My Truth about EDDM (Every Door Direct Mail)

Every Door Direct Mail

If you have any questions about EDDM, ask in the comments and I will try to get you an answer. No obligation, I will just try to help you.

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The postal service is pushing a “not so new” but improved feature called EDDM Every Door Direct Mail.

A simple explanation is that you can mail a “Flat”  (determined by size) mail piece, saturating an area to as many full carrier routes as you like (up to 5000 pcs per day) without having specific addresses and without buying a postal permit.

Saturation mail has been around for a long time but they have made it easier to use.  This should be a good thing.

*** 10  Observations about EDDM *** (these are just my opinions)

1.  The postage price was not reduced for this new program,  but the process was made easier for the customer.  Is that enough to grab their attention?  Time will tell.

2.  It is limited to flats.  In my opinion if the USPS was serious, they would have opened this to standard mail also.

3.  My customers are reluctant to jump on board because of the extra printing costs involved in printing flats.

4.  In tough economic times, my customers are looking for the cheapest possible way to mail, period!  EDDM is not the cheapest, it is just the easiest.

5.  This was a huge blow to the list broker business.  Before customers had to purchase a list, now the post office is offering this mailing with no addresses at all.

6. In my opinion the USPS should do national television advertising.   Get the word out far and wide.  Having their employees try to sell this to small business, is just not efficient. UPDATE ask and you shall receive (click here)

7.  They have limited the number of EDDM (retail) pieces to 5000 per day.   That seems counter productive.  Wouldn’t it be better to pave the way for customers to bring in as much mail in one day as possible?

8.  This program is not open to non-profits.  This doesn’t make sense to me.  Since they didn’t reduce postage costs, why exclude non-profit?

9.  You have to apply for a mailer ID to take advantage of this program.  Although it’s not that difficult, it is mandatory.

10.  The mail must be presented to the post office serving the area you are mailing to.  You can only drop ship if you are using the EDDM BMEU not the EDDM Retail.

Added:

11. There has been some confusion as to whether you can mail an envelope EDDM or not.  Yes you can as long as it meets the size requirements for EDDM.

12.  You must have the permit and the delivery information on the mail piece.  The post office does not do this for you!

If you would like more information or just want to ask a question, contact us (here).

Have a wonder-filled day,

Donna Flanagin

Random me:  I grew up in a house with one bathroom and one telephone.

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Sometimes EDDM is not the best choice

I recently had a customer that was considering enlarging their envelope to qualify for EDDM.  The quantity was approx 50,000 pieces covering 6-7 different zip codes going to eastern US states. Click here for EDDM quick reference.

Why I believe this was not the best idea.

1.  Additional cost for larger custom envelope

2.  Additional printing to add City, State and Zip to each group on each magazine

3.  Shipping 50,000 pieces to each local post office.

Leaving the mailing in a #10 envelope but mailing it as a regular saturation mailing was more cost-effective.

Sometimes EDDM is a good idea and sometimes it is not.  Ask your local USPS bulk mail representative or a reputable mailing service.

Have a Flan-tastic day,

Donna Flanagin

www.mybulkmail.com

Random me: Creating three new Flanagin Fairy costumes for the 2013 Popcorn Parade.

2nd oz is Free

Remember when?

Beginning January 2012, commercial mailers can now mail the 2nd ounce FREE on first class presorted mail.  (click here).

This is a huge savings for our customers.  You can now load up your envelopes with promotional or informational material, reply envelopes, surveys or use better quality paper  and only pay for the first oz.

This offer does not apply to single piece mail.

Bills and statements delivered via First-Class Mail are opened more than 95 percent of the time and, on average, the receiver spends two to three minutes with each piece. What a great way to get your message out.

If you are still paying 65 cents for your second oz, please give us a call to see if we can save you money.

Have a wonder-filled day,

Donna Flanagin

Random me:  I attended the Disney Institute 5 day business workshop in Orlando.  It was fantastic and as a result I changed so many things.

It’s official

Can you read this?

It’s official, receive a 3% postage discount when you apply a QR Code to your direct mail during July and August 2011.

Every little bit helps.

We can help you.

Prepare in advance.

Get the facts here. http://delivermagazine.com/mobilebarcodepromotion/

Have a wonder-filled day,

Donna Flanagin

Random me:  Tell me a secret, I will keep it.

QR Code – Saving postage?

QR Code (quick response)

Have you seen those new QR Codes (quick response)?

Are you curious what all the hype is about?

Keeping it simple, it is a code that is read by a mobile smart phone with the appropriate App and it will lead you directly to a companies ad, website, coupon, etc.

The USPS is proposing a 3% postage discount to all bulk mail (standard and first class) that displays the new QR Barcode (quick response) during the month of July and August 2011 (click here) for FAQ.

If you would like to do some direct mail in July or August and would like to incorporate the QR Code, contact us, we can help.

There are many different Apps that can read these codes.  I personally downloaded QuickMark. If  you have a smart phone and an App, read the above code and see where it leads you.

If you have an QR Code reader app that you really like, let me know in the comments.

Have a wonder-filled day,

Donna Flanagin

Random me:  I learn something new every day as long as I am paying attention!

Bulk Mail Service Tip #1 – Another Way to Save Postage

 

Don’t pay too much

Here’s another easy way to save on postage. Co-mingle your metered mail.

What is co-mingled mail?  Your mail is put with other mail and presorted before it goes to the post office, because of that process it costs less to mail.  Simple and easy.  Fill out two easy forms one time, meter at a lower rate and deliver to us, save postage.

True story:

Yesterday I received a newsletter mailed by a local non-profit.  They metered 64 cents postage.  

If they would allow us to co-mingle this mail they could have saved 22.6 cents per piece. 

Doing it yourself is not always the best decision.

If you meter your mail, if you have over 100 pieces and if you want to save postage, please contact us first.  (click here)

Have a wonder-filled day,

Donna Flanagin

Random me:   Learned to type on a manual typewriter.  What’s a manual typewriter you say?

Listen Up Non-Profits

Keeping it simple……

I had a non-profit customer today make the decision not to apply for non-profit status at the post office because she said they don’t mail often enough.

My suggestion to her was to apply anyway, it’s FREE.  IF YOU DIRECT MAIL, YOU SHOULD APPLY.

There is only a cost if you want your own permit, if you use a mail service you do not need your own permit.

Authorization number and permit number are two different things.

There is a lot of money to be saved in postage if you can qualify with the USPS as a non-profit organization.

I’m making it easy, link to application (Click Here)

Your authorization number can be used anywhere in the U.S. regardless of where you apply.

You must mail 200 pieces or 50 pounds of bulk mail per mailing.

No, you do not have to mail to only one zip code, you can mix it up any way you want.

You must mail at least once every 2 years to keep your authorization active.

You may not lend your authorization to another organization.

More questions? Contact me.

Have a wonder-filled day,

Donna Flanagin

Random me:  I have a horrible singing voice and that makes me sad.  I would love to be able to sing (beautifully).

Can the Post Office be saved?

Who do I think I am talking about saving the post office?

I am only one of thousands of customers that use the post office daily.  I am not here to bash the post office, I actually need them to survive or I am out of business too. I am here to talk about what I observe.

Called the post office all morning yesterday, no one picked up the phone.   I actually wasted all morning trying to get an answer to an important question.

Email was not an option because the person with the answer is pulled from their desk every morning to perform other tasks because they are short-handed.

Have you ever tried to find the phone number of your local post office in the phone book?  It’s not under “P”, it’s not under “US”.  I often get calls at my business from frustrated postal customers asking me if I have the phone number to the post office.

It is possible they don’t want to be interrupted all day long by their customers?

Evaluate your customer service through the eyes of your customers.

Can the post office be saved?  First step, focus on serious, committed customer service.

What do you think the post office can do to improve their customer service?

Have a wonder-filled day,

Donna Flanagin

Random me:  I was raised in a very conservative household.  Neither parent would have ever owned their own business.

Is five day delivery in the future for the post office?

 

Do you think customer service is a high priority at the post office?

I think we all will agree that the post office does a phenomenal job of delivering mail.  Put a letter in the mail one day, and it ends up in the hands of the recipient the next, sometimes even with the wrong or insufficient address.  Think about that.  Millions of pieces of mail moved all across the country every day with precise accuracy.

I think we also know they are in a financial crisis.

They are proposing 5 day delivery, already removed many corner blue mail boxes, and are consolidating or closing many post offices while simultaneously telling us customer service is important to them.

Customer service is not measured by what you say but by what you do.

Why not try upsetting the apple cart?

Can you imagine this television commercial by the post office professing their commitment to customer service?

“We are going to institute 7 day delivery, with all post offices being open 9 – 5,  7 days a week and if there is ever a line longer than 5 people, we will open another window.  We promise you will be greeted with a smile and we will find a solution to your mail needs.”

Radical?  Yes.

Impossible?  Maybe.

“If your goal isn’t impossible, you’re not reaching high enough”… jeff noel.

What do you think the post office could do to improve their customer service?

Have a wonder-filled day,

Donna Flanagin

Random me:  The post office is essentially my business partner.  I live with their decisions.

Saving $1,000,000.00

It all adds up

At the beginning of 2010 I started keeping track of how much my customers saved in postage by using our services. This figure was determined by what their actual postage was vs mailing the same piece with USPS first class stamps.

The answer was quite surprising.  For 2010 we saved our customers $684,819.26.

The most dramatic saving was for a customer that mailed just over 17,000 8″ x 10″ calendars.  The actual postage was $6030.56 but they saved $24668.29.  Had they been a non-profit business, they would have saved even more. The heavier the mail piece the more dramatic the savings will be.

My job is to get the word out to as many people as I can, that there is big money to be saved by using a mail service.  Even on jobs as small as 200 pieces you are going to save about 40%.  No gimmicks, pure savings.

My goal is to save our customers $1,000,000.00 in postage for 2011.

Stop back at the beginning of each month to follow our progress.

Have a wonder-filled day,

Donna Flanagin

Random me:  Only one of my grandparents was still alive when I was born. How sad that I never got to know them.