EDDM Postcards: Complete Guide to Every Door Direct Mail Marketing and Cost Savings

By Lee Garvey

Most small business owners spend hours crafting the perfect customer list, only to watch their carefully targeted postcards get tossed in the trash. Meanwhile, the pizza joint down the street blankets every mailbox in a three-mile radius and can barely keep up with orders.

The difference? They discovered Every Door Direct Mail, the postal service program that lets you skip the guesswork and reach every single household on specific mail routes. EDDM postcards eliminate the complexity of traditional direct mail while potentially slashing your marketing costs.

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EDDM vs Traditional Direct Mail: When Every Door Direct Mail Works Best

The biggest advantage of Every Door Direct Mail is right in the name: you’re reaching every door. No mailing lists, no demographic filtering, no wondering if you missed your ideal customer. But this shotgun approach only makes sense when your target market matches your geography.

Perfect EDDM Candidates: Restaurants, Salons, and Local Services

Local businesses with broad appeal hit the EDDM sweet spot. Restaurants don’t need to guess who might want pizza—everyone eats. Hair salons, auto repair shops, dental offices, and home services like landscaping or house cleaning benefit from the same logic. If your business serves a geographic area rather than a specific demographic, EDDM can be a game-changer.

The restaurant example illustrates this perfectly: when you’re advertising a new location or weekly specials, household income, age, and lifestyle don’t matter as much as proximity. A well-designed EDDM postcard reaches the busy parent who forgot to plan dinner, the college student craving late-night food, and the retiree wanting to try something new.

For businesses looking to maximize their direct mail impact, combining EDDM with targeted follow-up campaigns can create a powerful acquisition and retention strategy.

When EDDM Fails: High-End Services and Niche Markets

EDDM becomes wasteful when your service appeals to a narrow slice of the population. Luxury financial advisors, specialized medical practices, or high-end contractors might find that 80% of their EDDM postcards hit households that will never become customers. A veterinary practice opening in an area with many apartment buildings might struggle with EDDM since pet ownership rates vary dramatically by housing type.

The key question: does everyone in the neighborhood potentially need what you offer? If the answer is no, traditional targeted direct mail likely offers better returns despite higher upfront costs.

EDDM Performance Results: What Response Rates to Expect

EDDM response rates typically fall between 0.5% and 2% for most local service businesses, according to Data & Marketing Association research. The wide range reflects differences in offer strength, timing, and market fit.

• Local restaurants and food services: 1-3% response rates are common, especially for grand openings, limited-time offers, or delivery announcements in residential areas
• Home services (landscaping, cleaning, HVAC): 0.5-1.5% response rates, with seasonal timing significantly impacting performance—spring lawn care mailings outperform winter campaigns by 200-300%
• Healthcare and wellness services: 0.3-1% response rates, with dental and vision services typically performing better than specialized medical practices
• Retail and personal services: 0.8-2% response rates for hair salons, auto services, and retail stores, with new customer offers driving higher responses than general awareness campaigns

Performance vs. targeted mail: EDDM often achieves 60-80% of targeted direct mail response rates while reaching 3-5 times more households, making total lead generation comparable or superior. Most businesses need at least 0.5% response rates to justify EDDM costs, while 1% or higher typically delivers strong ROI for service businesses with average transaction values above $100.

Campaign success heavily depends on offer quality and market saturation—businesses in oversaturated markets or those without compelling promotions often see response rates below 0.3%, making EDDM financially unviable. Optimizing your direct mail offers can significantly improve these results.

The Mailing List Trade-Off: Precision vs Saturation

Traditional direct mail lets you target homeowners over 50 with household incomes above $75,000 who own pets. EDDM targets “everyone on Maple Street.” This trade-off between precision and saturation defines the choice between approaches. Some businesses benefit from casting a wide net, while others need surgical precision to avoid wasting money on unlikely prospects.

EDDM Cost Analysis: Real Savings vs Traditional Postcard Campaigns

EDDM’s cost advantage comes from eliminating mailing list expenses and securing lower postage rates through the USPS bulk program. Here’s how the numbers break down:

• Postage savings: EDDM postcards mail at 16.2 cents per piece compared to standard postcard rates of 53+ cents, representing nearly 70% savings on postage alone
• List costs eliminated: Traditional campaigns typically spend $50-200 per thousand names depending on demographic filters, while EDDM requires only route selection with no per-name charges
• Minimum volume requirements: EDDM routes require 200-5,000 pieces depending on the area, making it accessible for smaller campaigns that couldn’t justify traditional bulk rates
• Production scale benefits: Higher volumes from saturating entire routes often trigger better printing rates, offsetting the “waste” of reaching non-prospects
• Hidden costs to consider: Route research takes time, and you can’t exclude obvious non-customers like apartments when targeting homeowner services

The break-even point typically favors EDDM when your conversion rate stays above 0.5% and your service appeals to more than 20% of households in the target area.

EDDM Postcard Guidelines and Best Practices from Industry Experts

USPS automation requirements for EDDM postcards are stricter than regular mail since pieces must process through sorting equipment efficiently. The address panel needs specific clear zones, and your design can’t interfere with postal barcodes or processing.

Size options include 6.25×11, 6.5×9, 8.5×11, and 8.5×12 inch formats, each with different postage rates and visual impact. Larger sizes command more attention but cost more to produce and mail. Choosing the right direct mail format is crucial for campaign success.

The “one postcard, one message” rule becomes even more critical with EDDM since you’re reaching people who’ve never heard of your business. Your headline needs to communicate your core offer instantly. Complex messages or multiple offers confuse recipients who have no existing relationship with your brand.

Visual hierarchy matters more in saturation mailings because recipients sort mail quickly, giving your piece only seconds to grab attention. High-contrast colors, large fonts, and simple iconography perform better than detailed layouts that require close reading. Advanced personalization techniques can help your EDDM pieces stand out even without demographic targeting.

Key Success Factors:

• Route selection strategy: Residential routes work best for consumer services, while business routes suit B2B offers. Mixed routes often waste money by reaching audiences that don’t match your service
• Timing considerations: Avoid major holidays when mail volume peaks, and coordinate with local events or seasonal needs. A landscaping company mailing in early spring captures homeowners planning yard work, while restaurants benefit from mailing before weekend dining decisions
• Response tracking: Implementing proper tracking methods helps measure campaign effectiveness and optimize future mailings

Start Your EDDM Campaign Today with Expert Support

EDDM postcards offer powerful cost savings and neighborhood saturation, but success depends on proper execution—from route selection to design compliance with USPS requirements. Rather than tackling postal regulations and printing logistics alone, partnering with an experienced service can help you launch faster while avoiding costly mistakes.

Click2Mail streamlines the entire EDDM process through their online platform, handling everything from USPS-compliant design templates to route targeting and next-day mailing. With no minimum volume requirements and transparent pricing that starts at just 16.2 cents postage per piece, you can test EDDM campaigns without major upfront commitments.

Call 866-665-2787 or visit their website to get started with your first EDDM campaign and discover why businesses across the country trust Click2Mail for their direct mail success.