All You Need To Know About Every Door Direct Mail®
Every aspiring business wants to bring in as many potential customers as possible to improve profits. The best way to do this is to advertise directly to consumers, especially those in the local areas, and give them a good incentive. The idea of reaching every single person sounds time-consuming and costly, but there is a solution in Every Door Direct Mail®.
Every Door Direct Mail®, or EDDM® for short, has its benefits as long as you put in the work to create an eligible and effective order. So, how does it work, who can use it, and what do you need to be aware of? This guide will hopefully answer all your questions and help you see if Cheap Club Flyers EDDM® service is right for you.
What Are The Benefits Of Using Every Door Direct Mail® To Reach Customers?
Many brands and local business swear by EDDM® marketing to reach a wider audience and improve their prospects. Here are some of the main reasons why it can be so beneficial, especially for new companies.
1) You can reach a large audience across a small area.
Local businesses don’t always need to advertise too far from home. A loyal consumer base in the neighborhood may be enough to build a business and a great reputation. The problem comes in reaching out to enough people in that local area, especially those that would be interested. The EDDM® approach lets you target everyone in the zip code with minimal effort.
By the time everyone has collected their mail for the day, they will have seen your business name and what you want to promote. This will stick in the minds of enough people to be worth doing.
2) You don’t need to know individual names and addresses.
Continuing with this idea of casting a wider net to catch more fish, it doesn’t really matter who those fish are. You want to be sure that you reach out to people that will benefit from your services or products, but that’s a wide demographic of people. If you are a local florist, you just need people that are likely to gift flowers to a loved one sometime soon.
So, this door-to-door approach is perfect because you send mail to the household rather than to a specific person. There is no time wasted in finding the best candidates, going through old records of previous customers, or trawling through directories. You just pick a zip code and send them out.
3) You can save a lot of money.
A common reason that businesses turn to this EDDM® approach is to save some money on their campaigns. For a start, there is no postal permit required to set up this mail campaign. It is also much cheaper than posting promotional postcards the usual way through first-class mail. You might find that you can halve your costs. This frees up money to spend on other aspects of your marketing strategy. It is also a great idea for small-scale businesses to get started on a limited budget.
4) You can get everything you need to say in one piece of mail.
This is where some businesses may trip up. The EDDM® approach is effortless once you have a piece of mail to send out in large bundles. However, you still have to be careful what you put on that piece of mail. The best flyers will catch the eye immediately and stop recipients in their tracks. You can learn about some techniques for this below. They then need to understand who you are, what you offer, and where to find you.
In seconds, they will know all they need and whether they would be interested. They will then either use the flyer to take advantage of the offer, put it in a drawer with good intentions but forget about it or throw it away. You won’t reel everyone in, but a good piece of Every Door Direct Mail® will attract the target audience.
Who Can Use EDDM® To Improve Their Business Prospects?
The list of potential businesses that would benefit from this mailing system is vast. Essentially, if you have a simple service or product to promote, and you want to reach a wide area without much effort, this could be the service for you. Here are some examples of business types and organizations that can get ahead with this sort of mail campaign.
1) Local retailers.
This one is pretty obvious and applies to a wide range of stores and their owners. EDDM® mailing systems can help newcomers and start-up businesses reach a lot of people all at once. There is no guarantee that these people will come to your store in the next few days and take advantage of an offer, but it will improve brand awareness.
These little postcards or more substantial flyers are perfect for promoting a new product line or a big sale event. You might even choose to add a little code to the bottom of the flyer. Customers that bring it with them to the counter could maybe get 10% off the product highlighted.
2) Local restaurants.
This is where we see a lot of EDDM® flyers coming through our doors. It is important to stand out from the competition and to let locals know that you are in the neighborhood to satisfy their culinary desires. Local families unsure of where to dine out on the weekend might pin the flyer to the fridge as a reminder. If you choose to use the mail to promote a new menu option, you could see increased calls for takeout orders.
As with the flyers for retailers, a well-designed promotion will help a lot. Just make sure that you don’t get too carried away talking about the establishment and every single dish on offer. The flyer should pique interest in seconds or there is the risk of it going in the trash.
3) Local service providers.
A lot of new service providers across various industries rely a lot on word of mouth and positive reviews within a community. But, you can speed up the process and get your name out there with an EDDM® campaign. There is a good chance that you will send mail to people with no interest in your business.
For example, if you have a salon that specializes in a specific cosmetic surgery, you aren’t going to win over the nice elderly couple down the road. Still, a well-designed postcard with a professional logo and treatment promotion could bring in enough people to make the campaign worthwhile.
4) Any business targeting homeowners.
This is where the direct door-to-door approach can really pay off. If your business depends on working with people in their homes or perhaps improving their homes in some way, your flyer could prove helpful. Cleaning firms can do well here. Stressed-out parents struggling to keep up with the mess might get your mail through the door and see it as the answer to their prayers.
The same goes for businesses with niche services that homeowners hadn’t considered, such as air conditioning repair or garden landscaping. Again, there will be times when this approach doesn’t hit the right target. For example, a business selling loft insulation may do well with EDDM® mail in an affluent street of detached houses, but not so well in an apartment block. Still, it is better to send it out to too many people than not enough.
5) Political campaigns.
This is another common use of EDDM® solutions. No one likes having politicians come to their door, interrupting their day, especially from opposing parties. It can get tedious for the politicians too, and potentially a little hostile. A better approach is to create a flyer and send it door to door. All it needs is a photo of a smiling candidate, a party logo, and a few important policy points and slogans.
Recipients will either rip it up and throw it away, be reminded of why that candidate was their first choice anyway, or be brought around to switching their votes. Either way, the candidate doesn’t have to be there in person and frees up time for more important matters.
Making Your EDDM® Postcards Stand Out.
The options available for impressive Every Door Direct Mail® campaigns have evolved significantly. There are now options to utilize different marketing techniques to maintain the interest of recipients and get closer to making a sale. Here are three popular options right now.
1) Irresistible Mail.
When was the last time a piece of marketing mail impressed you with its design? Most companies will use the same old glossy paper flyers and inks to mass-produce their image and promotion. These are fine with the right fonts and color psychology. However, there are options to improve the look and feel of the mail with better textures and print options. Any little edge can help you stand out from the crowd. If you look like a more exciting gym than the one across town or can make your pizza look more mouthwatering, go for it. It might cost a little more, but you have those other savings to consider.
2) Product Samples.
This is another high-cost strategy that could be a bit risky. Samples are a great tool in any business to show consumers what they are missing. It isn’t practical to offer food samples in the mail for health and safety reasons. But, you can incorporate scents to showcase certain products. A perfume store with a signature scent could include a little stick infused with the fragrance. Brands can get creative here and see what works in their favor.
3) Integrated Technology.
Mobile technology plays an important role in how we connect with consumers and spread information. We all have these smart devices on hand that open up access to all kinds of tools. It isn’t always enough to put a website address or Twitter handle on the bottom of a flyer. That requires the effort to type them in on a computer. A QR code is different. These barcodes can send people directly to a specific page to learn more about a promotion or new product line. There may also be easy access to order forms to get them delivered. It is all about convenience.
What Sizes Are Available In Every Door Direct Mail®?
There are two common styles of EDDM® that businesses can use. The first is the postcard, which comes in a couple of popular sizes. Regular postcards are perfect because you know they are the perfect size to fit through the mail slot. The bold design and shape may also make people more inclined to pick them up because they aren’t cheap flimsy flyers. A sturdy card like this will also survive any rough handling and fit on a fridge door for future use. The standard options are 6.5 by 9 inches, which is just enough for all the important information. You can also get oversized products that are 8.5 by 11 inches.
The alternative is the trifold flyer. These make more sense for a campaign that wants to convey a bigger message. You might not be able to fit a full menu or list of promotions on a postcard, but you can on a folded flyer. Recipients might not read the whole thing, but they should be well-informed. This is also the best option for those political campaigns or anyone looking to offer coupons to tear off. These larger flyers are more cumbersome at 4.25 by 14 inches but could be a helpful and affordable solution.
How Many Pieces Can You Send Out?
Businesses have the option to send up to 5,000 mailpieces every day as part of these EDDM® campaigns. This limit is only for the retail EDDM® service. However using our permit there’s no limit. That’s a lot of households in a specific zip code receiving your promotion on the same day. Some of those have to pay off. There is a minimum order, as there have to be at least 200 pieces to a single 5-digit ZIP Code location. Zip codes with households totaling less than 200 may be eligible for a smaller order.
What Are The Requirements For A Bundle Of Acceptable EDDM® Flyers?
We can’t talk about all the potential benefits of this system without looking at the downsides. There are specific requirements to meet to get these shipped out. If they aren’t up to code, they won’t get delivered. So, take your time and pay attention to the following.
Registering Your Mail.
Before you can do anything, you have to make sure to register in your area. You can pick a postal route from the map on the Every Door Direct Mail® website and register to have your mail added to the round. It is a good idea to spend some time researching the best options first. You might want to go for your local neighborhood ZIP code if you are keen to have walk-ins from the area. This should be easy to set up.
However, you might decide to go further afield to target clients that use a competitor. Show them there is another option not too far away. Another approach is to try and pick an area based on demographics. Find the houses that could benefit from your services or the apartment blocks with the ideal customer base.
Staying Within The Weight Limit.
You are paying a reduced cost to have a bundle of flyers sent out with the mail. The mail carrier isn’t going to be too happy to have anything with excessive weight to it. Make sure that the weight per piece of mail is 3.3 ounces or less. Weigh them to make sure.
There is also a minimum and maximum size to qualify for EDDM®. Pieces must be at least 5 inches long, 3.5 inches high, and 0.007 inches thick. They can’t exceed 15 inches long, 12 inches high, and 0.75 inches thick. You can avoid any issues by working with pros at Cheap Club Flyers.
Creating Acceptable Bundles.
All mail in an EDDM campaign must be in bundles of between 50-100, although partial bundles are used to cover all households in an area. This ensures that the mail carriers can allocate the mail effectively to the right recipients and aren’t faced with a giant stack of 5000 flyers. These bundles must be properly secured with their strap with an appropriate facing slip on top. Make sure to fill these out correctly to avoid any problems after dropping them off.
Using The Right Format For The Flyers Or Postcards.
Whether you decide to use a postcard or a flyer for your campaign, you need to format the cards in line with postal service regulations. This means including a properly formatted address block on the page with “POSTAL CUSTOMER” or “LOCAL POSTAL CUSTOMER” printed on a solid white rectangle. If this is missing or incorrect it can’t go out. There must then be a Postal Indicia in the top right corner. This must also be on a white background, with the text in all caps and a minimum of 4-point font size. You can learn more about this on the USPS website so you don’t mess up.
Creating Your Bundles To Get Them Mailed Out.
Then there is the precise process of getting these flyers bundled together and sent out for delivery. This is the annoying and time-consuming part, but it is still worth it for the time and money saved across the campaign. Here is a brief overview to get you started.
Creating Your Mail.
The first step is to get your mail created and ready to send out. This takes a lot of time and consideration to get right. You can always have a few different options available to send to different locations based on promotions and demographics. Consider what you want to say and whether it is best to use a postcard or tri-fold flyer method. You can then play around with options and extras based on your budget. When you work with a professional team like Cheap Club Flyers, this should be too hard.
Dealing With All The Paperwork.
This is the worst part of the process, but you need to get it right to be successful. This doesn’t just mean following the rules with those address boxes and postal indicia. You will also get the facing slips, order forms, and other important documents. It is important to print everything out for reference. The Mailing Statement is especially vital to help create your bundles and get them ready for each area. However the mail professionals at CheapClubFlyers.com can help with this as well!
Paying For The Service.
Another factor we can’t overlook is payment. This may be the cheaper marketing solution, but you still have to pay for it. There are two options here.
Some businesses prefer to deal with everything at the Post Office in person. This means that there is someone to talk to if there is an issue and you can handle other related business. The payment options will depend on the post office, with most accepting cash or card payments.
The alternative is to go online and pay for the postage there. This is a faster solution that you can handle from your office while dealing with all the paperwork. It also means there is less to worry about when you go and hand them over. But, you won’t be able to get a physical receipt and there is the risk of technical errors or webpage crashes.
Either way, you need to make sure that there is metered postage with the correct figure added to each piece at the time of mailing.
Dropping Off Your Mail.
Finally, with everything packaged up and ready for door-to-door delivery, you need to hand it over to the postal service. Just take your bundles to the post office or DDU (destination delivery unit). Make sure that this office is responsible for the route listed on your bundles. You can ship them to the Post Office, but it may be best to do it directly. They will take them off your hands, providing you’ve paid and everything is in order. Then you can sit back and wait for the customers to arrive.
Turn To Cheap Club Flyers For Your Every Door Direct Mail® Flyers.
At CheapClubFlyers.com, you can find expert guidance and all the tools you need for the best EDDM® piece for your campaign. Our specialist direct mail services will help you create stunning prints, from restaurant menu flyers to promotional postcards. We promise to work in compliance with USPS requirements and provide a low-cost service you can depend on. We are just a phone call away so are on hand to guide you through your first campaign. You can learn more here.
An EDDM Campaign Could Be The Cost-Effective Solution You Are Looking For.
To summarize, this Every Door Direct Mail® system is an efficient way to reach a lot of people with minimal effort. As long as you create a great design that holds the recipient’s interest, you could find that you reach a lot of potential new customers. The door-to-door approach is hit-and-miss and you can’t win everyone over. But, it is a cheaper way to get your name out there in a wider local area. Take the time to design the perfect flyer with Cheap Club Flyers, follow the requirements carefully, and see if this is the best way to improve your local marketing strategy. Contact us today to schedule a call
