Marketing plan · San Marcos

Dental direct mail in San Marcos:
a new patient plan for dentists

By Best Direct Mail, San Marcos · Numbers from USPS and the US Census Bureau

San Marcos is our home town, and it keeps growing. New homes, new apartments by Cal State San Marcos and families moving up from the coast mean a steady stream of people who have just arrived and don't have a dentist yet. Next to them live retirees around Lake San Marcos who have had the same dentist for decades, and young families in San Elijo Hills who need one practice for the whole household.

Each of these groups needs a different postcard. Below we start with the public numbers for each ZIP Code, including how many new movers arrive in an average month, then go neighborhood by neighborhood: who lives there, which services fit and how to mail them. After that come a new movers plan, a year of mailings, what it costs and what every dental postcard in California should include.

Dental postcard of a smiling family with coupons for $50 off the first visit, free whitening, free x-rays and a free toothbrush — A family welcome card with new patient offers, for new movers and family neighborhoods. (design DEN-6)

Dental postcard with a large tooth and a $69 new patient special for an exam, cleaning and x-rays — One clear new patient price, for the neighborhoods closest to your office. (design DEN-3)

Dental postcard offering complete care for the whole family, including cosmetic, restorative dentistry and implants — Complete care, from children's checkups to implants, for mixed neighborhoods. (design DEN-13)

San Marcos by ZIP Code

ZIP Code	Homes (routes)	Households with children	Median household income	New movers a month (average)	Residents 65 or older
92069 Central San Marcos, Richland, Twin Oaks Valley and Coronado Hills	16,158 (21)	38%	$96,771	about 154	12%
92078 San Elijo Hills, Lake San Marcos, Old Creek Ranch, Discovery Hills and North City	19,370 (25)	39%	$120,268	about 187	17%

What the columns tell you:

Households with children: where a family practice, children's checkups and back-to-school cards will do best.
Median household income: higher incomes point to cosmetic work, aligners and implants. Lower incomes point to clear prices, payment plans and the insurance you take.
New movers a month: about how many households move to a new home in the ZIP Code in an average month. This is the size of your monthly new movers mailing.
Residents 65 or older: where implant, denture and consultation cards belong.

These figures cover whole ZIP Codes, and single routes inside them can be quite different. Our EDDM® route planner shows income, age, household size and the share of families with children for every route before you choose.

Homes and carrier routes are from the USPS EDDM® route map. Households with children, income, new movers and residents 65 or older are US Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates for the ZIP Code area. New movers a month is the number of residents who moved into a different home in the past year, turned into households and divided by 12.

New movers: on average about 340 households move to a new home in these ZIP Codes every month. Many of them will be looking for a new dentist.

What a mailing costs: $2,682 for 5,000 homes with our recommended 8.5 × 11 EDDM® postcard, including printing and postage. See our EDDM® prices for other quantities.

What to mail in each neighborhood

San Elijo Hills (92078)

A master-planned community in the hills south of the city, built mostly from the early 2000s on, with its own schools, parks and town center. It is a neighborhood of families, many of them with children at home, and most households have dental insurance through work.

What to offer: one practice for the whole family, children's checkups and sealants, and aligners or whitening for the parents. Evening and Saturday hours matter to working parents.
Timing: back-to-school checkups in July and August, and "use your benefits before they reset" in October and November.
How to mail: EDDM®. Nearly every home here is a family that could be your patient, so mailing whole routes is the cheapest way to reach them.

Dental postcard with a smiling family, a child at the dentist, $50 off the first visit and free whitening — Professional care for the whole family: a San Elijo Hills back-to-school card. (design DEN-4)

Lake San Marcos (92078)

Built around the lake and its golf course from the 1960s on, with single-family homes, condos and many residents who are retired. Older residents often keep the same dentist for years, so a new practice wins them with a service their current dentist may not offer, not with a cleaning special.

What to offer: implants, dentures and repairs, a free consultation, and whether you accept Medicare Advantage dental plans. Large, easy-to-read type and a phone number people can call.
Timing: September is a good month for an implant consultation card, before the holidays and the year-end benefit rush.
How to mail: EDDM® routes around the lake, or a list of older adults across the city if you want to reach them beyond Lake San Marcos.

Dental postcard with three generations of a family and coupons for free whitening, $50 off, free x-rays and a free toothbrush — Healthy and strong for life: a card that speaks to grandparents too. (design DEN-5)

North City and the Cal State area (92078)

The newest part of San Marcos, with apartments, townhomes and student housing next to Cal State San Marcos. People move in and out all the time, which makes it the city's biggest source of new movers. Many are young adults choosing their first dentist on their own.

What to offer: a simple new patient price, whitening and online booking. Young adults respond to a card that looks like it belongs on their phone screen.
How to mail: new movers every month, rather than whole routes. With so many people coming and going, the people who just arrived are the ones looking for a dentist.

Are you selfie-ready? dental postcard with two smiling young women, 25% off the first appointment and $50 off the first visit — Selfie-ready: a whitening and new patient card for young adults. (design DEN-14)

Central San Marcos and Richland (92069)

The older heart of the city, around San Marcos Boulevard, Mission Road and the Richland neighborhood, with homes from the 1960s to the 90s, apartments and many families with children. Households here look closely at cost and at which insurance a practice takes.

What to offer: a clear new patient price, children seen, and the plans you accept, including Medi-Cal Dental if you take it. Saturday hours help.
How to mail: EDDM® to the routes closest to your office. Families choose a dentist they can reach in a few minutes, so a short distance matters more than any single filter.

Dental postcard with a smiling couple and offers for a free exam, a $99 cleaning and free x-rays — Free exam, $99 cleaning: a price-first card for the neighborhoods near your office. (design DEN-7)

Twin Oaks Valley and Coronado Hills (92069)

North of the city center, Twin Oaks Valley mixes large-lot and horse properties with newer subdivisions, and Coronado Hills has hillside homes with views. Households here tend to have higher incomes and more interest in cosmetic work.

What to offer: whitening, veneers, aligners and implants, with a free consultation. Before and after photos of your own patients, used with permission, sell these services best.
How to mail: EDDM® to the routes with the highest incomes in the table above, or a list filtered by household income if the homes you want are spread out.

Get beautiful healthy teeth you'll love postcard with a smiling woman and offers for a $99 whitening kit, a free water flosser and a $99 exam — Beautiful teeth you'll love: a cosmetic card for Twin Oaks Valley and Coronado Hills. (design DEN-8)

New movers in San Marcos: a monthly mailing

Moving is one of the main reasons people change dentists. In San Marcos that happens every month, in the new apartments by the university, in new homes and in families moving up from the coast. The table above shows about how many households move to a new home in each ZIP Code in an average month.

Choose the area: the new movers within a few miles of your office, usually San Marcos plus the nearest parts of Vista, Escondido and Carlsbad.
Mail every month: each card reaches people within their first weeks in a new home, while they are still choosing.
Make it a welcome: "Welcome to San Marcos" with your new patient offer, the insurance you take and how to book.

See how many new movers are on file around your office in our mailing list planner, or ask us for a monthly price. We print and mail them for you every month.

Professional dental care for the whole family postcard with a dentist and child patient and $50 off the first visit — A monthly welcome card for new movers: $50 off your first visit. (design DEN-2)

EDDM® or a mailing list in San Marcos?

It depends on how many of the homes on a route could become your patients:

EDDM® for the neighborhoods around your office. Almost every household needs a dentist, so for a general or family practice most homes nearby are possible patients. EDDM® reaches them all at the lowest cost per card.
A mailing list for a narrower service. Implants, cosmetic work or orthodontics fit only some households. A list filtered by age, income or children reaches them across the whole city without paying for every home in between.
New movers every month, on top of either one.

A year of dental mailings in San Marcos

When	Who gets it	What the card says
Every month	New movers around your office	Welcome to the neighborhood, with your new patient offer, the insurance you take and your hours
January to February	The neighborhoods closest to your office	New year, new dental benefits: book your cleaning and exam
March to April	Higher-income neighborhoods	Whitening and cosmetic work before spring weddings, graduations and summer photos
July to August	Family neighborhoods	Back-to-school checkups and sealants for kids
September	Neighborhoods with many older residents	Implants, dentures and a free consultation
October to November	Your own patients, then the nearby neighborhoods	Use your dental benefits before they reset on January 1

You don't need every mailing. Most San Marcos practices start with the monthly new movers card and one neighborhood mailing, then add the others once they see which brings in patients. Our dental direct mail guide has more offer ideas for each one.

Healthy teeth and gums for the whole family postcard with children holding smile photos and a complimentary exam offer — Healthy teeth for the whole family: a card for the year-end benefits reminder. (design DEN-9)

What every San Marcos dental postcard should include

The dentist or practice name, so it is clear who is offering the service. Dental advertising in California must not be false or misleading.
"Specialist" only for real specialists. An orthodontist or oral surgeon can say so. A general dentist who offers implants or aligners should describe the service without suggesting a specialty.
Offers spelled out: what a new patient special includes, who it is for (new patients only, patients without insurance) and when it ends.
No waived co-pays or deductibles as an offer. That can break dental plan contracts and insurance rules.
The plans you accept, including Medi-Cal Dental if you take it. For many families it is the first thing they check.
Where you are in San Marcos, with a landmark people know, your hours and whether you see children, evenings or Saturdays.

These are general points, not legal advice. Your dental association or a healthcare attorney can confirm the exact wording of your offer, and we adjust any design to match.

Dental postcard designs

Start from one of our ready-made dental postcards. We add your logo, offer, license number and photos, send you a proof, then print and mail it. Need a custom design, or have your own? Just let us know.

Dental marketing plans in other cities

San Marcos at a glance

Homes and mail routes: About 35,500 homes on 46 routes
New movers: About 340 households a month
Best areas: Families: San Elijo Hills and Central San Marcos. Cosmetic work: Twin Oaks Valley and Coronado Hills. Implants and dentures: Lake San Marcos.
What it costs: $2,682 to mail 5,000 homes by EDDM®
Where to start: A monthly new movers card plus one neighborhood mailing near your office.

Frequently asked questions

How many new movers are there in San Marcos each month?

The table above shows about how many households move to a new home in each San Marcos ZIP Code in an average month, from US Census Bureau estimates. It is a good guide to the size of a monthly new movers mailing. The exact count for the area around your office is in our mailing list planner.

Where should a family dentist mail in San Marcos?

Start with the routes closest to your office, then the family neighborhoods in the table: the ZIP Codes with the most households with children. San Elijo Hills is the easiest family neighborhood to reach by EDDM®, because nearly every home there is a family.

Where should I mail implant and denture postcards in San Marcos?

Lake San Marcos has many retired residents and is easy to reach by EDDM®. To reach older adults elsewhere in the city, use a mailing list filtered by age.

How many homes should a dental practice mail?

Many practices start with 2,500 to 5,000 homes around the office plus a monthly new movers mailing, then grow the area once they see which neighborhoods bring in patients. Use a different offer code on each mailing to see what works.

Are you in San Marcos?

Yes. Our print shop is in San Marcos, so we print your postcards here and take EDDM® mailings to the Post Offices that deliver your routes.

Get a quote for your San Marcos mailing

Tell us which neighborhoods and services you want to focus on. We'll reply with a price for printing and mailing, and the routes or list we recommend.

Dental direct mail in San Marcos:a new patient plan for dentists