How much does Direct Mail cost?
An Overview of Direct Mail Services & Costs
How do you estimate the cost of a direct mail campaign? There are so many variables that affect pricing.
Take format selection, for example. A letter package is going to cost more than a postcard if only because there are more pieces to print, address and insert.
You want a longer letter, a brochure or some other insert? Your cost will go up. If you want additional levels of personalization, again your costs will increase.
Mailing lists are all over the board with pricing – from a few cents to 25-30 cents per name, in some cases. Of course, if you are using your own list, there is no cost.
And then there’s postage – first class mail, standard class mail, non-profit mail, saturation mail – plus all the pre-sorting discounts that may be available.
In-the-Mail Costs
When calculating your direct mail cost, you are usually looking at what it will cost to get into the mail.
There may be other costs – for things like a landing page, business reply mail, call tracking services and the creation of a lead magnet – but for the most part, you are focused on in-the-mail costs.
Production Costs
- Mailing List Rental or Purchase
- Printing
- Addressing
- Inserting/Mail Processing
- Postage
Management & Creative Costs
If you are planning to use outside services (like ours) for strategic planning, campaign management, copywriting and graphic design, then those costs also need to be factored in. These are fixed costs meaning they are the same regardless of quantity. The production costs (listed above) are variable costs meaning they vary with quantity.
How We Charge
With more than 30 years in direct mail, we can help you with direct mail in a variety of ways:
- We provide all-in-one pricing for traditional direct mail campaigns using specific formats.
- We provide itemized pricing for more complex or advanced programs.
- We provide direct mail creative services (copy & design) for those who want creative help, but want to manage the campaign themselves.
- We provide direct mail consulting/coaching services for those who want to do everything themselves, but could benefit from our guidance.
- We provide scheduled new mover postcard mailings for those who want to mail to new residents or new homeowners.
- We provide all-in-one pricing for Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) programs that reach every household in selected carrier routes.
We also provide direct mail services as part of our Integrated Marketing Programs for both lead generation and fundraising.
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Direct Mail Services & Pricing
Below is pricing for our direct mail services, including
- Full-Service Direct Mail Campaigns
- Specific Mailer Formats
- Advanced Direct Mail
- Every Door Direct Mail
- New Homeowner/New Mover Direct Mail
- Direct Mail Creative Services (copy and design)
- Direct Mail Consulting and Coaching Services
Full-Service Direct Mail Campaigns
The following programs feature all-in-one pricing to cover the costs of:
- Mailing List Rental
- Printing
- Addressing
- Inserting & Mail Processing
- Standard Mail Postage
plus … - Campaign Management
- Graphic Design & Copywriting
Specific Mailer Formats
For your convenience, we’ve prepared pricing for four popular direct mail formats – a large postcard, a letter package, a folded self-mailer and a survey mailer.
- 6×11 Postcard – Postcards are one of the most popular formats today. A 6×11 postcard is the largest size available for basic (letter rate) postage.
- Letter Package – The letter package includes a #10 window envelope, a 1 or 2-page letter and business reply card. Reply card is personalized.
- Folded Self-Mailer – The folded self-mailer is a one-piece format that includes three panels plus a business reply card. Measures 6×28 inches, folding down to a 6×9 mailer.
- Survey Mailer – This package includes a #10 window envelope, a 1-page/2-sided survey and #9 business reply envelope. Survey is personalized.
We’ve prepared a flyer with more details on each format – Direct Mail Formats
qty-> | 2500 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 20,000 | |
6×11 Postcard | $4,370 | $5,911 | $9,046 | $15,346 | |
Letter Package | $4,912 | $6,590 | $9,942 | $16,680 | |
Self-Mailer | $7,022 | $8,880 | $12,656 | $20,150 | |
Survey Mailer | $4,870 | $6,647 | $10,196 | $17,366 |
Please call for specific quantities or format variations. If you don’t need some of the services shown above, call and we’ll re-run the estimates to match your needs
Advanced Direct Mail
Not every campaign will fit the specifications shown above.
If your direct mail campaign requires an advanced level of direct marketing – more customized creative, more complex offer development and list research, a testing strategy or a larger, more comprehensive direct mail package, we can create that for you.
Advanced Direct Mail is often necessary for direct order (order generation) campaigns, follow-up fulfillment direct mail or ongoing (monthly or weekly) direct mail campaigns.
Call for a Quote
Every Door Direct Mail
Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) is designed to simplify the direct mail process. By following the EDDM process, you can mail without a mailing list and without mailing services. Postage is reduced if you are planning to every household in a particular carrier route.
Call for Quote
New Mover/New Homeowner Direct Mail
When new people move to your area, it’s a smart marketing move to reach out to them with a “welcome” message from you. Depending on your business, you can select all new movers (homeowners and renters) to your area or just new homeowners. We offer a monthly mailing program that allows you to send your own 6×11 postcard to your market area.
Call for Quote
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Direct Mail Creative Services
Some clients prefer to handle their own campaigns, but do seek assistance for creative development. We have worked with many clients and agencies that need help with direct mail copy and design.
Creative costs vary by the type of mailer and the direct mail application.
Postcards, simple letter package and simple self-mailers are at the low end of our pricing. Longer form mailers such as multi-page letters, extra inserts and multiple versions for testing can increase the price.
In our experience, we find the short-form mailers are well suited to lead generation and traffic building applications. Long-form mailers are better for direct order (order generation) applications. Long-form direct mail may also be used for fulfillment purposes – to be sent out to leads that were generated from other sources.
Creative Fees – here is pricing for the four formats described above. We would be happy to provide an estimate for other direct mail formats as well.
Copy | w/Design | |
6×11 Postcard | $1,500 | $2,500 |
Letter Package | $1,500 | $2,500 |
Self-Mailer | $2,000 | $3,500 |
Survey Mailer | $1,500 | $2,500 |
Long-Form DM | Quoted | Quoted |
Same creative may be used for multiple mailings. Simple modifications or tweaks may be made for minimal extra cost. Will quote other formats as well.
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Direct Mail Consulting & Coaching Services
Both Consulting and Coaching are advisory services, but they are handled differently. Consulting is a focused project that may a few weeks or a few months to complete. Coaching is an ongoing engagement to provide continual advice on a range of direct mail challenges.
Consulting Fees – Call for Quote – starts at $3,000
Coaching Fees – $500/month – 6 month minimum
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Let’s Discuss
To learn more, or to tell us about your own needs, please contact Bob McCarthy at 508-473-8643 or bob@mccarthyandking.com