Every Door Direct Mail vs Saturation
If you’re looking to target a specific geographic location, Every Door Direct Mail is usually the most well-known option. This program offered through the United States Postal Service allows you to send a mail piece to all addresses in a specific carrier route. This program is most popular if you’re looking for a DIY approach because you can do it yourself by leveraging the Retail solution.
Retail Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM)
We print it, you prepare and deliver it! Retail EDDM is a good solution if you have some time on your hands and are looking to launch a campaign with as little cost as possible. We’ll print out your postcards and you’ll work directly with USPS for preparing the mailing, payment of postage, and delivery to the post office.
Commercial Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM)
The program is essentially the same - the key difference is that we’ll handle all of the preparation, paperwork, and delivery to the post office. We deliver to a commercial location and you can leverage our Seamless status to get your mail into the delivery stream a little quicker.
Saturation Mailing
Saturation mailing is similar to Every Door Direct Mail in that it leverages carrier routes to get better postage discounts. However, saturation mailings allow for a little more control in targeting options. While with EDDM you have to send to the entire carrier route, saturation mailings don’t require this. There are also some additional optional overlays, such as Median Income, Age and Home Value that allow you to be more pointed in your targeting.
In addition, while Every Door Direct Mail requires you to mail a flat-sized piece, saturation allows you to mail smaller, letter-sized pieces which can save you some money in the production costs.
Side-By-Side Comparison
| Retail EDDM | Commercial EDDM | Saturation Mailing | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mailing Work | Client Handles All | FGS Handles All | FGS Handles All |
| # of Mail Pieces | 5,000 Maximum | No Limit | No Limit |
| Data Type | Entire Carrier Routes from USPS | Entire Carrier Routes from USPS | Partial Carrier Routes Available |
| Delivery to Post Office | Mailing to multiple zip codes requires delivering to a separate Post Office for each zip code | FGS handles all delivery to Commercial Location regardless of number of zip codes | FGS handles all delivery to Commercial Location regardless of number of zip codes |
| Mailing Panel | Client Adds to Design | FGS Adds to Design | FGS Adds to Design |
| Postage Payment | Client pays USPS | Client pays FGS | Client pays FGS |
| Personalization | No | No | Yes |
| Size Requirements | Must meet USPS EDDM Flat-Size Requirements | Must meet USPS EDDM Flat-Size Requirements | Can be between 5"W x 3.5"H to 11.5"W x 6.125"H (within other regulations) |
As a USPS Certified Full Service Mail Provider, we have a full understanding of USPS product offerings and qualification standards, allowing us to choose the right option for your marketing campaign — and save you money. Reach out to our direct mail experts today to see how you can leverage mailing in your marketing efforts.
Author: Kelsey Apperson
With thousands of hours and millions of records under their belt, Kelsey is no stranger to analytics in marketing. They manage a team of experts who have experience developing and maintaining data warehouses and marketing dashboards. Marketing automation starts with our data experts, and you won’t find anyone more capable than Kelsey and their team.
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