7 Best Direct Mail Services for Small Businesses in 2023
Elizabeth Kraus has more than a decade of first-hand experience building and growing a boutique digital marketing agency and double that in small and mid-size business marketing management. She provides expert answers to marketing questions related to branding, content marketing, web development, email, social media, and SEO.
Hazel Emnace writes content for small businesses in the USA, Australia, South East Asia, and New Zealand, from engaging copy to marketing tips for business owners.
The best direct mail services offer everything needed for direct mailer campaigns, from design and printing services to mailing lists and delivery. It’s not apples-to-apples, however—some offer cheap printing or fast delivery, while others specialize in multi-channel marketing or automation. To help you choose, we ranked the top direct mail services for small businesses below.
- Best direct mail design and editing tools: VistaPrint
- Best cross-channel campaigns and cheapest EDDM: PostcardMania
- Widest range of mailer types: PsPrint
- Super-fast turn times for rush orders: Overnight Prints
- Best for automated direct mail, like drip campaigns: PostGrid
- Best direct mail services for Canva users: Smartpress
- Widest range of direct mailer sizes: 48HourPrint
Best Direct Mail Services at a Glance
Direct Mailing Service | Cost to Print & Mail 500 Postcards* | Turnaround Time | EDDM Services | Learn More |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | From $329.99 | 3-8 business days | ✕ | |
 | From $220** | 1-7 business days | ✓ | |
 | From $246.26 | 1-6 business days | ✓ | |
 | From $362.17 | 1-15 business days | ✓ | |
 | From $370 | 2 business days | ✕ | |
 | From $387.70 | 2-3 business days | ✕ | |
 | From $325.52 | 1-5 business days | ✓ |
*We compared 4”x6”, full color, two-sided postcard pricing for printing and mailing.
**Estimated starting cost for 500 6”x9” mailers for Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) campaigns.
Let’s take a look at the pros, cons, and unique features of each of the best direct mail marketing services for small businesses:
VistaPrint: Best Direct Mailer Design & Editing Tools
Pros
- Thousands of premade templates for a variety of direct mail pieces
- Beginner-friendly, intuitive yet robust design editing tools
- Free QR code generator
- Design services available
- Targeted mailing list purchasing
- Frequent sales and special offers
- Low minimum quantities
Cons
- Only offers mailing services for postcards, unlike PsPrint, PostGrid, and Smartpress
- No EDDM services (you must provide or buy a mailing list)
VistaPrint lands in our top spot for more than one reason. It offers a one-stop shop for the print marketing materials you need to build a strong brand, 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) makes it great for using in conjunction with landing pages
- 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:
Using VistaPrint’s design editor to customize your project 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 QR code (quick response 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.
Need inspiration for your direct mail postcard campaign? Check out our list of postcard examples for marketing and sales.
Unfortunately, postcards are the only products mailable directly by VistaPrint, and while you can upload or purchase a targeted mailing list, they don’t offer Every Day Direct Mail (EDDM) services. For an alternative that mails seven different types of marketing mailers and offers EDDM services as well as targeted mailing lists, we recommend PsPrint.
VistaPrint Printing Cost for Postcards, Brochures & Catalogs (Booklets)
Standard Postcard | Tri-fold Brochure | 8-page Catalog | |
|---|---|---|---|
Specifications vs Quantity: | Full-color, 4”x6”, standard paper weight, two-sided, gloss front only (or matte both sides) | Full-color, standard weight, gloss finish, 8.5”x11” (flat) | Full-color, 8.5”x11” finished size, budget glossy, saddle stitched |
100 | $39.50 | $113 | $355 |
250 | $48.56 | $185 | $530 |
500 | $72.50 | $240 | $835 |
1,000 | $99.10 | $320 | $1,080 |
5,000 | $262.20 | $800 | $4,500 |
Size Options in Inches |
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No matter the size of your business, VistaPrint is the best direct mailing service for your postcard marketing campaigns. It provides everything you need in one place, including mailing lists and design services, at an affordable price and with postage discounts. It’s also ideal for designing and printing other materials, brochures, catalogs, business cards, flyers, and branded promotional wares.
PostcardMania: Best for EDDM & Cross-channel Campaigns
Pros
- Cheapest EDDM service
- Integrate digital ads with mailers for lead generation
- Shopify cart abandonment postcards
- Send postcards to anonymous site visitors who visit your website
- In-house design services with unlimited revisions
- Automated New In Town mailers
- Expert campaign tracking system
- Niche services for real estate agents, dentists, nonprofits, and political campaigns
Cons
- Doesn’t offer catalog/booklet printing
- Residential mailing lists can only be used three times in a 90-day period
- No design templates or editing tools
- Multi-channel marketing campaigns combining mailers with online display and social media ads
- Affordable for bulk mailing and cheapest for Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) mailing (read our list of direct mail marketing ideas for inspiration)
- Printing a variety of marketing products
- Real estate agents, dental practices, nonprofits, or politicians in need of tailored direct mail services for local advertising
- Businesses needing a customized, low-cost design option for branding ($199 flat rate)
PostcardMania doesn’t have online design tools, so you’ll need to create a design yourself or avail yourself of the company’s in-house design services. Here are some examples of direct mailers created by PostcardMania.
PostcardMania offers the cheapest printing costs overall, including for Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) services. In addition, they offer 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, they will match the IP address of anonymous visitors to your website and automatically send a follow-up mailer. Likewise, they 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. They use 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.
Did you know? Digital marketing gets lots of attention, but direct mail, aka “snail mail” generates brand awareness more effectively. For instance, 80% of recipients notice direct mail compared to 50% who say they notice digital ads.
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.
PostcardMania Printing Cost for Postcard & Other Mailers
Size vs Quantity | Low-volume Orders | High-volume Orders | |
|---|---|---|---|
Standard Postcards | 4.25” x 6” | $0.12 | $0.05 |
Jumbo Postcards* | 6” x 8.5” | $0.24 | $0.10 |
Colossal Postcards | 6” x 11” | $0.31 | $0.13 |
Tri-fold Brochures | 8.5” x 11” | $0.18 | $0.13 |
Quad-fold Brochures | 11” x 17” | $0.30 | $0.12 |
Bi-fold Brochures | 8.5” x 11” | $0.18 | $0.13 |
Door Hangers | 4” x 9” | $0.14 | $0.09 |
Full Page Flyers | 8.5” x 11” | $0.18 | $0.13 |
Business Reply Cards | $0.18 | $0.10 | |
Rack Cards | 4” x 9” | $0.12 | $0.09 |
Business Cards | 2” x 3.5” | $0.04 | $0.03 |
*Minimum size required for EDDM campaigns
PostcardMania is a solid choice for businesses who want to integrate direct mail alongside digital marketing ideas or simply those who want to order in bulk. They offer some of the lowest prices per piece in the industry. However, if you’re in a rush, Overnight Prints will be a better option. At the same time, the lack of DIY design software is a deal-breaker for small businesses—VistaPrint offers the best solution for this.
PsPrint: Widest Range of Affordable Direct Mailer Types
Pros
- Wide variety of direct mail types: postcards, brochures, cards, catalogs, newsletters, and invitations
- Cheap printing costs plus EDDM services to target mailers by location
- Offers targeted mailing lists
- Ships extras to you free
- Multiple sizes of most products
- Rush options (1-5 business days)
Cons
- High printing minimums for postcards
- More expensive than 48HourPrint and VistaPrint for rush printing
- Limited design platform with simple templates
- No design templates or editing tools
We recommend PsPrint as the best direct mail service for:
- Full-service direct mailing solution for sending a variety of small business marketing materials, including 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:
PsPrint’s design editor is intuitive and offers quite a bit of 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, then easily share your design for editing or approval.
PsPrint offers EDDM direct mail services for seven different types of products, making it a good choice for a small business that wants 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 Printing Cost for Postcards, Brochures & Catalogs
Standard Postcard | Tri-fold Brochure | 8-page Catalog | |
|---|---|---|---|
Specifications vs Quantity | Full-color, two-sided, 14pt gloss cover, no UV coating, five-day production time | Full-color, 100lb gloss text, 8.5”x11” (flat) | Full-color, 8.5”x11”, 100lb gloss text, saddle stitched |
100 | $35.94 | $133.16 | $329.14 |
250 | $56.08 | $244.93 | $493.09 |
500 | $62.08 | $286.54 | $520.74 |
1,000 | $78.37 | $323.05 | $580.65 |
5,000 | $228.94 | $670.28 | $1,411.97 |
Size Options in Inches |
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Like many of its competitors, PsPrint promises high-quality products with a quick turnaround time. However, there are two ways in which it differs from the other business printers, including our top pick, VistaPrint.
PsPrint lets you choose the production speed and will mail more than just postcards to your mailing list. Costs increase based on speed, so (like Overnight Prints) expect to pay a premium if you need a rush order. Also, you’ll have to purchase at least 500 postcards to get direct mail service, so it’s not the best fit for smaller projects.
Overnight Prints: Fastest Turnaround for Direct Mail Materials
Pros
- Quickest turnaround, as fast as next day
- Low minimum order (25)
- More than two dozen different printed products
- Hundreds of templates
- Cookie printing—get your logo or message printed on edible cookies
Cons
- Mailing services limited to standard and jumbo 6”x11” postcards
- Pricier than VistaPrint and 48HourPrint
- No high-end or luxury options
- Not many business-specific templates
- 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:
Need more inspiration? Check out dozens of effective postcard examples, including design and marketing tips.
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)
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’ 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.
Overnight Prints Pricing for Postcards, Brochures & Catalogs (Booklets)
Standard Postcard | Tri-fold Brochure | 8-page Catalog | |
|---|---|---|---|
Specifications vs Quantity: | Full-color, standard size, 15pt paper weight, two-sided, glossy front | Full-color, standard glossy paper stock, 8.5”x11” (flat) | Full-color, no coating, saddle stitched, 8.5”x11” |
100 | $76.58 | $217.74 | $636.18 |
250 | $153.24 | $278.43 | $953.08 |
500 | $191.58 | $320.58 | $1,006.61 |
1,000 | $282.76 | $517.87 | $1,636.20 |
5,000 | $799.30 | $1,373.24 | $8,236.24 |
Size Options in Inches |
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Overnight Prints works with you to ensure you get your order when needed—even if that’s tomorrow. It offers direct mailing services only for postcards and oversized mailers, so if you need to send out something other than postcards, consider PsPrint. Likewise, you can’t buy a targeted mailing list as you can with PsPrint or VistaPrint, or generate one automatically with 48HourPrint.com’s EDDM service.
PostGrid: Best for Analytics & Automation
Pros
- Fully automated direct mail processes
- Ideal for transactional mailers (e.g., welcome, new move-in, invoicing, billing)
- Advanced address verification to reduce wasted spend
- Advanced analytics dashboard
- Low minimum quantity
- Unsplash photo library embedded in editing tools
- Quick turnaround
- Integrates with customer relationship management (CRM), accounting, and ecommerce software, including HubSpot, Zapier, and 1,600+ solutions
Cons
- Limited number of template designs, and no industry-specific options
- Only two plans: Starter and Enterprise; Starter plan is limited to 500 mailings/month
- Only offers letters, postcards, and check mailing—the fewest options on this list
- 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, coupon marketing mailers to generate return visits, new move-in real estate postcards, post-purchase mailers, invoicing, and payments via check
- Businesses that value analytics and tracking in their direct mail campaigns
- Tech-savvy companies that want 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.
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)
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.
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 their detailed analytics and tracking that logs all activities and renderings for every order. The standard delivery is two business days.
PostGrid Printing Cost for Postcards
Standard Postcard | Standard Letter | |
|---|---|---|
Specifications vs quantity (below): | Full-color, standard paper weight, glossy front paper stock | B&W standard letter, 8 x 11 inches |
100 | $74 | $25 |
250 | $185 | $45 |
500 | $370 | $60 |
1,000 | Talk to sales team | $75 |
5,000 pieces | $170 | |
Size Options in Inches |
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If automating or streamlining direct mail for your business is a top concern, we recommend PostGrid as your ideal direct mail provider. It automates the personalization, printing, and delivery of custom mailers to ensure fast and accurate mailing every time. Its tracking and analytics features are the best on this list. However, options for design or other printable products are quite limited.
Smartpress: Best Direct Mail Services for Canva Users
Pros
- Canva templates and design tools integrated into the platform
- 2-3 day turnaround for mail campaigns after proof approval
- Easily create professional-looking direct mailers and other print marketing materials
- Color variations for templates make it easy to customize for your brand
- Multiple direct mailer types
- Upload your own custom fonts
Cons
- More expensive than most others on this list, but still competitive
- For beginners, mastering Canva’s design tools and finding the right templates to start with will take some time
- No EDDM services
- No integrated QR code maker
- 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, business flyers, and more
Examples of Smartpress direct mailer types:
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
If we have one complaint, it’s that Smartpress offers a wider range of products than represented in the design tools, meaning that they don’t have 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-oriented (not landscape) designs. For a broader range of templates and custom-size mailers, VistaPrint is the best choice.
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.
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.
Smartpress Printing Cost for Postcards, Brochures & Catalogs
Standard Postcard | Tri-fold Brochure | 8-page Catalog | |
|---|---|---|---|
Specifications vs Quantity: | Full-color, standard paper weight, glossy front paper stock | Full-color, standard glossy paper stock, 8.5”x11” (flat) | Full-color, 8.5”x11” flat, budget glossy, saddle stitched |
100 | $35.24 | $110.13 | $178.09 |
250 | $65.45 | $186.70 | $328.09 |
500 | $82.74 | $291.28 | $548.93 |
1,000 | $96.43 | $372.44 | $718.62 |
5,000 | $314.91 | $711.18 for 2,500* | $1,856.90 for 3,000* |
Size Options in Inches (W x H) |
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*Maximum quantity order for this product
If you want the most custom-look for your direct mail campaigns, go with Smartpress. The ability to fully edit using Canva’s advanced graphic design tools can’t be matched with other services. But keep in mind that there might not be a template or Canva editing tool for your project, depending on the size or orientation you have in mind. If not, we recommend VistaPrint’s easy editing tools and massive template library as the best alternative.
48HourPrint: Widest Range of Postcard & Brochure Sizes
Pros
- Mailing services for postcards, brochures, and folded cards
- Mailing services for postcards, brochures, and folded cards
- Dozens of printable products
- Design tool with integrated stock image search
- Every Door Direct Mail® (EDDM®) postcard mailing service available
Cons
- 500 minimum for direct mail services
- Outdated design editor and templates
- No for-hire design team like VistaPrint
- 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:
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. (Source: 48HourPrint.com)
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.
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, they don’t offer nearly as wide a range of product types, nor do they have the template selection offered by most competitors that makes designing your marketing materials easy.
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.
Pro tip: An affordable alternative to using a targeted mailing list for a direct mail marketing campaign is an Every Door Direct Mail® (EDDM)® service. While you can’t target specific demographics, you can target cities and ZIP codes, making it a solid local advertising idea.
48HourPrint.com is one of the most affordable small business printing services for EDDM, although not as cheap as PsPrint. Like PsPrint, 48HourPrint provides direct mailing services for materials other than business postcards, including business brochures and folded cards.
48HourPrint.com Printing Cost for Postcards, Brochures & Catalogs
Standard Postcard | Tri-fold Brochure | 8-page Catalog | |
|---|---|---|---|
Specifications vs Quantity: | Full-color, standard paper weight, glossy front paper stock | Full-color, standard glossy paper stock, 8.5”x11” (flat) | Full-color, 8.5”x11” flat, budget glossy, saddle-stitched |
100 | $36.53 | $80.75 | $384.91 |
250 | $61.73 | $161.52 | $822.88 |
500 | $73.08 | $217.62 | $888.42 |
1,000 | $$88.20 | $333.72 | $1,112.08 |
5,000 | $214.21 | $824.60 | $2,447.83 |
Size Options in Inches |
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48HourPrint’s pricing is comparable to VistaPrint and also offers Every Door Direct Mail®, which is an affordable way for a small business with no mailing list to target every address in a city or ZIP code. You won’t find sophisticated templates or an intuitive design editor here, but as long as you can provide your own designs, it’s affordable and offers the widest range of sizes for many different types of marketing collateral, including postcard mailers.
How We Evaluated the Best Direct Mailing Services
At the basic level, direct mail providers will print and mail postcards, brochures, and other small business marketing materials on time. To be considered the best, direct mailing companies must stand out for affordability, design options, variety of products, in-house mailing services, or niche specialties and features.
A low minimum quantity order of 100 or less is also important to keep the service affordable. In addition to meeting our criteria, the providers here also give you control over design customization, and most offer templates to help you get started.
Here are the criteria we used to determine the best direct mail service:
- Affordability
- Minimum order quantity
- Product offering
- Product quality
- Customization capabilities
- Printing and mailing services
- Ease of use
- Turnaround time
How to Choose the Best Direct Mail Services for Your Business
The first step in finding the best direct mail service for your business is assessing your needs. For example, if the costs to design, print, and mail your marketing materials aren’t your top concern, turnaround time may be, and one service offers next-day delivery. Or you might want an especially high-end design for your direct mail marketing campaign, but don’t mind doing the mailing yourself.
Here are the top considerations to factor in when choosing a direct mail service:
- Cost: Does the provider meet my goals for budget, based on what I can spend as well as what type of return I will get on the investment?
- Delivery speed: How quickly can the provider get my direct mailer campaigns printed and sent?
- Audience: Does the provider offer EDDM services or the ability to buy a mailing list, or do I need to have a list ready to upload?
- Design: How easy are the platform’s editing tools, and are premade template designs available? If not, are design services offered? What type of files do I need to have to upload my own designs?
- Reporting: How do I know how many pieces were delivered successfully? Does the provider offer any post-mail campaign analytics so that I can calculate the return on my investment?
- Added value: Does the provider offer other printing or marketing services I need? Do I need an all-in-one solution or ways to automate future mailings?
Once you’ve answered these questions, review the providers to see what matches your needs best. Doing this helps you choose a service that is not only reliable and effective enough to have made it on our top providers, but will also prioritize what your business specifically needs.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What are examples of direct mail?
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).
Find more inspiration with 25 direct mail marketing ideas for promoting your business.
Does direct mailing still work?
The short answer is yes—direct mailers are still very effective. In a recent study, 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. Learn more about marketing materials in this guide.
How much does direct mail cost?
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.
Bottom Line
Direct mail is an easy, affordable way to advertise your brand. The best direct mail companies offer both printing and mailing, as well as templates and design tools. Many also give you the option to buy targeted mailing lists so you can reach your ideal customer.
We recommend VistaPrint as the best overall choice for small businesses. It’s affordable and has an intuitive design platform with thousands of business mailer templates to get you started.
