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Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) is a service offered by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) that makes it easy to reach every business or residential customer in a given neighborhood, city or ZIP code. The following lists the benefits of EDDM marketing plus EDDM guidelines so you can decide whether EDDM is right for you.
Use these EDDM marketing tips to launch cost-effective direct-mail marketing campaigns that help you grow your business.
Every Door Direct Mail marketing lets you deliver marketing mailers to every address in a defined geographic area: by neighborhood, by city or by ZIP code. Campaigns can be local or national. You can choose to target only residential addresses or both business and residential addresses, depending on your customer base. EDDM is cheaper than mailing to targeted lists; in order to provide cost savings, the USPS sets guidelines every EDDM marketer must follow.
The most popular option for local businesses, EDDM Retail lets you mail up to 5,000 pieces per day, per ZIP code. They do not require a postage permit, and postage rates for marketing flats up to 3.3 oz. are $0.178 per piece.
Best-suited for larger businesses that send many mass mailings, EDDM Business allows more than 5,000 pieces per day, per five-digit ZIP code. Business accounts require postage permits, and postage rates for marketing flats up to 3.3 oz. are $0.157 per piece.
Since it’s the most popular choice for local small businesses, our focus is on EDDM Retail.
Benefits of Every Door Direct Mail marketing include:
You do not need a mailing list
EDDM mailings are sent to every address in a defined geographic area, so you do not need names or addresses. That means you do not need to spend time building a mailing list or spend money renting or buying a list.
You do not need a postage permit
Retail EDDM customers do not need to purchase postage permits, which have an upfront application fee plus annual fees.
Take the guesswork out of Every Door Direct Mail with online EDDM postcard printing. Pick a free postcard template and upload your own photos and text!
Flexible mailing options
EDDM offers a range of mailing sizes, which grants flexibility in the size of marketing materials such as postcard mailers and brochures as well as control over your presentation and printing costs.
Cheaper marketing (how much does EDDM cost?)
EDDM makes it easy to reach a large number of people at reduced rates. Since you (or your mail service provider) do most of the upfront work, the USPS passes savings on to you.
For example, let’s say you want to print direct-mail postcards. Standard postcard postage is $0.35 per piece, while commercial first-class postcard postage is $0.257 piece; however, EDDM postage is $0.178 per piece.
Many types of businesses and organizations can leverage EDDM marketing for growth, including:
Since EDDM reaches every address in a defined geographic, it’s a great option for marketing products or services with mass appeal, or that everyone needs. However, if you sell a niche product or service that only appeals to a segment of the population, EDDM might not be a good choice.
For example, restaurants often use EDDM to send menus and coupons to local customers. Everyone likes (and needs) to eat, so EDDM is a terrific choice for restaurants.
On the other hand, a commercial safety equipment manufacturing company would not be a good candidate for EDDM. Since their audience is so well-defined (construction and maintenance supervisors), they need targeted mailing lists to get the most out of their campaigns.
This doesn’t mean your EDDM can only be sent to local addresses; nor does it mean you can’t use demographics to improve your EDDM response rates. An online retail jewelry company, for example, might send EDDM mailers to affluent neighborhoods nationwide.
The only time EDDM isn’t right is if it’s impossible to reach your audience with every door mailers; otherwise, EDDM is a powerful option just about any business can use to boost sales.
All Every Door Direct Mail pieces must adhere to certain guidelines set by the USPS. They are:
Format
Only USPS Marketing Mail flats are eligible for EDDM mailings. They include postcards, printed brochures, large envelopes, newsletters, magazines and print booklets; provided your mailer meets other guidelines such as weight, thickness and size. Learn more with these EDDM postcard marketing tips.
Indicia
EDDM mailers must display the Every Door Direct Mail – Retail Indicia. You can view examples of an EDDM Indicia here; or, if you’re using an EDDM full-mailing service, they can apply it for you.
Size and shape
EDDM must be in a square or rectangle shape featuring either four square corners or finished corners that do not exceed a radius of 0.125 inch.
Dimensional measurements must satisfy at least one of the following requirements:
The minimum size for EDDM is 3.5 inches tall by 5 inches long by 0.007 inches thick.
The EDDM minimum quantity is 200 mailers per ZIP code, unless the routes in the ZIP code contain less than 200 addresses.
You may not add part of a route to an EDDM campaign; if you choose route-based delivery, you must deliver to every address on that route.
It’s important to ensure you satisfy all guidelines, because if you don’t pass USPS Every Door Direct Mail reviews you won’t be able to take advantage of reduced mailing rates.
Make EDDM easy with online EDDM postcard printing services. PsPrint will ensure your postcard meets EDDM guidelines and will even handle the bundling and facing slip printing!
Follow these steps to create a winning Every Door Direct Mail marketing campaign.
The first step is to create an EDDM account on the USPS website. Your account will allow you to pay postage online; alternatively, you can pay directly at your local post office.
Use the EDDM Mapping Tool on the USPS website to select your ZIP code, city or postal route. You can choose whether to have your mailers delivered to residents only or businesses and residents.
Carefully consider your EDDM route – you want to deliver your mailer to your most likely customers, so your selection should be strategic.
The Mapping Tool also features an EDDM size checker, so you can ensure your mailer meets Every Door Direct Mail size specifications.
Once you’ve selected your route, you can use the online interface to print facing slips (or download them from the USPS Postal Forms page). Alternatively, your EDDM printing company can print facing slips for you.
You’ll apply the facing slips to your bundles in STEP 5.
If you’re designing your own EDDM mailer, it’s helpful to start with a USPS EDDM template and our free EDDM file setup guidelines. You can download free Every Door Direct Mail postcard templates from PsPrint.
Not a graphic designer? No problem! You can make your own EDDM postcard online with PsPrint’s free postcard templates and online postcard creator. Use it to upload your own photos and add your own text to make a custom EDDM postcard in no time.
Make your own postcards online with our free postcard maker. Pick a professionally designed template or start from scratch with a blank template, then add your own photos and text!
When you use EDDM printing services, you don’t need to worry about the guidelines – so you’re free to focus on printing a winning postcard designed to deliver results.
The USPS requires you to bundle your EDDM mailers in sets of 50 to 100 pieces (each bundle can be no taller than six inches). Place the facing slips you printed in STEP 2 on top of each bundle, bind each bundle with a rubber band, then deliver your bundles to the post office.
If you don’t want to bundle your own mailers, you have an EDDM full-service printer such as PsPrint do the bundling for you.
If you’re launching an EDDM campaign in a remote ZIP code, you can mail your bundles to its local USPS Post Office. For additional information, check out the USPS EDDM User Guide.
How long does it take for EDDM to be delivered? There is no guaranteed delivery time; however, local EDDM mailings generally take from two to five days to be delivered and nationwide delivery could take between two to four weeks. If timing is critical to your EDDM campaign, it’s important to plan ahead to ensure your delivery falls within the desired window.
Every Door Direct Mail is a cost-effective way for businesses to leverage the power of direct-mail marketing. EDDM guidelines can seem confusing, but you can eliminate guesswork when you print EDDM postcards online.
