How Does How EDDM is different from regular direct mail
With regular direct mail you buy or build a list of names and addresses, print each address on its piece and pay postage based on that list. With EDDM you skip the list entirely. You choose mail carrier routes on a map, and your carrier delivers one piece to every active address on each route.
That changes three things:
- No list to buy. You don't pay for data and don't print addresses.
- You pay by the route, not the person. Every route you select gets covered in full, so you can't leave out individual homes.
- The address is generic. Pieces say "Postal Customer", or "Residential Customer" if you only want homes.
Since EDDM covers whole routes, people sometimes call it saturation mail.
The two versions of EDDM
EDDM Retail is the version most small businesses use. You need a free USPS.com account, you can mail 200 to 5,000 pieces per day per ZIP Code, you pay $0.26 a piece and you drop the mail off at your Post Office. No permit is needed.
EDDM BMEU (Business Mail Entry Unit) is for larger mailers. It uses a Business Customer Gateway account and a bulk mail permit, has no volume limit and is dropped off at a mail processing center. Postage is as low as $0.259 a piece, but there's a $390 annual mailing fee and a $390 permit application fee.
What you can mail with EDDM
EDDM is for "flats", which are larger than a standard postcard or letter. Postcards, flyers, menus and folded mailers all work if they meet the size rules. For EDDM Retail, a piece has to be longer than 10.5 inches, taller than 6.125 inches or thicker than a quarter inch. It must also weigh 3.3 ounces or less.
USPS has named 6.5 x 9 postcards, 8.5 x 11 oversized postcards and 4.25 x 14 tri-fold menus as popular choices. 6 x 11 is another common one. All the size rules
Who uses EDDM
EDDM fits businesses whose customers are the people who live or work nearby:
- restaurants and takeout
- home services such as lawn care, cleaning, plumbing and roofing
- real estate agents working a neighborhood
- new store openings and grand openings
- local events, schools and community groups
It's less useful when your ideal customer is a small slice of a neighborhood, because EDDM can't pick them out from their neighbors.
What EDDM costs
Postage for EDDM Retail is $0.26 a piece. A 2,000-piece mailing is $520 in postage, plus whatever your printer charges. EDDM cost and calculator
Questions people ask
What does EDDM stand for?
Every Door Direct Mail. It's a USPS service and a USPS trademark.
Is EDDM the same as bulk mail?
It's one kind of bulk mail. EDDM pieces are USPS Marketing Mail flats sent to every address on a route. With EDDM Retail you don't need the bulk mail permit that other bulk mailings require.
Is EDDM only from USPS?
Yes. Only the Postal Service delivers to every mailbox, so EDDM is a USPS service. Many printers and mail companies offer to prepare and drop off EDDM mailings for you, but USPS does the delivery.
Do I need a permit?
Not for EDDM Retail. You only need a USPS.com account.