How direct mail works, step by step

By Best Direct Mail · Updated October 12, 2026

Direct mail is a printed piece, usually a postcard, letter or flyer, sent through the U.S. Postal Service to the people you want as customers. A campaign has seven steps: pick who gets it, decide what you're offering, design the piece, print it, address it, prepare it for USPS, and measure what comes back. Here is what happens at each one, from a mail house that has prepared thousands of mailings for businesses and elections across Southern California.

1. Decide who should get your mail

This is the decision that matters most. A great postcard sent to the wrong homes does nothing. There are two ways to choose:

• Every home in an area (EDDM®). With Every Door Direct Mail®, you pick postal carrier routes and the mail carrier delivers to every address on them. There is no list to buy and postage is lower. It suits businesses that serve a neighborhood: restaurants, home services, dentists, gyms. See What is EDDM®?
• A targeted mailing list. You choose people by details like age, income, home value, or whether they just moved or own a business. Each piece costs a little more, but fewer are wasted. It suits customers who are spread out or narrow, like new homeowners or a certain kind of business. Our mailing list planner shows how many addresses match before you buy.

If you already have customers, your own list is the best list of all. Past customers respond far more often than strangers.

2. Pick one clear offer

People look at a piece of mail for a few seconds before they decide to keep it. Give them one reason to act, not five. A good offer is specific and has a deadline: "$50 off your first AC tune-up, book by March 31" works better than "quality service at great prices."

Then make the next step obvious: a phone number, a web address or a QR code. One is best. Two is fine. More than that makes people stop and think, and thinking is where they put the card down.

3. Design the piece

Most campaigns use a postcard because there is no envelope to open: the message is seen the moment it comes out of the mailbox. Common sizes are 6 × 9, 6.25 × 11 and 8.5 × 11 inches. Larger cards stand out more, and for EDDM® the postage is the same at any eligible size, which is why we recommend 8.5 × 11 for EDDM®.

A postcard that gets calls usually has:

• A headline that speaks to the reader's problem, readable from arm's length
• One strong photo
• The offer and deadline, in large type
• Your phone number or web address, big enough to read without glasses
• A little proof: years in business, reviews or a guarantee

USPS also needs space on the address side for the address, postage marking and barcode, so leave that area clear. Our postcard design library has hundreds of layouts by industry that already follow these rules.

4. Print

Postcards are printed on thick card stock, often with a coating that makes colors pop and protects the card in the mail. Larger runs cost less per piece, because the press setup is shared across more cards. If you plan to mail more than once, print all the rounds together for the lower price. We keep the extra postcards here and mail them when the next round is due.

5. Address and clean the list

For a targeted mailing, every address is checked against USPS data before it is printed. This standardizes the address, catches ones that don't exist and updates people who have moved. It cuts waste and is required for the lower postage rates. The address and a USPS barcode are then printed on each piece.

EDDM® skips this step. Pieces carry a simple "Local Postal Customer" line instead of a name and address.

6. Prepare the mail and pay the postage

USPS gives its lowest rates to mail that arrives already sorted. A mail house sorts the pieces by ZIP Code and carrier route, bundles and trays them the way USPS requires, fills out the postage paperwork, and drops everything at the post office or a USPS business mail entry unit. Most marketing campaigns go as USPS Marketing Mail, which costs less than First-Class Mail.

This is the step most businesses hand off. The rules are detailed, and a mistake can mean the mail is rejected or charged a higher rate.

7. Delivery and results

Direct mail usually arrives in 2 to 6 days. EDDM® mail is dropped at the local post office that serves those routes, so it is usually delivered the next day.

Plan how you will measure results before you mail. The simplest ways are a special code on the offer ("mention code SPRING"), a QR code that goes to its own web page, or a phone number used only on the mailer. Then you can tell exactly how many calls and sales the campaign brought, and decide whether to mail again.

When direct mail is the wrong tool

Direct mail is slower to set up than an online ad, and you pay for every piece whether or not someone responds. It is a poor fit when you need results tomorrow, when your product sells mostly to people outside the U.S., or when you can't define who your customer is. It shines when your customers live in a known area or fit a clear profile, and when a physical reminder on the kitchen counter helps.

Frequently asked questions