The Stop Junk Mail Campaign is only a couple of weeks old and already I've redesigned the website. The site just didn't do it for me. The logo looked poor, the navigation buttons were way too large, and technically it wasn't very sophisticated.

Personally, I'm quite pleased with the metamorphosis. Here are the before and after images:

I've only just uploaded the new site. Do have a look: stopjunkmail.org.uk.

Royal Mail's Door-to-Door Opt-Out has been in the news quite a bit in recent months. The service, which stops unaddressed mail distributed by Royal Mail, first hit the headlines in August 2006 when Roger Annies, a postman from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, was suspended after delivering a leaflet on his round advising people it's possible to opt out of receiving unaddressed junk mail.

The suspension of Roger Annies turned out to be a PR disaster for Royal Mail. Before August last year hardly anyone knew about the existence of the Door-to-Door Opt-Out. It's fair to say Royal Mail tried to keep the opt-out scheme secret; there wasn't even information about it on the company's website. Allas, after Mr Annies' suspension every newspaper in the country reported about the case; the Daily Mail even spoke of a Junk Mail Revolt. As a result of the affair over 200,000 people signed up to opt-out schemes, which isn't bad considering Mr Annies had leafleted only 70 households!

Royal Mail has now put some information on its website about the Door-to-Door Opt-Out. However, the information has already caused new controversy; Postwatch has taken issue with one of the many warnings Royal Mail throws at people wanting to register.

The issue? On its website Royal Mail states that opting out will stop all unaddressed mailings, including leaflets from central and local government and other public bodies. Here's the exact text:

"It is not possible for Royal Mail to separate material that you don't want from material that you do want, such as advertising offers or leaflets from Central and Local Government and other public bodies. Opting out from Royal Mail Door to Door stops all unaddressed items from being delivered by us."

Postwatch recently asked Royal Mail to clarify whether or not people who opt out will continue to receive information about for instance rubbish collections and elections. Royal Mail has confirmed a separate service will be used whenever the government needs Royal Mail to deliver an important leaflet to each and every address. The text on the website has now been changed by this adding this sentence:

[ … ] "although we would work with the government to get a message to every UK address if they required it. Election material is not delivered by the door to door service and is therefore not affected by this opt out."

Unfortunately, the registration form you need to sign and return hasn't been changed and still asks you to confirm that you understand you may miss important information from local or national government.

Just to be clear, no important information is distributed via Royal Mail's door-to-door service. It's simply scare tactics.

[Please note this information is rather dated. Up to date and more detailed information is now available in the Guide to Stamping Out Junk Mail - JB].

Unsurprisingly, the most frequently asked question I get is how to stop junk mail. Unfortunately, there's no easy answer; there are a bunch of things you need to do if you really want to stamp out junk mail. Here are my recommendation:

Get a 'No Junk Mail' sticker

Putting a 'No Junk Mail' sign on your door is the only way to stop junk mail delivered by local businesses. The stickers Stop Junk Mail sells give you the option to say 'yes' or 'no' to free newspapers as well. (of course I recommend you buy a sticker from the sticker shop - they only cost a pound (postage 25p) and buying a sticker helps keep the campaign going.)

Register with the Mailing Preference Service

The Mailing Preference Service will remove your name from many direct mail lists. This should stop unsolicited mail from companies who have bought your name and address with the intention of targeting you for credit cards, loans, mail order catalogues and so on. The opt-out service claims your name will be removed from 95% of direct mail lists, but don't expect the amount of junk you receive to be reduced by the same percentage. Registering will not stop unaddressed mail, mail addressed 'To the Occupier' and mailings from companies you have - maybe without realising - given permission to send you junk mail.

That said, registering is recommended. You can do so online, by e-mail, by phone, or by pen and paper:

• www.mpsonline.org.uk
• mps@dma.org.uk
• 08457 034 599
• Mailing Preference Service
  Freepost 29
  LON 20771
  LONDON W1E 0ZT

Register with Royal Mail's Door-to-Door Opt-Out

Royal Mail is responsible for a good deal of the unaddressed junk you get. You can opt out of receiving these so-called door-to-door items by contacting Royal Mail directly:

• optout@royalmail.com
• Door-to-Door Opt-Outs
  Royal Mail
  Freepost RRBT-ZBXB-TTTS
  Kingsmead House
  Oxpens Road
  OXFORD
  OX1 1RX

Tick the box to say 'no' to further information

Whenever you buy a product or service, donate money or fill out a warranty card, tick the box to say that you don't want any further information about other products and/or services. If there's no tick box, write in large letters "Please don't sell my name or address". Most companies and charities will understand you're not interested in junk mail and leave you in alone.

Opt out of being on the edited register

When you fill in your electoral registration form you can to choose to opt out of having your details included on the edited electoral register. It's a good idea to tick the opt-out box on the form. The edited roll can be bought by any person, company or organisation and may be used for any purpose, including sending junk mail.

Return to sender any remaining junk mail

If you receive junk mail with a return address on the envelope, write 'Unsolicited Mail - please return to Sender' on the envelope and put it back in the post. Decent junk mailers will remove your details from its mailing lists.

An American junk mail company called Think Ink Marketing has announced it broke company records by mailing over four million pieces of junk mail in December 2006 alone. The company's owner, Craig Dickhout, reckons this is not a lot but he's nevertheless thrilled. Not because of the amount of unsolicited junk Think Ink produces, but because all four million pieces sent by the company were hand-personalised.

'Hand-personalising' is the art of presenting junk mail so that it doesn't look like junk mail. Mr Dickhout is proud his company fools people in to thinking they've received a letter from a friend, rather than just another piece of junk mail. Here's how he describes his company's creative approach to marketing:

Each client creates a newspaper or magazine article about their company or product they would like to sell. These articles are hand folded, with a sticky note on top for personalisation and inserted into a white envelope. The client decides what message they would like on their note. A typical message is "Linda, check this out! It works great! - J."

This handwritten message appears as if it was sent from a friend or acquaintance as a personal recommendation for this service or product. Think Ink Marketing always uses first class postage on the envelope to complete the personalised look. The recipient is intrigued and interested, thinking someone has sent them a personal recommendation.

Apparently, it works; hand-personalised junk mail is opened more than two to three as often. And this important, because the average American adult is exposed to over 600 advertising messages in a single 24-hour period. […] With such market saturation, Think Ink Marketing offers a way for clients to break through the clutter and allow their message to stand out and make an impression on the consumer.

How proud they are.

The Times Educational Supplement (TES) reported on Friday that junk mail can have its uses: teachers can use it to inspire the poorest of adult readers and writers. [Hyperlink removed in June 2012 as the article is no longer available online - JB].

Junk mail leaflets are designed to catch your attention. Often they're colourful and will have a catchy header. Texts are likely to be short and information is preferably given in bullet points. And, of course, they're free. All this makes junk mail ideal study materials for learners with basic reading and writing skills, according to the TES.

A good way of reusing junk mail indeed. Although preferably the learners would of course use leaflets from libraries, post offices and the local TIC rather than leaflets aiming to sell loans, pizzas, and plastic windows.