Direct mail is one of the most effective channels for acquiring new customers, but what if you don’t have the mailing address of your target audience?
Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM®) solves this challenge by allowing businesses to target prospective customers in specific geographic regions without requiring their mailing addresses.
Provided by the USPS, Every Door Direct Mail works by delivering mail to “every door” in a zip code or community. And since the EDDM mapping tool uses U.S. Census data, businesses can filter geographic regions by age, income, household size and other demographic information to find postal routes that best reflect their target audience.
For example, businesses can select USPS carrier routes that have the highest regional concentrations of females over the age of 35 with two or more children.
Keep reading to learn more about using EDDM for your next direct mail campaign, including:
- Is Every Day Direct Mail (EDDM) right for your business?
- Examples of how businesses use Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM).
- Best practices for Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) campaigns.
Is Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) Right for Your Business?
One of the biggest benefits of EDDM is that it eliminates the need to purchase a mailing list or build one from scratch.
With EDDM, your direct mail campaign lands in every mailbox of a specific neighborhood, community or zip code. Think of it like a blanket mailing that is delivered to every address in a chosen geographic area.
While EDDM was designed to accommodate virtually any business, there are some limitations to the service that you’ll want to consider:
- EDDM allows businesses to send mail exclusively to residential addresses, or to a combination of residential and business addresses. It does not permit sending mail exclusively to business addresses, making it less than ideal for the B2B sector.
- EDDM doesn’t provide an option to add or remove recipients from your chosen postal routes. Since all households on the carrier route will receive your mailpiece, EDDM may not be ideal for businesses with niche products or services.
Even with these limitations, a wide variety of businesses can benefit from EDDM, especially those that:
- Do not have a mailing list.
- Target a residential audience.
- Have a general awareness campaign, such as a grand opening, event or candidates running for a political position.
- Want to target specific regions, cities, zip codes or neighborhoods.
Take Car Pool Car Washes, for example. Car Pool Car Washes struggled to find a fast and cost-effective way to geo-target prospective customers in close proximity to each of its seven Virginia locations.
The comprehensive market coverage, prompt delivery, reasonable pricing and ease of EDDM were perfect for their needs. After mailing 5,200 postcards, Car Pool Car Washes generated 155 new customers and tracked 104 return customers from the campaign.
Here’s how other businesses in a variety of industries use EDDM to boost brand awareness and generate more business.
Examples of How Businesses Use Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM)
Casinos
Casinos use EDDM to notify new and existing customers of upcoming events, shows or offerings. Since a large portion of a casino’s customer base is over 50, EDDM makes it easy to promote its offerings to communities with a high senior population.
Nonprofit Organizations
EDDM makes it easy for nonprofit organizations to showcase recent work they’ve done in the community to grow their volunteer network and solicit donations. For example, churches use EDDM to promote clothing drives for children by targeting areas with a high concentration of families that are likely to have old clothes lying around the house.
Hotels
Hotels use EDDM to announce the opening of a new location to homeowners and businesses in the surrounding community. EDDM is also in hotel direct mail marketing campaigns to promote special offers or reduced rates for “staycations.” For example, a resort in Phoenix could offer 30% off bookings for residents in the Phoenix area.
Home Service Businesses
EDDM is perfect for home service marketing campaigns promoting services after a severe weather event. For example, an HVAC business can target homeowners in zip codes hit by a record-breaking heat wave.
Similar to HVAC businesses, solar companies can use EDDM to target zip codes hit hardest by the heat wave and refine search criteria to identify postal routes with high concentrations of household incomes over $100,000.
Best Practices for EDDM Marketing Campaigns
Although EDDM ensures that your message is delivered, getting recipients to take action requires a well-designed mail piece. Here are tips for creating high-converting direct mail campaigns.
Use large print and easy-to-read fonts.
Recipients shouldn’t have to strain their eyes to read about your business, so make sure your audience can read your key message quickly and clearly. The goal is to immediately communicate to recipients why your business is the best in town.
Make a professional and high-quality first impression.
Your mail piece reveals a great deal about your business. Since this will likely be the first impression that recipients have of your company, be sure your mailer represents the quality and professionalism your business is known for. Working with a reputable printing partner will ensure your business is showcased in a polished manner.
Use an appealing heading.
Your headline needs to entice readers to read more and take action. The heading should be eye-catching, bold and exciting–the goal is to keep the reader reading. Since you’re speaking to a specific region, be sure to call out the city or community name in which recipients live to grab their attention immediately. Images of your service or products in the community will create an instant connection with recipients, too.
Use photos and illustrations.
Speaking of images, strong visuals are more persuasive than lengthy paragraphs when it comes to direct mail campaigns. Complex or excessive text won’t work here. Instead, you’ll want to incorporate visuals that immediately resonate with your target audience and motivate them to learn more about your business.
Have a clearly stated call-to-action (CTA).
Your CTA should be straightforward. Provide the prospective consumer with the next steps. Specify how the reader can contact you, where they can find you and why they should act now. Be sure to use QR codes to make it easy for recipients to take action and track the performance of your campaign.
Adhere to USPS size and weight requirements.
EDDM does not permit extra-large postcards, irregular shapes or catalogs, so be sure to adhere to the size and weight requirements of USPS. Be sure to follow the USPS guidelines for EDDM to ensure your flyer or postcard meets the size criteria and measurements for EDDM mail pieces.
Every Door Direct Mailing (EDDM) with Jet Mail
Since 1993, Jet Mail has helped businesses across the country to execute fast and effective direct mail campaigns. As a SOC 2 compliant USPS Postal Qualified Wholesaler with an in-house USPS facility, Jet Mail can create custom solutions for all of your direct mail needs. In addition to our all-in-one solutions for direct mail marketing, Jet Mail also has an in-house commercial print house, on-site fulfillment center and global distribution network to assist with all of your marketing fulfillment needs.
Contact us today to learn more about the Jet Mail difference!
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