Direct mail postcard campaign: a step by step planning guide

What are the steps in a postcard campaign?

Most campaigns follow the same sequence. The timings below are planning estimates for a first campaign. Production and delivery use the times published on the Voqado shipping page; confirm postal delivery times with your mail provider.

What goes into a campaign brief?

A one page brief keeps every later decision consistent. Name the audience and why they should care now, the offer and its conditions, the single response action, the mailing window, the total budget and the person who will count results. Add the business's capacity: if the team can handle only a certain number of appointments a week, size the mailing to match. Our offer copy guide covers how to write the message itself.

Agree on who approves each stage before work begins. A campaign with one decision maker for copy, one for the budget and one for the mailing list moves faster than one where every change circles back to a group. Put those names and the approval dates in the brief so the schedule has an owner.

How do you choose the audience: a list or every door?

The two main mailing methods reach different people, so choose by goal rather than habit.

USPS says EDDM Retail lets you send from 200 up to 5,000 pieces per day per ZIP Code and target neighborhoods by route. EDDM pieces must meet USPS Marketing Mail flat standards, so confirm the size with the mail provider before design starts. For a named list, clean the addresses before printing. Our EDDM print checklist covers route mailings in more detail.

How much should you budget?

Add every cost: design, printing, postage or distribution, any list purchase and your own time. Then decide what the campaign must return. A simple way is to divide the total cost by the profit contribution of one additional sale. As an illustration, a campaign costing 1,200 dollars with a contribution of 30 dollars per sale needs 40 additional sales to break even. The campaign break even calculator runs this for your own numbers. Treat the result as a target to measure against, not a forecast.

What size and format should the postcard be?

Pick the size from the mailing method. A single card mailed with a stamp gets the First Class Mail postcard price only from 3.5 x 5 up to 4.25 x 6 inches and 0.007 to 0.016 inch thick. Presorted or automation First Class mailings can use card prices for postcards up to 6 x 9 inches, at least 0.009 inch thick once a card is larger than 4.25 x 6. Cards outside those limits pay letter or flat postage. Our guide to postcard sizes for mailing compares common formats. Route mailings use the flat size standards instead. Whatever the size, reserve the address, postage and barcode area on the back before placing any artwork.

How do you connect the postcard to a landing page?

Send readers to a page that repeats the postcard's offer, headline and conditions and works well on a phone. Use a short URL people can type and, if you add a QR code, tag the destination so visits from the card can be separated from other traffic. The campaign link builder adds consistent UTM tags. Test the printed URL and the QR code from a physical proof before approving production.

How do you measure a postcard campaign?

Decide the measurement window and method before the cards mail. Count responses through a unique code, a dedicated phone line, tagged links or cards handed to staff. The basic response rate is responses divided by pieces delivered. Track inquiries and completed sales separately, and note any other promotions running at the same time so the results are read in context. Record quantity, cost and dates for each mailing so the next campaign can be compared fairly.

Keep the counting method consistent between campaigns. If one mailing used a code and the next used a QR code, the difference in results may reflect the method rather than the offer. A short results note after each campaign, listing what was mailed, to whom, what it cost and what came back, becomes the most useful planning document you have for the next one.

Campaign planning checklist

• A one page brief with audience, offer, action, budget and dates.
• A mailing method chosen to match the audience.
• A size that fits the mail class, with the address area reserved.
• A landing page that repeats the offer and a tested URL or QR code.
• A break even target and a set measurement window.
• A record of quantity, cost and mailing date for comparison.

Where should you start?

Write the brief first, then choose the mailing method. For a route mailing, direct mail postcards arrive printed, addressed and bundled for the post office, with postage paid separately to USPS.