I’ve been mailing marketing pieces for health clubs for 20 years and I think I finally get it! By that, I mean I finally understand the postal system and its rate structure. In this article, I will break down the different rates for postcards, and hopefully save you a lot of money on postage.
12 Cents Per Piece: Saturation Mailing To Destination Delivery Unit (DDU).
The lowest price postage you can pay is 12 cents per piece. To qualify for this rate, you must do a saturation mailing. That means you have to mail to every residence in a specific zip code or carrier routes. To qualify for this rate you must also do a drop shipment. This means the mailing must be taken directly to the corresponding post office DDU (Destiny Delivery Unit) that will provide the carriers for that mailing. It will cost you some money to get your mailing directly to the post office that will handle the mailing, however, this charge is usually much lower than paying the higher postage. If your direct mail company is not sending your mailing directly to the corresponding post office, I’d ask them why not.
What is a carrier route? People that deliver mail are called carriers and they each have a carrier route number. Last month’s article discussed the importance of mailing to carrier routes that have a high percentage of your members living in them. A report called a penetration report can give you those carrier routes with the percentages of your members. You can go online to www.clubsolutions.biz to review that article.
12.6 Cents Per Piece: Saturation Mailing To A Sectional Center Facility.
If you send your mail to a Sectional Center Facility you pay 12.6 cents. The Sectional Center Facility is where mail is sorted and then shipped to the correct post office. This also must be a saturation mailing to qualify for this rate.
13.9 Cents Per Piece: Destination Delivery Unit – Not Mailing To Everyone in Zip Code or Carrier Route.|Okay, now your mailing goes to the actual post office that will be providing the carriers for your mail. However, let’s say you don’t want your members to get this mailing because it’s an offer to join. So you’re mailing to everyone in that zip code or carrier routes, minus your members.
14.5 Cents Per Piece: Sectional Center Facility – Not Saturation Mailing.
This rate applies if you drop your mail at a Sectional Center Facility and purge out some residents from your list. Now it’s not a complete saturation mailing and it’s not being dropped at the actual post office providing the carriers for the mailing.
15.2 Cents Per Piece: General Drop.
This is known as a general drop. You are not dropping your mail at the specific post office providing the carriers for your mail. You are still doing a saturation mailing. You are mailing to everyone in those carrier routes or zip code.
17.1 Cents Per Piece: Select Criteria For Mailing.
This rate gives you the ability to select criteria for your mailing. For example, you may want to only mail to residents that earn a specific income and to single family households. You may also want to purge your members from the mailing so they don’t get offers to join your club. You will need at least 10 people in a carrier route to qualify for this rate. You will also need to send your mailing to the Designated Delivery Unit. That is the actual post office providing carriers for your mailing.
Please be advised that to qualify for these rates you will have to have your mail sorted to U.S. postal regulations. Some of these rates require enhanced carrier routes and special bar coding. The post office has all of the information you need to find out what you need to do to qualify for the lowest postage rates. To get the information online, follow these steps:
1. Go to www.usps.com
2. Click on calculating domestic postage
3. Click on complete domestic postage rates
4. Click on R600 Standard Mail
If you need further assistance, call the main post office, not the local post office, and ask for the postage rates expert at that facility. They are paid to help you get the lowest possible postage rates. Don’t hesitate to ask!
Finally, I want to give you one more valuable suggestion. Whoever is doing your direct mail should provide you with a U.S. postal postage statement. This is a form that breaks down how many pieces went out and to what zip codes and carrier routes. It also breaks down how much postage you paid for each piece. You can set an appointment to meet with a U.S. postal employee to review your postage statement and discuss specific ways to get the lowest possible rate.
I hope this helps make cents out of postal rates and regulations. Happy mailings!
Jim Martin is the President of Powerful Promotions. He can be contacted at 877.822.5577, or visitwww.powerfulpromotions.com.
