POSTAGE, EXPLAINED
Postage is often the most expensive part of any direct mail campaign. Our expertise lies in advising you on the best postage options that will give the most bang for your marketing budget. We put our experience with the US Postal Service to work for you.
Each direct mail is campaign is different. Here are some of the most common options we advise for our direct mail clients.
Presort Standard postage is the discounted mailing rate for bulk mail that meets specific preparation and sorting requirements. To qualify for Presort Standard rates, the mail pieces are sorted by ZIP code or carrier route and must meet certain size and weight criteria.
USPS passes the discount onto us because we have done a large part of the work for them in sorting and bundling. For instance, lets say we’re sending 800 letters to Omaha. Instead of making the USPS sort and ship 800 individual letters, we bundle and ship the letters as one unit directly to Omaha. There, the bundle is received at the USPS Distribution Center and then handed off to the local delivery teams. They reward us by passing the cost savings to us, and by extension, you.
This postage option is the most commonly used by DART customers since it maximizes cost and delivery efficiency. Delivery times are anywhere from 4-10 business days, depending on how far the mail pieces must travel.
Presort First-Class postage requires the same specific preparation and sorting requirements as Presort Standard. The cost is lower than regular First-Class postage and still receives priority service. This option is ideal for when the mail pieces are time-sensitive, such as invoices, statements, legal notices, and other important correspondence.
This option is used commonly when clients want to time delivery to a specific event (a Halloween promotion, for instance) or when there is an obligation to deliver within a certain timeframe.
Delivery times are anywhere from 2-7 business days, depending on how far the mail pieces must travel.
First Class postage refers to the rates charged by postal services for individual mail items, such as letters, packages, and parcels that don’t qualify for any kind of bulk discount. This is normally what you pay when you mail as an individual when you walk up to the counter at the Post Office. First Class postage receives the highest level of service with the fastest delivery times, usually 1-4 business days depending on how far the mail piece must travel.
Non-Profit postage is the discounted rates offered to qualified 501C3 non-profit organizations for sending bulk mail. This is a great option for non-profits that want to save on mailing expenses while effectively reaching out to supporters, donors, and communities. By leveraging non-profit postage rates, your organization can allocate more resources towards missions and initiatives, while enhancing outreach and impact.
Delivery times for Non-Profit are between 4-10 business days. You must mail a minimum of 200 pieces per job to qualify for this rate. Unfortunately, First Class Non-Profit postage does not exist.
To apply for a non-profit permit, you must submit this form Application to Mail at Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail Prices to the US Postal Service. There is no fee to apply. You will also be required to submit other supporting documents such as your federal tax forms from the IRS. The approval process can take up to 8 weeks, so plan ahead for any future mailings.
Other Postal Terms
Carrier Route
A carrier route is a term that refers to the specific path or route that a postal carrier takes when delivering mail to a group of addresses within a particular geographic area. It's more detailed than a ZIP code and typically includes a sequence of addresses that can be efficiently serviced by one postal carrier during their delivery rounds. Carrier routes help optimize mail delivery by grouping addresses together based on logistical considerations such as proximity and accessibility.
Carrier Route Saturation
USPS offers a significant discount when you mail every household and/or business in a specific carrier route. The Postal Service’s EDDM program is an example of Carrier Route Saturation mailing. The mail carrier puts one piece of mail into everyone’s mailbox--doesn’t matter who lives there. Saturation mailings are great for when you want to target everyone within a neighborhood or town with no regard to selectivity like age, gender or income. For instance, the new carwash wants to advertise a grand opening and sends a postcard to every address in that carrier route. This is considered a saturation mailing.
A Carrier Route Saturation campaign sent with Presort Standard postage will qualify for one of the lowest possible postage rates. Not only does the USPS not have to sort the mail, they can also just put one in every person’s mailbox, regardless of who lives there. This can be a very affordable way to get the attention of everyone who lives near your business.
NCOA—National Change of Address
This is a piece of USPS software that helps individuals and businesses update their mailing addresses. If you’ve ever moved, you’ve probably filled out a Change of Address card. This information is stored in the NCOA database. When mailing to specific individuals is important, we check your database against the NCOA software and verify the most up-to-date address for everyone on your list.
Databases that you purchase through us are up-to-date on NCOA verification.
CASS--Coding Accuracy Support System
CASS is another piece of USPS software. While NCOA makes sure the person matches the address, the CASS system makes sure that the address in your database matches the USPS address database. If the address is incorrect, the software will flag it as undeliverable. The benefit of CASS is that it saves our clients money by eliminating undeliverable mail pieces and verifying deliverability to specific addresses. For instance, if the house number for Joe Smith is incorrect in your mailing list, the CASS system will flag that record = no mail for Joe.
Our clients qualify for available postal discounts because we submit those databases to the CASS system and allow USPS to sort and clean the lists and maximize efficiencies.
