The date that matters in direct mail is the in-home date: when your piece lands in the mailbox. Everything else is planned backward from it. A sale that starts Saturday needs mail arriving the week before, not the Monday after.
The Stages
- Plan and list: define the audience and secure the mailing list, or choose EDDM routes.
- Design and copy: build the piece to a size USPS will accept at the rate you want.
- Proof and approval: review a proof, and a printed proof for color-critical work.
- Print and finish: print, cut and fold.
- Mail preparation: address, sort and prepare for the postal rate.
- Delivery: USPS carries it from our facility to the mailbox.
How Long Each Stage Takes
It varies with the size of the mailing and how much of the design is already done, so ask us for a schedule when you order and we will build the dates around your in-home date. Printing and mail preparation are rarely the slow part.
USPS Delivery Time
USPS Marketing Mail costs less but is slower and less predictable than First-Class Mail, and can take several days to a couple of weeks. First-Class moves faster and costs more. If your date is fixed, build in the slower window or pay for the faster service.
Where Campaigns Lose Time
- The list arrives late or needs cleaning.
- Approvals pass through several people.
- The size changes after the postal check, forcing a redesign.
We print and mail under our own postal permit, so there is no hand off between printer and mail house. See direct mail printing and mailing, and EDDM vs. a targeted mailing list if you are still choosing who to mail.
