A new pizzeria in Chicago had over 400 people show up to its grand opening event – a continuous line out the door from open to close! Even more amazing, the pizzeria only used
direct mail, sending out 10,000 attractive flyer advertisements that gave the event information and highlighted a Kindle giveaway. How did the pizzeria achieve such amazing results in such a competitive market and on a very small budget? Simple, they combined the right message, the right offer and the right distribution channel – a new
USPS program called
Every Door Direct Mail that is aimed to reach neighbors in a very effective and low cost way.
What is Every Door Direct Mail?
Every Door Direct Mail, or EDDM for short, is a
USPS sponsored program that delivers direct mail pieces to every home within a designated area. It’s a program that allows neighborhood businesses to reach their neighbors.
Benefits of EDDM
One of the main benefits to EDDM is that it drives local traffic to local businesses. In addition, EDDM is:
- Cost Effective – keeps more of your money in your pocket
- Immediate – It reaches customers the same day or next day
- Saves Time -reaches your neighbors without you having to collect and acquire addresses.
Before you decide to do an EDDM campaign, there are a few things you need to know. First, the EDDM program has a limit of 5,000 mailings per post office per day for retail, but unlimited for permit users using their BMEU. If you are planning on doing a large campaign, you can either run it for multiple days, use multiple post offices or simply work with an AlphaGraphics center which have BMEU permits and have no restrictions.
Secondly, EDDM direct mail pieces have specific size requirements. If your piece is not one of the specified accepted sizes, the post office will not deliver it.
Thirdly, EDDM mailings require a load of paperwork that may be a bit confusing. In addition, your local post office may have a few logistical issues that are may not be outlined in the paperwork.
AlphaGraphics will help you avoid these three headaches by helping you design and deliver the piece to the proper post office. We’ll even take care of that nasty paperwork.
An Effective EDDM Campaign
Success of your EDDM campaign can be greatly increased if you create your campaign with these 5 C’s in mind:
Customer: Know the demographics of your campaign. You need to know who your customers are - and just as important - where they aren’t.
Creative: Make your piece stand out. You need to create a piece that engages you audience long enough for them to read what you have to offer. Remember most people get 3 to 9 mail pieces a day and yours needs to be the one they remember.
Clear: Make you message clear and easy to be seen. Take a step back and ask “Do I understand what the message is of this piece?” If it takes longer than 3 seconds to see your message, make it clearer. Less is more.
Coupon: Often it’s not the design but the offer that motivates your customers. Create an exclusive offer that can be tracked and generates urgency.
Continuous: when it comes to direct mail, repetition works. If the campaign is not event oriented, run it more than once with the same artwork, design and offer.
Calendar: Plan ahead and give yourself enough time for the piece to reach your customer. In addition, ask the post office what other pieces are going out. The last thing you want is your EDDM campaign to go during a mass coupon day from the big retailers.
Every Door Direct Mail can be one of the most cost-effective channels dollar-per-dollar to reach your local customers. Whether you are a pizzeria just opening or a plumber looking for more business, an EDDM campaign with the right message, the right offer and sent to the right area will help you increase your reach to your local customers.