What Role Does USPS Mail Play in Your Marketing Effort

One touch point I didn’t mention when talking about the marketing Rule of 7 is U.SP.S mail—a communication staple since the mid-1800s.

Looking back on Election Day, I realized just how prominent campaign mailings still are. Over the last month of campaign season, I received enough campaign mail to wallpaper my powder room! While it was all wasted on me, it must work if candidates are spending an estimated $900,000 to "touch" us through direct mail.

A Brief History of USPS Direct Mail

Advertising mail has been a part of the U.S. Postal Service for a long time. In 1845, advertisements were first given a special, low postage rate—before that, they were charged the same as letters. By 1863, mail was divided into classes, with advertising material falling into third class. While some advertisers still used First-Class Mail to send ads, most chose third-class mail (which became Standard Mail in 2001, then USPS Marketing Mail in 2017).

Between 1880 and 1930, third-class mail volume skyrocketed. It went from about 301 million pieces in 1880 to over 6 billion pieces by 1930. That’s nearly 20 times more third-class mail, while the population only increased about 2.4 times. What drove this growth? Improved printing methods and the rise of the mail-order industry, thanks to rural free delivery and Parcel Post. USPS Source

What’s even more interesting is that the “Rule of 7”— the idea that people need to see a message about seven times before acting on it—was established in the 1930s, almost a century after advertising mail first started. Back then, home television was a new invention and rare in most homes. Today, broadcast TV is almost obsolete, yet direct mail continues to be a booming business.

Direct Mail vs. Email: Pros and Cons

Email and snail mail each have their strengths and weaknesses, and which is "better" depends on who you ask. Here is, what I hope you agree, an objective look at both:

Here are some objective pros and cons for both EMAIL and USPS Mail

Critical Factors for Email or Snail Mail Campaign Success

Regardless of the medium, a few things are essential for campaign success:

Accuracy of Address List

• For USPS campaigns, nothing is worse than paying for postage only to have mail undelivered due to incorrect addresses. Unless you pay extra for return service, you won’t even know which pieces weren’t delivered.

• With email, undelivered messages are less financially painful since you’ll get a bounce notice. However, tracking down correct email addresses often requires time-consuming research.

Make the Piece Compelling

• In an email, a strong subject line and preview text should make the recipient want to click and learn more.

• For physical mail, the piece should stand out—whether through its appearance, content, or something surprising that catches the attention of the intended recipient.

Include a Call to Action

• A clear call to action is especially critical for direct mail because it’s often the main way to track a campaign’s success.

• With email, analytics from the email platform (like delivery, bounce, unsubscribe, and click rates) give you a sense of reach, but a call to action is still essential as it’s the real path to engagement and potential revenue.

For those of you at the other end of my email marketing newsletters, your engagement is off the charts, with open and click rates well above industry standards. I don’t use emojis in subject lines or other gimmicky tactics the email platforms suggest; I pretty much say why I’m writing without much fanfare.

That said—thanks for your interest!

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