EDDM Mailing Services vs DIY Every Door Direct Mail

If you’re thinking about doing an Every Door Direct Mail campaign and are interested in understanding better how to do it or what the pros and cons are of having a company do the EDDM Service for you vs a DIY EDDM effort then this article is a good one to fully read through. Here we outline what you need to do if you plan on trying to do it on your own and share with you what it looks like if a print company does it all for you instead.

How to Do Every Door Direct Mail on Your Own

If you are someone who likes to “Do It Themselves” or are simply curious then it’s good to know that doing an EDDM Mailing on your own is actually possible. In this section we highlight the steps you’ll need to take to make that happen.

• Create an Account with USPS
  To get into the EDDM program on your own you’ll need to create an account with the USPS. If you already have an informed delivery account you could use that or you may want to set up an exclusive business account.
• Access the EDDM Portal
  Once you have an account created (or you already had an account), you’ll need to actually navigate to the EDDM portal on the USPS website to start your Every Door Direct Mail project.
• Find Your Target Area
  Within the EDDM Portal you can then search for the area you are trying to target. This is many cases targeted by zip code to start.
• Select the Mailing Routes You’ll Target
  Next the portal will ask you to choose the mailing routes you want to have the direct mail delivered to. These are essentially neighborhoods, but the routes themselves vary and are literally the routes used by USPS delivery drivers.
• Checkout & Purchase
  Once you have selected your routes the platform will give you a number as to how many “doors” or direct mail pieces you need to fulfill the delivery to every door on that route. This will be how your cost is calculated. Next step is to checkout and pay.
  In this step you are not actually paying for the direct mail to be designed or printed, that must be done separately.
• Get Your Direct Mail Printed
  To actually get direct mail into the mailboxes of your targets the direct mail pieces must be printed. To do this you’ll need to work with a print company to design and print your direct mail.
• Sort and Group by Postal Route
  Once your direct mail has been printed you then need to group all of the pieces by the route they are being delivered on. The USPS will not do this for you. They need it separated so they can get it on the right truck.
• Take Your Direct Mail to a USPS Drop Off Location
  Once you have everything grouped by route you then need to physically take it to a local USPS drop off location so they can get it onto the trucks for delivery.

So while we share all of the steps to sending out an EDDM mailer on your own you do need to consider timing because if you check out and want your mailing to hit customers doors in a week, but nothing is printed yet, there is no way that is going to happen. You may need to get things printed first and then go through the EDDM portal if timing is a factor.

Also be aware that there is a good amount of paperwork you will need to complete with the post office when sending this out yourself.

Done for You EDDM Mailing Services

After seeing all the steps included in getting everything ready to send out your direct mail using EDDM, it may seem overwhelming which is why print companies like us, do the work for you from start to finish. 

When you choose to work with a print company for your EDDM, your pieces can be designed, printed and shipped using the EDDM program all in house so the work is done for you. 

There are some extra benefits to using a print company for your EDDM including:

• Larger discounts from volume orders by our print company
• ** Better postage rates and higher volumes than doing it yourself **
• Convenience of not having to do all the steps listed above and it’s all done in one place
• Peace of Mind knowing your direct mail is going to not only look good and be printed professionally, but it’s going to reach the right audience 

So the choice ultimately is yours, but for most, when they realize how much work actually goes into doing an Every Door Direct Mail campaign it’s typical that they turn to a professional like us to do it instead. An added benefit is that in most cases you’ll actually end up paying less because of the corporate volume discounting.

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