Do you want to get the word out about your business to the people who matter the most in your market? Are you interested in introducing your small business to a large audience in your local area? Are you looking for a simple, affordable, and proven solution for mailing to entire neighborhoods or reaching every mailbox within a ZIP code? Then EDDM is the perfect mailing service for you.

What is EDDM?

EDDM meaning: EDDM stands for Every Door Direct Mail and it’s a bulk mailing option offered by the United States Postal Services that allows you to reach potential customers within a targeted neighborhood or ZIP code, without knowing their addresses.

Simply choose a mailing route or routes using the EDDM mapping tool that you feel would benefit your business and your mail pieces will be delivered to every active address on your chosen route at a lower cost than any other bulk mailing option.

Is EDDM The Right Bulk Mailing Option for You?

There are several bulk mailing options offered by the USPS, including Marketing Mail, First Class Mail, and EDDM which you can take advantage of by going through a print and direct mail provider.

Determining what your mail goals are will help you decide which option is right for your business.

Some questions to ask yourself when deciding if EDDM is right for you are:

Can everyone on a chosen postal carrier route benefit from your products or services?

It’s important to think about what exactly you’re marketing and who exactly you should be marketing to. Because EDDM delivers to every address on the EDDM mailing route, it is important to note that if your product or service isn’t beneficial to most people you may generate better results by using a custom, targeted mailing list for your direct mail campaign.

For example, a lawncare company looking to target suburban neighborhoods would benefit from EDDM while a childcare organization would gain better results by using a mailing list that targets homes with children present.

When choosing Every Door Direct Mail routes, make sure you consider the neighborhoods you’re targeting and that it’s a viable area to market your product or service. For example, if you’re promoting your pool and spa business, you don’t want to target an area that is predominantly apartment complexes.

Do you want to mail to a list of specific addresses?

With Every Door Direct Mail, your EDDM postcards, EDDM flyers, and other EDDM mail-pieces will be sent to every household on your selected EDDM mailing route. You can select mailing routes based on census demographics like average age range, household income, and average household size to better target potential customers. However, your EDDM mailers will still be delivered to every house on the carrier route you have chosen.

So, if you have a very specific audience in mind including wine drinkers, dog owners, married couples, boat owners, or people born in a specific year, a more targeted direct mail solution will help you accomplish your goals.

Are you a Business to Business (B2B) retailer?

If your target audience is businesses, then EDDM isn’t the right option for you. With EDDM you can mail to residences on a carrier route, or businesses and residences on a carrier route but you cannot mail to only businesses on a carrier route.

If you are promoting your B2B services through proven direct mail or need to mail to just the businesses in a certain geographic area, you can easily achieve this by using our direct mail list building tool for businesses.

What is your expected EDDM delivery time?

While mail delivery varies by location, the average EDDM delivery time falls between 3-14 days from the time your EDDM mailers are delivered to the post office.

If you need your direct mailers to be delivered faster, then creating a mailing list and mailing First Class would guarantee that your mailers are delivered between 1-5 days, however, First-Class mail is more expensive.

If you’re trying to save the most money using EDDM, then you need to make sure you plan ahead to ensure your EDDM mailers are delivered on time. In most cases, if you order your EDDM printing and mailing at least two weeks prior to when you want them to arrive in your audience’s mailboxes, you’re safe. Instances that fall towards the 14-day or later EDDM delivery time tend to be EDDM mailers that are either being mailed to physically remote mail routes or mailers that are sent during peak mail volume such as around the holidays.

So, who can benefit from EDDM?

Every Door Direct Mail was originally created for small businesses to promote their brand affordably and easily in their local area. However, because of how affordable, easy-to use, and the results EDDM generates, larger businesses and even franchises began taking advantage of EDDM as well.

If you have a product or service that is ideal for most people in a selected area, you can benefit from EDDM. EDDM is especially beneficial for grand openings, big sales or promotions, and anything else that includes a message that the majority of people in an area could benefit from.

What is regular “direct mail?”

Direct mail encompasses a wider variety of marketing materials including brochures, catalogs, direct mail postcards, newsletters, and more. Major corporations and successful marketers within every industry know that direct mail advertising is one of the most effective ways to reach out to customers and prospects. The advantages of direct mail marketing include the fact that it generates one of the highest ROIs and response rates, people prefer to be contacted by businesses via direct mail, you can track performance, and it avoids the digital clutter that accompanies any online marketing effort.

Direct mailing (called “bulk mailing” when large quantities of mail are being sent out and bulk postage rates are accepted) is a powerful tool that your company can use to target a specific consumer or business type that can best benefit from your company. You can even take advantage of a print and direct mail company to create your very own tailored, targeted mailing lists.

Tailored direct mailing lists allow you to create your own targeted direct mail campaigns. Choose from a variety of key parameters including ZIP code, specific demographics, interests, buying activity, and more to ensure that your direct mail pieces are delivered to the consumers or businesses that matter the most.

Every Door Direct Mail encompasses a subsection of direct mail that doesn’t target based on shared qualities, but rather, targets based on shared USPS postal routes. EDDM mail pieces will not be addressed to individuals, but rather to “Current Resident” or “Our Neighbor” since there’s no guarantee that any specific mailer will be delivered to any specific household. This is one factor why EDDM rates are lower. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its advantages, including getting the word out about your brand to as many people as possible in the most affordable and effective way.

How Does EDDM Work?

Every Door Direct Mail marketing was designed to work in the easiest and most affordable way. So, putting together your EDDM mailing campaign is simple.

Plus, if you go through an EDDM printer and mailer, like Conquest Graphics, they’ll do all the mail sorting and packaging for you so you can save time. This also cuts costs compared to other bulk mailing options because, with EDDM, your EDDM provider (or you if you don’t use an EDDM provider) handles the sorting and bundling that the USPS would otherwise have to take time to do.

Step 1: Establish Your Direct Mail Marketing Goals

Before you do anything, you need to decide what you want to gain from your direct mail marketing campaign. Are you looking to acquire a residential mailing list, send direct mail postcards out to neighborhoods promoting a sale, or saturate an area with your brand?

Once you have set a goal like, generate more leads, engage with an underexposed local market, or promote a sale, you can then decide if EDDM is right for your business.

Step 2: Design Your EDDM Mailers & Have Them Printed in Accordance with USPS Guidelines 

When creating your EDDM mail pieces, it is important that you follow the USPS printing guidelines. The USPS has strict EDDM direct mail size requirements which means you need to follow the EDDM requirements very closely to allow the USPS to process your EDDM order quickly and successfully.

The USPS EDDM printing regulations require that mail pieces be at least 10.5” long or 6.125” tall or 0.25” thick. And the maximum size for EDDM mailers is 15” long, 12” tall, and 0.75” thick. For help choosing the right EDDM mailer size, you can find the USPS EDDM dimension requirements here, or select from our preapproved EDDM printing templates.

The USPS also has specific guidelines for what areas of your mail pieces need to remain blank for the EDDM Indicia and address label. For example, the mailing label and EDDM indicia must be on the same side of the mailer design. It’s recommended to leave a white space for this mailing info that is at least 4” x 2.25”.

Once you have created the artwork for your EDDM mailers you will need to have them printed. When choosing a printer consider choosing one that offers free EDDM design templates and who is a full-service EDDM provider so they can handle the entire mailing process as well as work with you to ensure you’re meeting your goals and getting the best deal possible.

Step 3: Choose Your Every Door Direct Mail Routes

When selecting your EDDM mailing routes, it’s a good idea to do your research. The Conquest EDDM Map Tool or the USPS’s EDDM Mail Carrier Route Map is a powerful tool to help you choose the best carrier routes for your EDDM marketing goals and budget.

When hovering over each mail route within these EDDM mapping tools, you’ll be able to see target census demographics. This will help you narrow down potential customers and help you save money by weeding out routes you feel may not be as interested in your business. For more help on planning and selecting your EDDM mail routes, click here.

Does EDDM Work?

EDDM is effective in certain circumstances and if it’s the right circumstance, then yes, EDDM absolutely works! And EDDM is simple and affordable making it that much better.

Some of the most effective uses of EDDM are to reach a location without a mailing list and to get the word out about your brand to a large audience in a specific area. If you have identified an area that could benefit from your products or services, but have little to no exposure to your business, EDDM is an ideal solution to reaching those potential customers and to increase brand awareness.

Want some free samples of EDDM mailers & EDDM examples for inspiration?

Get your FREE Direct Mail Idea Pack today by filling out the form on the page linked below. You can also see a preview of the various pieces using the other link below!

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EDDM Examples & EDDM Mailers

EDDM flyers and EDDM Postcards are popular EDDM pieces—known as “flat EDDM mailers”—along with brochures—known as “folded EDDM mailers”—that can help grow your business exponentially. Each type of EDDM mailer can boost traffic to your business by providing your audience with useful information about your brand or a big sale while giving potential and returning customers an incentive to visit your store or website.

Check out some of the EDDM examples throughout the blog for inspiration on how your EDDM mailers could look.

Can EDDM Be Folded?

Yes, EDDM mailers can be folded. There are many types of EDDM direct mailers you can choose from including postcards and flyers which are considered “EDDM flats” or newsletters and folded brochures which are considered “EDDM folded mailers.” Each mail piece has its own purpose so it’s important that you become familiar with the different EDDM direct mail sizes.

Does EDDM Need a Return Address?

Yes, EDDM mailers need either a P.O. Box or physical address present for the return address. With Every Door Direct Mail, it’s required that the return address be placed in the top left corner. The way you display your return address, however, is up to you. You can place it on one small line or have it accompanied by your logo in large font to make it stand out.

EDDM Retail vs EDDM BMEU

For both EDDM Retail and BMEU, rates are much lower compared to other bulk mail options, no mailing list is required, and both take advantage of the EDDM mapping tool.

However, there are some key differences between EDDM Retail and BMEU. For example, for EDDM BMEU, if you do not go through an EDDM provider, you will need a mailing permit while for EDDM Retail, you do not. There is also a limit to how many EDDM mailers you can send using EDDM Retail, which is 5,000 mail pieces per ZIP code, per day. For EDDM BMEU, there is no limit to how many pieces you can send.

For a full overview of the differences between EDDM Retail and EDDM BMEU, check out our blog “The Difference Between EDDM Retail and EDDM BMEU.”

At the end of the day, it’s ideal to go through a print and direct mail provider who offers EDDM as they will be able to mail your EDDM mailers the best way that meets your goals and budget.

At Conquest Graphics, you don’t need to worry about whether to mail EDDM Retail or EDDM BMEU as we will handle the heavy lifting, we also offer a wide range of other EDDM resources, free EDDM design templates, and an easy-to-use EDDM mapping tool. Plus, we’ll print and mail your EDDM mailers all from under our roof so you can save time and money.

To get started on your EDDM campaign, head over to EDDM map tool today!