Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) is a service provided by the USPS designed to help businesses send promotional material to a targeted audience without the need for specific addresses. The service is particularly beneficial for small businesses looking to market their services locally with minimal expense and effort.
EDDM allows you to reach every household or business within a specific area:
- Identify Your Target Area: Using the USPS’s EDDM Online Tool, businesses can select specific mail routes or zip codes to target, ensuring their promotional materials land in the mailboxes of potential local customers.
- Select the Size of Your Postcard: EDDM has specific size requirements for mailpieces to qualify for the service. Generally, postcards must be more significant than a standard letter but smaller than a giant flat, essentially making them “flat” mail.
- Design Your Postcard: Businesses can then design their postcards, ensuring that they meet the USPS EDDM requirements for size and layout. It’s essential to include a compelling message and call-to-action to maximize response rates.
- Bundle and Prepare Your Mailing: Once designed and printed, the postcards need to be bundled in stacks with facing slips that show the postal carrier the route for each bundle. This step is crucial for the local post office to organize and deliver your mail efficiently.
- Complete the Required Paperwork: The USPS requires an EDDM Retail Form or an EDDM BMEU Form, depending on how you’re sending the mail. This paperwork accompanies your postcard bundles to the post office.
- Drop Off at the Post Office: With your postcards bundled correctly and paperwork completed, you can then drop off your entire mailing at the designated post office that serves the routes you’ve selected. After paying the postage due, your postcards will be delivered within the time frame specified.
The overall process of EDDM postcard printing and mailing is streamlined to help businesses reach out to a broader audience while bypassing much of the complexity of traditional direct mail. Even with minimal marketing expertise, a business owner can launch a local campaign that could lead to increased foot traffic and sales.
An excellent advantage of EDDM is cost-effectiveness. Because EDDM uses a standard “flat” rate and doesn’t require purchasing mailing lists or printing specific addresses on each mailpiece, businesses can save money while still making a significant local impact.
Additionally, while EDDM does have specific requirements, the USPS offers flexibility within these guidelines, allowing businesses to create custom-sized postcards that stand out in the mail and grab the audience’s attention more effectively. Combining this with a well-crafted message and attractive design can lead to a successful marketing effort. Woohoo!
Ultimately, EDDM postcard printing is an efficient way to conduct a marketing campaign on a local scale. By following the USPS guidelines and preparing the mailpieces according to the requirements, businesses can leverage a system that simplifies the delivery of marketing materials directly to the doors of their potential customers. EDDM thus serves as a powerful tool in a local business’s marketing arsenal, providing a tangible and direct way to communicate their offerings to the community.
