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Chapter Ten

Chapter Sections:

Moving Ahead Working with USPS

Moving Ahead

Give yourself a pat on the back—you’ve made it to the last chapter!

To help keep you organized (and to see how far you’ve come), let’s review everything we’ve covered:

  • Establish your key business objectives.
  • Consider how long it may take to create your campaign.
  • Compare different classes of mail.
  • Identify your target customers.
  • Decide on the data points you’ll use to get to know them.
  • Decide between house lists and broker lists.
  • Scrub and cleanse your mailing lists.
  • Explore Every Door Direct Mail® marketing for geographic targeting.
  • Stay organized with the Business Customer Gateway.
  • Find the right format and size for your mailpiece.
  • Consider working with a mailpiece design analyst.
  • Create compelling copy and design.
  • Pay attention to the details.
  • Decide how you will pay for postage.
  • Prep your piece for the Post Office® facility.
  • Figure out what exactly you need help with.
  • Decide between agencies, mail service providers and printers.
  • Calculate estimated costs for your campaign.
  • Build out a budget.
  • Measure potential ROI.
  • Decide on key performance indicators to measure success.
  • See if Informed Delivery® campaigns are right for you.
  • Familiarize yourself with the most effective tactics for your field.
  • Review this checklist to stay grounded.
  • Reach out to USPS for guidance.
  • Learn some key industry terms.

Lesson Learned

You have the knowledge you need to forge ahead—now the trick is staying organized. Refer back to this checklist whenever you need to recenter and refocus.

Working with USPS

If you ever get stuck or feel unsure of what direction to take, the team at USPS is here to help every step of the way.

We have various online resources to help you with each aspect of your mailing:

USPS.COM®

The home base for all things USPS, this website can help you find everything you need to mail and track your campaign. This is a great place to start.

POSTAL EXPLORER®

Postal Explorer serves as a virtual library of important information and tools, including detailed requirements for all different kinds of mailings, rate calculators and zone charts.

POSTALPRO

If you’re ready to get more in-depth or need help with something more technical, turn to PostalPro.

How to Find Us

The USPS network includes 31,000 Post Office facilities and more than 60,000 additional locations, which means we cover every ZIP Code™ area in America. Find a location near you.

If you’re mailing at commercial rates, you’ll want to find your nearest business mail entry unit (BMEU)—the part of the local postal facility where mailers drop off their business mail. To find a location close to you, check out the locator tool.

How to Get in Touch

If you have questions, we have answers.

Here are a few important contacts to keep on hand:

USPS® SALES CONSULTANT

For more information on our products and services, fill out this form and a USPS Sales Consultant will be in touch soon.

MAILPIECE DESIGN ANALYST (MDA) SUPPORT CENTER

For help designing your mailpieces—and making sure your design is ready for USPS mail-processing machines—reach out to the MDA Support Center at 855-593-6093 or mda@usps.gov

BMEU SPECIALIST

To find the fax and phone numbers for a specific business mail entry unit, you can enter your city and state or ZIP Code area through PostalPro.

NATIONAL CUSTOMER SUPPORT CENTER (NCSC)

For advice on how to clean up and organize your mailing list, contact the NCSC at 800-238-3150.

POSTAL CUSTOMER COUNCIL® (PCC)

The Postal Customer Council offers some great tools and advice to help you with your mailings. Find a PCC near you.

Lesson Learned

The experts at USPS are here to help you get your direct mail campaign off the ground and into customers’ hands, so don’t hesitate to reach out.

It’s time to get started on your mailing!

We’ve covered a lot, and we hope you’ve learned a lot—whether you’ve read through this entire tutorial or focused on a couple specific chapters. As you continue familiarizing yourself with direct mail and start putting your knowledge into action, remember that you can always come back here to reference key sections, review your notes and look over anything you highlighted.

Now go ahead and give your customers something to be excited about—their mailboxes are waiting!

Connect with USPS® Connect with USPS icon

Fill out this form to learn more about our products and services.

Need help? Reach out to the Mailing & Shipping Solutions Center at MSSC@usps.gov and a team member will be in touch.