New Mailing Technology Has Local Business on a Roll

Messages That Stick...

Palatine, IL, October 1, 2003 – Looking for a way to bring more attention to the mail you send out? The USPS has approved a new way to do just that – repositionable notes. You’ve seen them on monitors, letters, to-do lists – those little yellow square notes that stick to just about anything. Now they can stick to your mail…and in your prospects mind.

Research and live-mail testing monitored through the United States Postal Service has shown this new feature can improve response rates by as much as 37 percent. Repositionable notes add value to mail by:

* Catching a customer’s attention quickly, increasing open and read rates;
* Making mail more actionable, increasing response rates; and,
* Requires no additional postage.

Direct mailers can use this new feature for teaser copy, coupons, and telephone or Internet address reminders. The notes help to call attention to a particular offer in a catalog, on the Internet or at a retail location.

As with any direct mail innovation, there are postal regulations that must be followed. One of which is the repositionable notes must be applied using a machine (not by hand). To ensure the direct mail is prepared properly a direct mailer should consult the postal Domestic Mail Manual or call a lettershop for more information.

Moonlight Mailing Services of Palatine, Illinois is proud to be one of the first in the area to offer this service. “Using our existing equipment we are able to provide our clients with this new service that can enhance their direct mail campaigns,” says Shelly Blake, co-owner of Moonlight.

Moonlight Mailing Services, a division of Moonlight Productions Inc., has been providing mailing services to small to medium size businesses for nearly a decade. Keeping up with innovative technology has enabled them to stay competitive and continue to provide services that help their clients grow their business. Additional services that create a complete package of mailing solutions include mailing lists, database creation and maintenance, CASS Certification, direct print addressing, tabbing/wafer sealing, machine & hand inserting, and complete mail processing through the Palatine Processing and Distribution Center for additional postage discounts. Moonlight Productions Inc. is woman-owned and is celebrating 10 years of service to the Chicagoland area.

Moonlight is located at 715 S Vermont St in Palatine, Illinois. For information contact Shelly Blake at info@moonlightmail.com or 847-776-9697.

 

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