The Benefits of EDDM for Local Marketing | Taradel

There’s always something new to be seen on the marketing front, especially since the advent of digital marketing and other forms of tech-based outreach. 

Sometimes the old ways are best, though. Other times, old-fashioned techniques like direct mail come up with unexpected new tools and possibilities. One such tool is Every Door Direct Mail, or EDDM.

It offers an array of opportunities and advantages that the enterprising marketer can take advantage of. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at this marketing tool, and how it can benefit you.

What Is Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM)?

Every Door Direct Mail, more commonly referred to simply as EDDM, is a program established in 2013 by the United States Postal Service (USPS). It allows businesses to focus on the design and marketing side of direct mail campaigns while USPS takes charge of the distribution and delivery.

It works by offering businesses the choice between different mail routes, and neighborhoods so that it’s possible to target communities in the vicinity of the business. You can read our in-depth overview of EDDM for more information about the program. 

For now, let’s jump into the key features, and how they benefit local marketers.

Key Features of EDDM

There are a lot of reasons to recommend EDDM when it comes to local advertising. This is mainly thanks to the excellent features which make it so easy to use. Some of this tool’s most beneficial features include:

• Geographic and demographic targeting

• Value (Design, print, and mail for less than a stamp!)

• Budget & schedule control

• Easy online campaign builder

• Trackable results (phone tracking, QR codes, etc.)

There are dozens of other features and advantages, but let’s jump straight into how they can be advantageous for local marketing.

Benefit 1 - You Don’t Need a Mailing List to Use It

Thus far, most businesses have been following a simple, albeit costly, procedure when sending out direct mail promotional campaigns. Namely, buying a mailing list with the names and addresses of potential clients.

One of the major advantages of EDDM is that you don’t need a mailing list to use it, which saves you both time and money. With this tool, USPS offers you a map so you can choose which areas you most want to target. This may take the form of specific neighborhoods or an entire postal route that is advantageously located.

Benefit 2 - It’s Highly Cost Effective

EDDM is one of the most cost-effective ways of running a direct mail campaign. Not only can you target the neighborhoods that are most likely to benefit from your products or services, but it costs less than virtually every other direct mail option.

You can expect to pay as little as 29¢ per postcard at higher volumes, depending on what you’re sending and how large the format is. But, even at smaller quantities, the average EDDM postcard costs between 38¢ and 46¢ — including design, printing, postage and delivery!

Benefit 3 - It Doesn’t Have Postal Limits (If You Have BMEU)

If you’re using the business version of EDDM, through a provider like Taradel, you have absolutely no limitations on how many mail pieces you can send per day. This option also allows you to choose multiple Zip codes.

If you plan on using the retail version of EDDM, there are some limitations to bear in mind. You’ll only be able to send up to 5,000 pieces per day, in each Zip code. 

For small businesses, like community pizza joints, dry cleaners, and mom-and-pop hardware stores, retail EDDM may be sufficient. If you’re part of a larger business, or someone who values saving time and reducing manual work, we’d say it’s well worth investing an all inclusive service. 

Benefit 4 - It’s a Great Way to Offer Discounts

Whether you want to target new customers, or you simply want to reach out to loyal existing customers, EDDM makes it easy.

You can choose the zip code or specific postal routes (neighborhoods) that you want to reach, and send a discount code or coupon specifically designed for that neighborhood. Because the system is so incredibly customizable, you can probably even reach out with slightly different coupons to customers just a few blocks apart.

This is especially useful, for instance, if your research shows that certain neighborhoods are more likely to use a coupon for sneakers. But, statistically, the neighborhood two blocks away is more likely to take advantage of a B.O.G.O. offer for t-shirts. You can send both groups of people the coupons that are most likely to bring them to your store.

This feature can also be beneficial for companies that have different chains in different parts of the state or Country.

Benefit 5 - It’s Easy to Set Up

No one wants to struggle with a tool that’s laborious, and difficult to use. Fortunately, EDDM is a simple system, and you can use it with ease. Below, we’ll detail the four steps to use it, so you can see for yourself.

Step 1 - Select the Location You’re Targeting

Start with the easy-to-use EDDM mapping tool to find the neighborhood or postal route you’d like to target. Fortunately, you can enter the desired zip code to make it even easier to find the area you want. 

Step 2 - Select the Mail Format, Size, and Shape

Although you technically only need to select these things after you’ve completed your design (at least for the EDDM process), knowing which format you want to use will make designing your campaign considerably easier. 

Mainly, the questions are:

• Do you want a postcard or a letter-style campaign?
• How large do you want the letters or postcards to be?
• What size mail can the people receive in the area you’re targeting?

Step 3 - Create an Attractive Design that Reflects Your Brand

Now is the time to make your business’ brand pop. Design a tantalizing campaign that reflects your company’s personality, and will draw attention from your target audience.

If you don’t have a designer on staff, or you’re a small business owner but still want to advertise via EDDM, you can reach out to a Direct mail advertising company (such as ourselves) for assistance.

Step 4 - Print Your Advertising Campaign, and Send It

Finally, print your campaign and send it. You can either print the campaign privately, and leave the sending to USPS, or have them do both the printing and the sending.

Benefit 6 - It Makes Targeting Easy

Probably the most efficient aspect of EDDM is the detailed targeting. We’ve mentioned the excellent mapping multiple times, but it goes beyond that.

You can start your search by entering a zip code, address, city, or state, to find the area where your target audience is. After that, you can use detailed filtering abilities to help you find precisely the right group of people.

Some of the filters include:

• Age bracket - You can choose to target all people by choosing an age range from 0 to 85+. You can also choose any bracket in between, by moving the adjustable sliders.
• Route type - The map allows you to choose whether you’d like to target routes with plenty of P.O. Boxes, city routes, or rural/highway routes.
• Residential - You can choose to target mixed areas containing both residential and business routes, or to stick to residential only.
• Household size - You can use average household size to target neighborhoods with a low population density, or those with a high one.
• Income - The income filter allows you to filter results by the average household income.

Whether you’re looking to target young married couples, large families with a high income, or businesses, EDDM makes targeting easy. You can save plenty of time and money by avoiding the people who are least likely to seek your services.

Benefit 7 - You Can Easily Track Results

While not technically restricted to EDDM, this tool maintains the general ease with which one can track direct mail campaigns. Whether you decide to use personalized coupon codes, QR codes, call tracking or surveys, campaign tracking is essential.

Thanks to the excellent customization of this tool, you can easily send different coupons or QR codes to households with different age brackets. For instance, if you own a clothing store, you can offer a discount on orthopedic shoes for the elderly to households with elderly people. However, you can offer QR codes that translate to discounts on sneakers to families with teens.

Long story short, by keeping track of which codes or URLs get used, and how many of them, you can keep careful track of how successful your EDDM campaign is.

Benefit 8 - It’s Highly Customizable

Customization is one of the top direct mail marketing trends of 2023, and EDDM is the king of custom. Because you can do all your own design work, or have someone design the campaign you want, you get 100% custom every time.

You also get to choose the type, format, and size of mail that suits you, and your target audience, best. 

You can also take customization further and send different coupon codes to different places. However you decide to do your marketing, you’d be wise to take full advantage of this customizability. 

Final Thoughts

Whether you’re marketing a small business or one chain of a larger group of stores, EDDM offers great benefits for local marketing. Not only is it inexpensive and easy to use, but you can target the exact areas where your potential customers live.

If your store is just about to open, EDDM opens the doors for reaching out to the people near you. Even if you’ve been open for some time, this regional targeting allows you to reach out to loyal customers and potential customers alike. 

Finally, it’s worth noting that this tool generally results in a high return on investment. This result mainly comes about because you can select your target audience so carefully. You also get to track the results of your campaigns easily, so you know when to change your strategies.

As a whole, EDDM truly is a fantastic marketing tool for getting in touch with people in your area. We’d recommend it wholeheartedly.

Get in touch with Taradel and see how we can help boost your local marketing efforts!