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A direct mail campaign turns an audience and a goal into a prepared mailing, USPS entry, and a trackable response. In the United States, the main early choice is whether to reach every address along selected carrier routes with Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM), or to send eligible bulk mail to named recipients through USPS Marketing Mail or another applicable class. The right path depends on your geography, volume, format, and targeting needs.
How a direct mail campaign works
The process runs from planning to measurement: define the campaign, choose how recipients will be selected, prepare a mailpiece that meets the selected service’s rules, pay postage and complete entry requirements, then track responses separately from delivery. USPS instructions and eligibility rules can change, so confirm current requirements and prices before printing or mailing.
- Set the objective and offer. Decide what action you want recipients to take, such as visiting a location, using an offer, or visiting a campaign landing page. Choose the geography and audience that support that goal.
- Select the mailing path. Use route-based EDDM when neighborhood coverage is the priority; use named-recipient or other eligible bulk mailing when list-based targeting is needed. Check volume, format, permit, and entry requirements before committing to a design.
- Design and validate the mailpiece. Make the offer and response action clear, and check the piece against the selected mail class’s current size and physical standards. For EDDM Retail, use the required simplified address format and place the EDDM Retail Indicia in its designated area.
- Prepare postage and entry materials. Follow the selected USPS product’s payment, forms, bundling, and drop-off or entry instructions.
- Measure outcomes. Use a campaign-specific response route, then distinguish delivery statistics from responses, leads, and sales.
USPS EDDM Retail guidance recommends an actionable piece with a clear offer and call to action, but that guidance is not a quantified response guarantee. See the USPS EDDM Retail workflow.
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| Campaign need | USPS path | Key considerations |
|---|---|---|
| Neighborhood coverage at relatively small volume | EDDM Retail | Select carrier routes rather than buying or maintaining a recipient list. USPS sets a minimum of 200 pieces and a maximum of 5,000 pieces per day per ZIP Code. Qualifying flat-size pieces and specified preparation are required. |
| Larger route-based EDDM mailing | EDDM through a Business Mail Entry Unit (BMEU) | USPS describes the BMEU route for larger mailings, generally more than 5,000 pieces. A permit and submission at a BMEU are required. |
| Named-recipient or other eligible bulk campaign | USPS Marketing Mail or another applicable class | Match the mailing list, format, service needs, preparation, and current eligibility rules to the class. Marketing Mail is a bulk-price service, not a single-piece mailing option. |
These paths are not universally cheapest or most effective. Compare audience precision with route coverage, volume, address-list maintenance, format, permit and entry needs, delivery requirements, and the full production-plus-postage cost. For route-based EDDM options, consult the USPS Business Customer Gateway EDDM information.
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How does EDDM Retail work?
EDDM Retail is intended for route-based local distribution without purchasing or maintaining a named address list. In the USPS tool, a business can select carrier routes and use filters such as residential status, age, household size, income, and cost. The daily limit is 200 to 5,000 pieces per ZIP Code; verify that the chosen routes and mailpiece qualify before production. USPS offers EDDM Retail instructions and route-selection tools.
Prepare the mailpiece
EDDM Retail uses simplified addressing, commonly the “Postal Customer” format, and requires the EDDM Retail Indicia in the prescribed location. The mailpiece must also meet applicable size and physical standards. Check dimensions with the USPS Mailpiece Size Checker and EDDM guidance before printing; postcards are one supported format, but the specific stock and dimensions still need to qualify.
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Pay, bundle, and deliver
- Choose a drop-off date and pay as directed by the EDDM Retail process; USPS provides online and post-office payment options.
- Print the forms generated for the mailing and include required PS Form 3587.
- Bundle pieces in stacks of 50–100, each no higher than 6 inches, and attach a facing slip to each bundle.
- Deliver or ship the prepared mailing to the post office serving the selected routes, following USPS instructions for that mailing.
Confirm current forms, bundle preparation, payment, and destination instructions with the USPS EDDM Retail workflow before handing over the mailing.
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USPS Marketing Mail can cover eligible advertising and promotional materials such as flyers, circulars, newsletters, catalogs, and small parcels. USPS lists a minimum of 200 pieces or 50 pounds and requires a Business Mail Permit; there is no single-piece Marketing Mail postage price. Preparation, forwarding, and postage depend on the selected service and mailing, so check the current USPS Marketing Mail rules rather than assuming the EDDM process applies.
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Can direct mail include a digital component?
USPS Informed Delivery gives eligible users a digital preview of incoming mail. USPS images the exterior of mailpieces during processing; a mailer can add supplemental campaign imagery and a website URL associated with the mailing. Campaign matching uses a Mailer ID in the Intelligent Mail barcode and an active date range. The USPS guide says a full-service Service Type Identifier is required for a campaign to appear in the digest or dashboard. See the USPS Informed Delivery Interactive Mail Campaign Guide for mechanics and requirements.
USPS Postal Facts reported 74.8 million Informed Delivery customers in a fact entry dated May 15, 2026. That is an enrolled-customer count, not a guarantee that a campaign will reach every customer, appear to every recipient, or generate any particular number of opens or responses. The same Postal Facts page reports nearly 3 billion EDDM pieces in fiscal year 2025; national program volume is not a forecast of an individual campaign’s results. See USPS Postal Facts: Marketing Archives.
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How do you measure direct mail results?
Keep distribution and campaign performance as separate measures. USPS route delivery statistics describe distribution; they do not report sales or response. The USPS Mailing Services resources describe carrier-route delivery statistics and EDDM entry resources.
To attribute outcomes, give the mailing a distinct response path, such as a dedicated landing-page URL, QR code, offer code, phone extension, or another trackable mechanism. Compare qualified responses or sales with the campaign’s total costs, including production and postage. This is a measurement approach, not a USPS performance guarantee. USPS’s small-business guidance says marketers may see higher response when mail is integrated with other campaign channels and notes mail’s higher cost per thousand than print or broadcast; it does not provide a controlled estimate or a universal response rate.
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Getting help with production
If you do not print in-house, USPS points businesses to its Printer Directory and notes that third-party direct-mail professionals may handle some or all of the campaign work. The appropriate provider depends on whether you need design, printing, list preparation, postage handling, or mailing entry. USPS’s EDDM resources and business solutions guidance provide starting points.
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