Direct Mail Campaigns
Full-service direct mail campaigns that are built to be measured
Managed direct mail campaigns: audience and list, offer and design, printing, mailing, call tracking and results, run as a multi-drop program by people who mail for a living, at print-shop prices.
What it costs
All-in per piece, postage included
Printing and mail processing at our published rate plus USPS postage at cost (Marketing Mail automation 5-digit, $0.395). Every size and quantity is on the pricing page.
A direct mail campaign is a sequence, not a mailing. The list is chosen for who is likely to buy, the offer is written to be answered, the piece is designed to be read in three seconds, the drops are scheduled four to six weeks apart, and every response is tracked to the card that produced it. Done that way, direct mail is the most predictable lead source most local and regional businesses have.
We run the whole thing. You tell us what a good customer looks like and what you can afford per lead; we build the list, design the piece, print and mail each drop, set up tracking numbers and landing pages, and report response and cost per lead after every drop so the next one is better.
How much does a direct mail campaign cost?
A three-drop campaign of 5,000 6×9 postcards to a purchased list costs about $8,600 for the mail itself: $0.18 per piece for printing and processing plus $0.395 in Marketing Mail postage, or roughly $0.58 per piece all-in across 15,000 pieces. Add about $400 for a 5,000-record consumer list licensed for all three drops and the program is about $9,000, or $0.60 per delivered piece, before design and tracking. At a conservative 1% response that is 150 responses, or about $60 per response before any repeat business.
The same campaign sent through a typical full-service agency quoting a blended $1.10 to $1.50 per piece would run $16,500 to $22,500. The mail is identical; the difference is markup. We publish our print and processing prices and pass postage through at cost, so the campaign fee is the only line that is not on the pricing page.
What is a good response rate for direct mail?
The Association of National Advertisers has reported average direct mail response rates of around 9% for house lists and around 5% for prospect lists in its response-rate studies, against roughly 1% for email, paid search and social. Real campaigns vary widely with the offer and the list: a strong offer to a well-chosen list can pull 3% to 5%; a generic piece to a saturation route may pull under 0.5%. We plan campaigns around a conservative 1% and treat anything above that as upside, then use the first drop's actual number to size the second.
Why multiple drops beat one big mailing
Response to a single mailing is dominated by timing: the household that needed a roofer the week your card arrived called; the one whose roof leaks next month did not. Three drops to the same 5,000 homes reliably outperform one drop to 15,000 homes because they catch each household closer to its moment, and because familiarity works: recognition on the second and third card lifts response on each one.
What we do in the first week
Define the customer (home value, age, income, business type, distance), pull counts for two or three list options and pick one, write the offer, produce the design and a proof, set up a tracking number and a landing page, then approve drop one. The mail is in the stream by the end of week two, and you see the delivery scans as it lands.
- Day 1–2: audience, list counts, offer
- Day 3–5: design, proof, tracking setup
- Day 6–7: approval; drop one prints and mails
- Week 3: delivery scans and first responses
- Week 6 and 10: drops two and three, adjusted to results
Run your numbers
Price a direct mail campaigns mailing in ten seconds
Pick a piece, a quantity and a mail class. The estimate shows printing, postage and the all-in figure, next to what the same job typically costs elsewhere.
Answers
Direct Mail Campaigns: questions people ask
How much does a direct mail campaign cost per 1,000 pieces?
About $665 per 1,000 for a 6×9 postcard mailed as Marketing Mail, itemized as $270 for printing and processing and $395 for postage, plus list and design if needed. A three-drop campaign to 5,000 homes runs about $8,600 for the mail. Costs fall per piece as quantity rises.
What is included in a full-service direct mail campaign?
List strategy and data, the offer and copy, custom design, printing, address hygiene, presort, postage, mailing, tracking numbers and landing pages, and a report after every drop with responses and cost per lead. You approve each drop before it prints.
How do you track direct mail responses?
With a unique call tracking number, a QR code and a short URL on each version of the piece, coupon or offer codes where a sale happens in person, and USPS Intelligent Mail barcode scans that show when the mail was delivered. Responses are matched back to the drop and the list segment that produced them.
Does direct mail still work?
Yes. Direct mail response rates reported by the ANA remain several times higher than email or digital display, a physical piece is kept in the home for days, and almost nobody under 40 receives much personal mail, so a well-designed card stands out. It works best as a repeated program to a well-chosen list, not a single mailing.
Can you run direct mail campaigns in multiple cities?
Yes. We mail nationally from one production line, so a franchise or multi-location business can run one campaign with per-location versions, each with its own list, phone number and offer, and get one consolidated report.
Get a quote in minutes
Tell us what you want to mail. We will price it today.
Send the size, the quantity and where it is going. You get a written all-in quote — printing, mail processing and postage — usually within a business hour, with no obligation.