Everyone said direct mail was dead. Everyone was wrong. While digital ads get blocked, skipped, and scrolled past, a real postcard lands in a real hand, gets read at the kitchen counter, and often sticks to the fridge for a week. Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) is the smartest, most affordable version of that play for a local business, and this guide walks you through every step of doing it right.
Why direct mail still wins
Mail feels personal in a way a banner ad never will. It is physical, it is local, and it arrives without competing against a hundred other tabs. People trust what they can hold, and they act on it. That is why direct mail keeps quietly outperforming digital channels on response, especially for local offers.
Figures above are widely cited direct-mail industry averages (USPS and direct-marketing studies) and are provided for general education. Individual campaign results vary.
The magic of EDDM specifically is that it strips away the hardest, most expensive part of direct mail: the mailing list. You do not buy addresses or scrub data. You point at neighborhoods on a map, and USPS delivers your card to every door on those routes.
Who EDDM works for
If your customers live near your business, EDDM was built for you. It shines for two very different goals:
Restaurants, home services, real-estate agents, dentists and clinics, gyms, salons, retail shops, churches and nonprofits, political campaigns, and events all win with EDDM. The common thread is a local audience and an offer worth acting on.
Two ways to run it
Full Service — we do the heavy lifting
We handle everything: printing, bundling, the USPS paperwork and facing slips, and delivery to the post office. You pick your in-mailbox date, choose your routes, and approve the design. This is the hands-off option most people want.
Print Only — you drop it off
We print USPS-compliant postcards and ship them to you; you complete the simple paperwork and take them to your local post office. A little more work, a little more control.
Not sure which fits? Tell us your goal and we will point you to the right path, and quote both.
Choosing your routes
This is where EDDM gets fun. Using a route-mapping tool, you draw your target area by ZIP code, typically within about a five-mile radius of your location, and add carrier routes across one or several ZIPs. Each route covers a few hundred addresses, and you can build up to thousands of homes.
You also choose your audience type: residential only, or homes and businesses. Residential-only is the usual pick for consumer offers. A quick tip: routes are not all equal. Median income, home density, and proximity to your door all matter, and we are happy to help you read the map.
Designing a card that gets kept
Your card has about two seconds between the mailbox and the recycling bin. Win those two seconds and you win the campaign. Here is what a high-performing EDDM postcard includes:
No designer on staff? Our team can design your postcard from scratch or polish what you have, and every order gets a free professional file check so nothing prints wrong.
Sizes and stocks
EDDM pieces must be oversized, larger than a standard postcard (taller than 6.125 inches or longer than 11.5 inches). Bigger is better in the mailbox: your card lands on top of the envelope stack. Popular EDDM sizes include 6.5 x 9, 8.5 x 11, and the jumbo 6.5 x 12.
Print on thick, premium stock so it feels like something worth keeping:
- 14PT or 16PT Gloss UV — vivid color and a durable sheen (most popular).
- 14PT or 16PT Matte — upscale, low-glare, easy to write on.
- Matte plus Spot UV — matte base with glossy raised accents for a premium feel.
- 100LB Gloss Cover — a lighter, budget-friendly heavyweight.
Timeline and turnaround
Plan roughly a week to ten days from approval to mailbox for full-service campaigns. Print-only postcards produce in a few business days, with rush options available, plus ground shipping time. Design help, if you need it, adds a couple of business days. Choose your in-mailbox date up front so your offer lands exactly when you want it to.
Measuring your results
Never run a campaign you cannot measure. The simplest method: put a unique coupon code or QR on the card and count redemptions. Then treat EDDM like a lab. Mail one offer, mail a different one next time, compare, and repeat the winner.
Your first drop is a test. Your third drop is a machine. Frequency to the same routes builds familiarity, and familiarity buys.
Here is the only math you need: break-even response = campaign cost divided by (profit per new customer times pieces mailed). For most local businesses, that break-even number is a fraction of a percent, and lifetime customer value turns a modest response into a real win.
Ready to own your neighborhood?
We print it, we mail it, you grow. Full-service EDDM, no mailing list required.
Get an EDDM QuoteFrequently asked questions
What is EDDM?
Every Door Direct Mail is a USPS program that lets you send oversized postcards to every address on the mail carrier routes you choose — no mailing list or individual addresses required.
Do I need a mailing list for EDDM?
No. That is the whole point — you pick neighborhoods and USPS delivers to every door on those routes.
How many pieces can I send?
You mail by carrier route (typically a few hundred homes each) and can select many routes; EDDM Retail allows up to 5,000 pieces per ZIP code per day.
What size do EDDM postcards have to be?
EDDM pieces must be larger than a standard postcard — at least 6.125 inches tall or longer than 11.5 inches. Popular sizes include 6.5 x 9 and 6.5 x 12.
How much does EDDM cost?
Discounted EDDM postage plus printing usually works out to cents per household — far below addressed first-class mail. Request a quote for your exact routes and quantity.
How fast can my campaign hit mailboxes?
Printing takes a few business days; full-service campaigns can be in mailboxes in roughly a week to ten days from approval.
Can i Can Print That handle the mailing?
Yes — with Full Service we print, bundle, complete the USPS paperwork, and deliver to the post office. You just pick routes and approve the art.