EDDM: What it is, how it works and why
You should be using it!
Fall In Love With the Post Office Again!
If the cost of postage is holding you back from doing the marketing necessary to build your business, we’ve got good news! What if you could pay less than 20 cents per piece, and mail oversized postcards, brochures (and even booklet-styled brochures on a new listing) to the surrounding neighbors for that cheap?? No envelopes, no address labels, no wasting space on your marketing piece for huge white areas where the addresses normally go. What if you could PRINT AND MAIL for less than your competition is paying for printing alone???
Welcome to Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM)!!
Mail postcards, flyers, brochures, and booklets using EDDM for only 19.8 cents apiece!!! Yes, you read that correctly…less than twenty cents each!!
Is There a Catch? Yes.
You can tell what the catch is by what they’ve named the program: “Every Door Direct Mail”. This means you must mail to every home in a given carrier route (businesses are optional, but we definitely recommend them).
In other words, you’re not going to be able to send one to the Smiths and a separate one to the Jones’ home. Your normal “farm” with specific addresses cannot be used if you use EDDM. Instead, you’ll use a mapping tool to type in an address or zip code, and then hover over the map to see the various carrier routes that are located in that neighborhood. You’ll then see how many homes and businesses are in that route, what the average incomes are, along with the family size and median age range. You can view the actual USPS mapping tool here (it will open in a separate window):
No Address Area Needed!
If you’re used to devoting a huge space on your marketing piece to an address area or label, those days are gone! No addresses are used for EDDM pieces, so you get to use the entire area to get your message across. Yes, there’s still a small bulk rate styled box in the top right corner, but that’s it! And because there are no addresses or bar codes, the pieces do not have to be machine processed at the post office. That means they get on the delivery truck and in front of your potential customers faster!
Bundles & Facing Slips
Each EDDM mailing that you do requires that the pieces be bundled into stacks of either 50 or 100 and have a “facing slip” attached to each bundle. A facing slip contains information regarding the carrier route number(s) and how many total bundles are included in the mailing. Filling out the facing slips is done somewhat automatically online, along with the ability to pay for the entire postage with a credit card. The bundles then must be taken to the post office that serves that particular neighborhood. Some of the printers we use offer bundling and delivery to the post office for a fee, but not all products qualify. We can discuss those options whenever you’re ready. If you have any questions, call us…we’re here to help!
