CPA firm marketing for an accounting practice and its prior clients

The three campaigns. Three campaign concepts are researched for this vertical: a tax-preparation CPA postcard acquisition campaign, a Facebook tax-preparation CPA lead-generation campaign, and an opt-in prior-client tax-preparation scheduling and reminder SMS sequence.

What is documented. Tax-season postcards are documented for tax-preparation CPA/accountant acquisition, including a local discount offer and repeated mailings.

USPS Domestic Mail Manual 602.5 provides that each address, except for mail bearing an alternative address format, in a mailing at commercial First-Class Mail presorted or automation prices or USPS Marketing Mail prices is subject to the Move Update standard, and that each address and associated addressee used on the mailpieces in a mailing must be updated within 95 days before the mailing date with one of the USPS-approved methods, which include Address Change Service and the National Change of Address Linkage System (NCOALink).

USPS Domestic Mail Manual 602.5

direct mail marketing services →direct mail mailing lists →postcard mailing services →

FTC advertising guidance for small business states that advertising must be truthful and non-deceptive, that advertisers must have evidence to back up their claims, and that advertisements cannot be unfair; that an ad is deceptive if it contains a statement, or omits information, that is likely to mislead consumers acting reasonably under the circumstances and is material to a consumer's decision to buy or use the product; and that an ad or business practice is unfair if it causes or is likely to cause substantial consumer injury which a consumer could not reasonably avoid and it is not outweighed by the benefit to consumers.

FTC, Advertising FAQ’s: A Guide for Small Business

digital advertising services →direct mail and digital marketing →

How far the evidence reaches. The cited evidence pairs tax-season postcards with Facebook ads and includes a tax-preparation CPA lead-generation case; it is not evidence for every CPA specialty.

Meta's advertising standards state that advertisers are responsible for understanding and complying with all applicable laws and regulations, and that ads must not promote products, services, schemes or offers using identified deceptive or misleading practices, including those meant to scam people out of money or personal information.

Meta, Advertising Standards

digital advertising services →financial services marketing agency →

CTIA's Messaging Principles and Best Practices state that Message Senders should support opt-in mechanisms and that messages should be sent only after the Consumer has opted-in to receive them; that a Consumer might demonstrate opt-in consent through several mechanisms including entering a telephone number through a website, clicking a button on a mobile webpage, sending a message containing an advertising keyword, initiating the text message exchange, signing up at a point-of-sale or other on-site location, or opting-in over the phone using interactive voice response; and that Message Senders should also document opt-in consent by retaining seven kinds of data where applicable, among them the timestamp of consent acquisition and the consent acquisition medium.

CTIA Messaging Principles and Best Practices, May 2023, §5.1.2

CTIA's Messaging Principles and Best Practices state that Message Senders should ensure that Consumers have the ability to opt-out of receiving Messages at any time, should support multiple mechanisms of opt-out including phone call, email or text, and should acknowledge and honor all Consumer opt-out requests by sending one final opt-out confirmation message per campaign; and that Message Senders should not use opt-in lists that have been rented, sold, or shared to send messages and should create and vet their own opt-in lists.

CTIA Messaging Principles and Best Practices, May 2023, §§5.1.3–5.1.4

digital advertising services →direct mail and digital marketing →

The format. Direct-mail postcards.

In house. Printing at MBI is commercial and variable-data printing, in-house.

USPS Domestic Mail Manual 201.1.2.1 sets commercial card-price dimensional standards at not less than 3-1/2 inches high, 5 inches long and 0.007 inch thick, with cards more than 4-1/4 inches high or 6 inches long, or both, required to be a minimum of 0.009 inch thick; at no more than 4-1/4 inches high, no more than 6 inches long and no thicker than 0.016 inch for each stamped card or each half of a double-stamped card or double postcard; at no more than 6 inches high, no more than 9 inches long and no thicker than 0.016 inch for each postcard; and within an aspect ratio (length divided by height) of 1.3 to 2.5, inclusive, with the exception that mailers may use an 11-inch by 8.5-inch sheet to create four identical-size postcards.

USPS Domestic Mail Manual 201

printing services →direct mail cost →postcard mailing services →