What is a pURL and how do I use them?
A pURL (Personalized URL) is a unique URL printed on a piece of mail used to track the online response of direct mail campaigns
When asked the question “What is a pURL?” direct mail professionals will typically point to specialized landing page software, such as Boingnet, as examples. pURLs have been used for years as a part of multichannel marketing campaigns. Most experienced direct mailers consider the use of personalized URLs a best practice.
Unlimited pURLs are included in eduPostal at no additional cost.
Why are pURLs considered a direct mail marketing best practice?
More and more, consumers and B2B marketing targets prefer to respond online. Fewer are picking up the phone to call, and fewer yet are filling out the old business reply cards. By giving the mail recipient a specific place to reply to an offer, you are controlling the content they view, AND you are tracking their individual online activity. eduPostal gives incredibly detailed data about how mail recipients respond online because we make it easy to include a pURL on every mailpiece.
How much do eduPostal pURLs cost me?
You can print a pURL on each and every piece of mail that you send, for no additional cost.
Think about this – most direct mail professionals are paying for the pURL marketing software, the time it takes to create specialized landing pages, and a per piece fee each time they want to use pURLs.
You get to use pURLs for free, as a core part of eduPostal.
How do eduPostal pURLs work?
eduPostal pURLs work very differently from traditional pURL marketing systems. Rather than requiring the use (and expense) of specialized landing page software, eduPostal pURLs can be used with any modern landing page, web content management system, or e-commerce system.
When your mail recipients respond by entering their pURL or scanning their QR code, eduPostal will identify the recipient, and redirect them to your landing page of choice. Your pURLs, landing pages (and Goal Conversion URLs) are entered when you set up your campaigns.
What choices do I have in formatting my pURLs?
eduPostal gives you many ways to structure your pURLs. Different audiences respond better to different types of URLs, so you can structure your URLs based on who you are sending to. What is most important is that your pURLs are unique:
- Domain – We recommend that you configure a vanity domain purchased in eduPostal. You also can use free domain we give you.
- You can choose a randomized URL structure, or a “Friendly URL” structure (we’ll deduplicate these for you).
- You can add a “URL End” to give your pURL more uniqueness
Learn more on our guide to pURL formats & structures.
How do pURLs get printed on my mailpiece?
With eduPostal, you simply place the pURL “Variable Data” value on your creative template. You can then re-use the same template in multiple campaigns, modifying the pURL during the campaign setup, rather than in the template each time. The Variable Data value looks like this:
When you “Proof” your template (which is required to use the template in a campaign), you’ll be able to test your pURL with data to make sure that the font size is correct. Our proofing process will use the longest possible combination of values (if you choose a friendly URL format) when the proof is created.
Can I Use QR Codes With eduPostal pURLs?
Absolutely! eduPostal will print a unique QR Code for each pURL that is generated. All you need to do is drag & drop the QR Code icon onto your creative with the eduPostal Template Editor.
Learn more about QR Codes in eduPostal
The team at eduPostal has been involved in campaigns using pURLs for many years, and can help with best practices. If you have more questions: