You CAN Get Something for Nothing! Extra Impressions for Your Next Direct Mail Campaign

Wondering how to mount a multi-channel campaign without having to become a digital marketing expert? How about using a program from the US Postal Service that's got multi-channel already built in?

The Informed Delivery (ID) program from the USPS is a successful, no-charge offering that is becoming popular among marketers as the subscriber base grows. At this writing, nearly 40 million individuals have signed up for the program. Direct mail marketers can take advantage of this program to increase the impressions for their materials instantly–at no extra charge!

CLICK HERE to download the US Postal Service's current ID subscriber statistics by zip code.

From Direct Mail to Email-Automatically
Every morning, ID subscribers receive emails containing images of the letter-size mail their mail carrier will deliver later in the day. The default images are grayscale scans of the address side of the mailing piece. By adding compelling messaging to the front side of their mail pieces, marketers can boost interest in their campaigns before the USPS even delivers the mail. Mailers need take no special actions to include their mail in the daily ID digests sent to enrolled consumers.

But the real power of Informed Delivery comes from planned campaigns. With ID campaigns, mailers replace the grayscale images with a full color graphic and a color ride-along ad that includes a call to action and links to e-commerce sites or landing pages on the internet. Mailers pay the USPS nothing extra to expose their customers to these extra impressions delivered through email, the ID website, or the mobile app. Even flats, periodicals, and catalogs that aren't scanned by the USPS can be included in ID campaigns.

Multi-channel doesn't get any easier than this!

Effective and Flexible
Informed Delivery subscribers open their daily emails about 65% of the time-a big improvement over typical marketing email blasts. With an effective call to action, marketers should realize more engagement than they typically experience with their email campaigns. Use this easy USPS online calculator to estimate the impact ID can have on your next direct mail project.

Marketers can even separate mailings for A/B testing or demographic segmentation, delivering distinctive graphics and ride-along images to different logical groups within the same mailing. As the direct mail campaign progresses, the USPS compiles summary statistics such as opens and click-throughs. Detailed data is also available, providing timestamps for opens and clicks, and separating activity according to the links or images used to access the external web pages.

Postage Discounts
To encourage mailers to give Informed Delivery a try, the USPS runs promotional programs offering extra postage discounts to marketers that run campaigns during the promotional period. This no-cost multi-channel campaign enhancement can even reduce the cost of your direct mail campaigns via postage rebates! Check with us at Target Marketing Direct Mail Services to find out how to take advantage of the promotional pricing.

We recommend marketers run a pilot ID campaign first, so they are ready to participate in annual Informed Delivery promotions. The USPS requires marketers to submit campaigns for review prior to approving them for promotional pricing. TMDMS will take care of campaign preparation and submission for you.

Many of our customers have asked about multi-channel communications. With Informed Delivery, we will help you reap the well-documented benefits of this marketing strategy by guiding you through the process and handling the details. We will gather the campaign statistics and show you how to interpret them. Don't overlook an opportunity to try this affordable impression-boosting program from the United States Postal Service.