8 Best Direct Mail Services for Small Businesses Right Now

VistaPrint lands in our top spot for more than one reason. It offers a one-stop shop for print marketing materials, has thousands of premade templates to get you started, and easy-to-use editing tools to help you design and print professional-looking marketing collateral. It’s best for:

• Those wanting an expansive template library and easy editing tools
• Direct mailers with embedded QR codes (free QR code generator available)
• Start-to-finish postcard direct mail marketing services
• Businesses with small or large mailing lists (minimum of 50)
• Businesses needing professional design services for direct mailers
• An all-in-one solution for printed collateral, branded merchandise, signs and banners, and collateral design services

Here are some examples of VistaPrint’s direct mail designs:

Minimalist special offers direct mail design (Source: VistaPrint)

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Direct mail marketing series with QR code from VistaPrint

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Mailer for sale or promotion voucher from VistaPrint

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Gym and trainer sample mail from VistaPrint

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VistaPrint has the most sophisticated online graphic design tools of any provider on this list. And using them is easy. You can customize items via list or by clicking on them to edit. In addition, you can add a URL, and the editor will generate a quick response (QR) code and add it to your item, creating a seamless way to drive traffic to your website, landing page, or special offers.

Use VistaPrint’s design editor to customize a template, add your own elements, and generate and add QR codes to your marketing postcards. (Source: VistaPrint)

VistaPrint is one of the best-known online printing services and the go-to for business card printing for many companies. It makes mailer design easy and fast with a massive library of templates, intuitive design tools, and a built-in QR code generator. Plus, it offers an affordable, all-in-one direct mailing service for business postcards that’s easy to use from start to finish.

Choose from thousands of premade business postcard examples and templates, then use the platform’s editing tools to customize them. Or start from scratch and upload your own design.

For help, access VistaPrint’s in-house design services, or find a graphic designer to work with through 99designs (which is owned by VistaPrint). Lastly, upload your mailing list or buy a targeted mailing list from VistaPrint, which then prints, addresses, stamps, and mails your postcard campaign.

We recommend PostcardMania for:

• Multi-channel marketing campaigns combining mailers with online display and social media ads
• Affordable for bulk mailing and cheapest for EDDM mailing
• Printing a variety of marketing products
• Real estate agents, dental practices, nonprofits, or politicians in need of tailored direct mail services
• Businesses needing a customized low-cost design option for branding ($199 flat rate)

PostcardMania offers some of the cheapest printing costs overall, based on our estimates. In addition, it provides several unique options where direct mail is integrated alongside campaigns in other channels, including Google and social media ads, Shopify, and your own website visitors.

For example, it will match the IP address of anonymous visitors to your website and automatically send a follow-up mailer. Likewise, PostcardMania will automatically send postcards as part of your Shopify cart abandonment strategy or to people who interact with your digital ads online.

This sets PostcardMania apart from other direct mailing companies on this list. It uses a cutting-edge barcode technology system that triggers automated follow-ups. Similar to remarketing ads, as soon as someone visits your direct mail campaign’s link to your website or landing page, they start to see text and visual ads matching your postcards as they surf the internet.

Additionally, the Everywhere Small Business feature displays targeted ads to these same users on social media platforms. It also has a more robust phone call tracking system, making it a powerful platform for omnichannel marketing.

We recommend PsPrint as the best direct mail service for:

• Full-service direct mailing solution for sending postcards, brochures, greeting cards, booklets, catalogs, newsletters, and invitations
• Flexibility to upload a list, purchase a list, or use EDDM services to send direct mail to every address in a city or by ZIP code (depending on the project need)
• Small businesses needing a rush order

Check out these examples of PsPrint’s direct mailers:

Direct mailer restaurant design template from PsPrint (Source: PsPrint)

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Brochure direct mailer design from PsPrint

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Customizable real estate direct mailer from PsPrint

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PsPrint offers EDDM direct mail services for seven different types of products, making it a good choice for a small business wanting to send marketing materials other than postcards. Mail services include printing and mailing via your mailing list, a targeted mailing list you purchase from PsPrint, or EDDM mailing services for:

• Postcards
• Brochures
• Greeting cards, such as corporate holiday cards
• Invitations
• Booklets
• Catalogs
• Newsletters

With any PsPrint product, you choose the production time (typically one to five days), but cost increases as you shorten production time. And PsPrint will send you any extra prints leftover at no charge, as long as they all fit in one box.

PsPrint’s design editor is intuitive and offers quite a few customization options. You can upload your own design for your direct mail materials or choose a template and use PsPrint’s design tools to customize the design for your project. You can filter templates by size, industry, main colors, occasion, and even design style to narrow in on the best one to customize.

PSPrint’s design editor is intuitive and easily shareable with your team or audience. (Source: PSPrint)

One thing missing that you get with VistaPrint is the ability to add a QR code, which is more than just a nice-to-have in terms of marketing value since it makes it easier for people to search for your business. However, you can change fonts, colors, and images, and add objects, and then easily share your design for editing or approval.

Taradel is a niche direct mailing service offering mailed postcard campaigns only. However, it does have some strong use cases. We recommend Taradel for those wanting:

• Personalized direct mailers (mail to consumer or business lists)
• Affordable EDDM services
• Unique multi-channel marketing, such as coordinating your Hulu or Google ads with a postcard campaign (other options include Facebook, Instagram, Email, and Spotify)
• Businesses wanting to present a unified brand image across ad channels

Taradel’s standout offering is in direct mail personalization. And it’s important: 71% of consumers expect brands to deliver personalized experiences (and three out of four are frustrated when brands don’t). Furthermore, personalization is known to increase conversions (including sales).

With Taradel, you can build or upload a consumer or business recipient mailing list, upload your postcard design (or get expert help), and launch personalized postcard campaigns easily. Once sent, you’ll also get key metrics, like the ability to track phone calls, clicks, and other engagements.

In addition, you can present a unified branded ad campaign across multiple channels. There are options to integrate ads on Facebook, Instagram, and Google as well as entertainment platforms like Hulu and Spotify.

We recommend Overnight Prints for:

• Quickest production of printed materials for direct mail campaigns
• Businesses wanting an internet portal where employees can order business cards, letterhead, and other marketing collateral
• Businesses wanting a low-cost design option for brand identity packages (from $199.99)

Examples of Overnight Prints direct mailers:

Flyer-type direct mail sample from Overnight Prints (Source: Overnight Prints)

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Event invitation direct mail design template from Overnight Prints

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Brochure-type direct mail template from Overnight Prints

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If you need high-quality direct mail marketing materials created quickly, Overnight Prints can have them printed and to your door the next day. It also offers more than two dozen types of printed marketing materials, including sugar cookies and macarons, for a truly unique marketing campaign.

Overnight Prints’ design editor is easy to use but not nearly as sophisticated as that of VistaPrint. Like VistaPrint, you can automatically generate and add a QR code to your direct mailer services to drive traffic to your website or a landing page, such as a salon’s appointment booking page.

There’s a minimal learning curve for Overnight Prints built-in editing software. (Source: Overnight Prints)

Overnight Prints’ direct mail marketing services are limited to postcards and oversized mailers. Plus, if you choose Overnight Prints for mailing, you will need to provide your own mailing list as it doesn’t rent or sell mailing lists. There are templates to get your project going, but most aren’t geared toward businesses.

PostGrid is a great option for businesses wanting to use direct mail similar to how they use automated and triggered emails. Its best use cases include:

• Automated direct mailer service with advanced campaign analytics
• Businesses sending drip mail campaigns to mailing lists or CRM contacts
• Companies wanting to automate transactional direct mailers like welcome letters, new move-in postcards, post-purchase mailers, invoicing, and payments via check
• Businesses that value analytics and tracking in their direct mail campaigns
• Tech-savvy companies wanting an API to make direct mail more efficient, cost-effective, and easier

The premade templates available in the editor are rudimentary and only available for letterhead and postcards. However, you do get the benefit of free imagery as Unsplash photos are embedded in the editor. Below is an example postcard design they provided to our team as well as the templates you’d start within the editor.

Corporate business postcard sample template from PostGrid (Source: PostGrid)

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Starter 6×9 postcard template

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Starter letterhead template

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PostGrid is a unique addition to this list that is perfect for businesses looking for automation and strategies for streamlining direct mail processes. Aside from the strong turnaround and shipping rate, PostGrid can also be integrated into customer relationship management (CRM), customer service, accounting, ecommerce, and other business management software to make direct mail for businesses more efficient.

Despite PostGrid’s limited design capabilities in terms of templates and custom design service, the design editor is surprisingly effective. There are sufficient customization options, a drag-and-drop interface, and built-in stock photo options via Unsplash. However, it lacks the QR code generator feature present in VistaPrint and Overnight Prints.

Functional and intuitive design editor from PostGrid (Source: PostGrid)

Unfortunately, PostGrid only prints and ships letters, postcards, and checks. On its site, fewer than 10 design templates are available for postcards, so do keep in mind that you may need separate design services if you don’t have an in-house design option.

Another notable feature is its detailed analytics and tracking that logs all activities and renderings for every order. The standard delivery is two business days.

We recommend Smartpress for:

• Canva users, because of the seamless integration of Canva design tools on the platform
• Creatives and design professionals who want to wow clients or prospects with custom-designed mailers
• Small businesses wanting a one-stop shop for designing a range of marketing materials, including direct mailers

Examples of Smartpress direct mailer types:

An example of a Canva postcard template available through Smartpress (Source: Smartpress)

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An example of a bi-fold brochure template on Smartpress

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An example of a mailable newsletter template on Smartpress

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Online graphic design platform Canva is finding new ways to add value for its customers. Among these is its partnership with direct mail printing company Smartpress. Canva’s design tools are embedded into the Smartpress website, making it easy to create a custom direct mailer and get your campaign mailed directly to your list.

Smartpress customers already familiar with Canva will instantly recognize the editor’s capabilities and features. Free templates are available or you can start with a blank slate and design your own. You can also upload your own fonts, which is unique to this direct mail printing service.

Smartpress design editor via embedded Canva tools

Once you’ve approved a proof, the turnaround for your campaign takes about 2-3 days. You will spend slightly more with Smartpress than other services, but the higher-end designs you’re able to create could be well worth the investment. With that said, if you haven’t used Canva before, there will be a bit of a learning curve compared to the ease of design and editing with VistaPrint.

If we have one complaint, it’s that Smartpress offers a wider range of products than represented in the design tools, meaning that there aren’t templates and design tools for every product Smartpress offers. For example, there are templates for bi-fold brochures, but not tri-fold. Likewise, the postcard templates are only for portrait (not landscape) oriented designs. For a broader range of templates and custom-size mailers, VistaPrint is the best choice.

48HourPrint offers fast printing for a range of marketing materials, so if you waited until the last minute or need to act fast, it’s a top option. It’s also great for:

• Custom-size brochures
• Those wanting the most options for postcard and catalog sizing
• A full-featured direct mail printer that has a variety of options and can serve as a one-stop printer for all print marketing needs
• Direct mailing service for postcards, brochures, and folded cards
• Affordable printing

Here are some of the types of direct mail templates available from 48HourPrint:

Brochure-type direct mail templates from 48HourPrint.com (Source: 48HourPrint.com)

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Nonprofit organization postcard design sample by 48HourPrint.com

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Dual-side direct mail sample for cleaning service from 48HourPrint.com

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At 48HourPrint, you can get a myriad of printed marketing materials including postcards, catalogs, tradeshow displays, and business cards, just to name a few. Like VistaPrint, you can also purchase branded promotional products. However, it doesn’t offer nearly as wide a range of product types, nor does it have the template selection offered by most competitors that makes designing your marketing materials easy.

48HourPrint has a design tool, but it’s outdated compared to other business printing services. Likewise, there are premade templates, but they are super-basic and generic, lacking the industry-specific templates available in VistaPrint as well as the sophistication of VistaPrint templates.

Customizable templates from 48HourPrint.com are customizable yet generic, with no industry-specific designs.

You can search stock images from the 48HourPrint.com design editor, but to use one, you’ll have to pay a licensing fee. Realistically, businesses wanting to use 48HourPrint.com for low pricing will want to source postcard, catalog, and brochure design ideas and then create and upload their own artwork.

There’s a “Discounts & Deals” tab on the home page, which makes it easy to see whether there is a special offer your business might want to take advantage of. At the time of this writing, postcards were listed as 65% off, with a discount set not to expire until December 31, 2024 (when viewed at checkout), effectively rendering it the regular price.

Booklets with coupons, postcards announcing a grand opening, product catalogs, and credit card offers are all common examples of direct mail. Direct mail refers to a physical piece of mail with an advertising or marketing message delivered to your mailing address, usually by the U.S. Post Office (USPS).

The short answer is yes. Direct mailers are still very effective. In a recent study by PebblePost and Alter Agents, those surveyed said direct mail influences how quickly they make buying decisions. Direct mail influences 83% of shoppers regarding what they buy. Also, shoppers tend to spend more when they receive direct mail—about twice as much as those who don’t get mail.

When you break down the cost of direct mail, pay attention to costs for ad copywriting and design, mailing lists, postage, and printing. If you have your own mailing list and can do the design yourself, the costs for printing and mailing could be less than $1 per piece mailed. With professional design services and high-quality finishes, costs could be as much as $10 per piece.