Direct mail remains one of the most practical ways to put your message directly into the hands of potential customers. But before you start designing postcards or planning your mailing, there is an important decision to make:
Should you use Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) or traditional targeted direct mail?
Both approaches can be effective. The right choice depends on who you want to reach, how precisely you need to target them, your budget, and what you want your campaign to accomplish.
If you are comparing EDDM printing with a traditional direct mail campaign, here is what you need to know before choosing a direction.
What Is EDDM?
Every Door Direct Mail, commonly called EDDM, is a USPS mailing option that allows businesses to send mail to every eligible address along selected carrier routes.
Instead of building or purchasing a mailing list, you select the geographic areas you want to reach. Your mail piece is then delivered throughout those selected routes.
This makes EDDM especially useful for businesses that serve customers within a defined local area.
Common EDDM campaigns include:
- Restaurant promotions
- Retail sales and grand openings
- Home service offers
- Real estate marketing
- Healthcare and professional services
- Community events
- Local nonprofit outreach
- New business announcements
For example, a landscaping company trying to reach homeowners in neighborhoods surrounding its service area may not need a highly specific mailing list. Reaching a large concentration of nearby households could be more valuable.
That is where EDDM can make sense.
What Is Traditional Direct Mail?
Traditional direct mail uses a specific mailing list rather than delivering to every address within a selected carrier route.
Your campaign can be built around your existing customer database or a mailing list selected according to the audience you want to reach.
Depending on the data available, this can provide significantly more control over who receives your message.
A targeted direct mail campaign may be appropriate when you want to reach groups such as:
- Existing customers
- Previous customers
- Donors or members
- Specific businesses
- Prospects who meet selected criteria
- People within a defined demographic or market segment
Instead of asking, “Which neighborhoods should receive this?”
You are asking, “Which specific audience should receive this?”
That difference is at the heart of EDDM versus traditional direct mail.
EDDM vs Direct Mail: A Quick Comparison
1. Targeting
EDDM:
Targeting is primarily geographic. You choose carrier routes and send your piece to eligible addresses throughout those routes.
Traditional Direct Mail:
Targeting can be much more specific because the campaign is based on a mailing list.
Best choice: If location is your primary targeting factor, consider EDDM. If audience characteristics or an existing customer relationship matter more, targeted direct mail may be the better fit.
2. Mailing List Requirements
One of the biggest advantages of EDDM is that you generally do not need to provide your own individual address list for an EDDM campaign.
That can simplify the process for a small business that wants to reach nearby households but does not already have a large customer database.
Traditional direct mail normally requires a mailing list. That may be your own customer list or a list sourced for the campaign.
If you already have useful customer or prospect data, traditional direct mail allows you to put that information to work.
3. Cost
Cost is often one of the first considerations when comparing the two options.
EDDM can be cost-effective for broad local campaigns because it is designed around carrier-route saturation rather than individually targeted addresses.
However, lower mailing costs do not automatically mean a better campaign.
Consider the cost of reaching people who may have little interest in your offer.
A targeted campaign may cost more per piece or require additional list preparation, but greater targeting precision can make that investment worthwhile.
Instead of focusing only on cost per piece, think about cost per relevant prospect reached.
4. Reach
EDDM is built for reach.
If your goal is to create awareness throughout a neighborhood, ZIP Code area, or local service territory, broad coverage can be a major advantage.
Traditional direct mail prioritizes selectivity over saturation.
You may mail fewer pieces, but each piece can go to a more intentionally selected recipient.
5. Turnaround and Preparation
EDDM can reduce some of the work associated with building and preparing an individual mailing list, but it still requires careful planning.
Your piece needs to meet current USPS EDDM requirements, and your selected routes, quantities, design, printing, bundling, and mailing preparation all need to line up correctly.
Traditional direct mail introduces its own considerations, including list preparation, addressing, postal requirements, and data quality.
The best approach is to plan the printing and mailing process together rather than treating them as separate steps.
When Does EDDM Make the Most Sense?
EDDM is often a strong choice when your ideal customers are concentrated within a geographic area.
Consider EDDM printing when:
- You want broad neighborhood coverage.
- You do not have a customer mailing list.
- Most households in your selected area could reasonably become customers.
- You are promoting a local opening, event, sale, or service.
- Geographic proximity is more important than precise demographic targeting.
- You want to build local brand awareness.
Imagine you operate a neighborhood restaurant and want to introduce a new lunch special.
You could try to identify individual people who might dine with you, but that may be unnecessary. Reaching thousands of nearby households could be the more practical approach.
When Is Targeted Direct Mail Better?
Traditional direct mail becomes more valuable as your target audience becomes more specific.
Consider targeted direct mail when:
- You already have a strong customer or prospect list.
- You are reaching previous buyers or donors.
- Your offer is relevant to a specific audience.
- You want to personalize the campaign.
- You need more control over who receives your mail.
- Sending your message to every household would create unnecessary waste.
For example, if you are promoting a specialized B2B service, mailing every household in a neighborhood probably would not make sense.
A carefully selected business mailing list would give the campaign greater focus.
What About USPS EDDM Rules?
EDDM is designed to simplify neighborhood mailings, but that does not mean anything can simply be printed and dropped off at the post office.
USPS has specific requirements involving factors such as mail-piece dimensions, addressing formats, preparation, route selection, quantities, and documentation. Requirements can also differ depending on the EDDM option being used.
Before printing thousands of pieces, make sure the design and format are compatible with the mailing method you intend to use.
Working with an experienced print and mailing partner can help you plan around postal requirements from the beginning rather than discovering an issue after your materials have already been produced.
How to Choose Between EDDM and Direct Mail
Start with one question:
How specific is the audience for this campaign?
If nearly everyone within your selected local area could be a potential customer, EDDM may give you the reach you need without requiring a detailed mailing list.
If your ideal recipient has specific characteristics or an existing relationship with your organization, targeted direct mail will usually give you more control.
You should also consider:
- Your total campaign budget
- Number of households or prospects you want to reach
- Geographic service area
- Availability and quality of your mailing list
- Value of each potential customer
- Campaign timeline
- Type of offer
- Desired response
There is no universal winner between EDDM and traditional direct mail.
The better option is the one that matches the audience and objective of your campaign.
Plan Your Next Direct Mail Campaign With Rengel Printing
A successful mailing involves more than getting postcards printed.
The format, design, quantity, targeting strategy, postal preparation, and timing all need to work together.
Rengel Printing can help businesses, organizations, nonprofits, and marketing agencies plan and execute both EDDM and targeted direct mail campaigns.
Whether you want to saturate selected neighborhoods with an EDDM campaign or reach a carefully selected audience with traditional direct mail, our team can help you move from concept through printing and mailing preparation.
You bring the message.
We’ll help you get it into the right hands.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main difference between EDDM and direct mail?
EDDM focuses primarily on geographic coverage by delivering mail throughout selected USPS carrier routes. Traditional direct mail uses a specific mailing list, giving businesses more control over individual recipients.
Do I need a mailing list for EDDM?
Generally, you do not need to provide an individual mailing list for EDDM. You select eligible USPS carrier routes instead, making it useful for businesses that want broad local coverage.
Is EDDM cheaper than traditional direct mail?
EDDM can be cost-effective for high-volume local campaigns, but the best value depends on your audience. A targeted campaign may reach fewer people while reaching a higher percentage of relevant prospects.
What businesses are good candidates for EDDM?
EDDM can work well for restaurants, retailers, home service companies, real estate professionals, healthcare providers, local events, and other organizations that serve a broad audience within a specific geographic area.
Can direct mail target specific customers?
Yes. Traditional direct mail can use an existing customer or prospect database or another qualified mailing list, allowing for more precise targeting than neighborhood saturation.
How do I know which option is right for my campaign?
Consider your audience, geographic reach, available mailing data, budget, timeline, and campaign objective. If broad local awareness matters most, EDDM may be a strong option. If precise audience targeting matters more, traditional direct mail may be better.