Do You Want the Lowest Postage Rates Possible?

Among the numerous benefits of the resident list (res/occ list) is the fact that using the resident list for your direct mail campaign allows you to take advantage of the lowest postage rates available from the US Postal Service. Today, the postage cost to mail a First Class letter is 44¢. However, most direct mail campaigns that use a resident list will mail under the Standard Mail classification (used to be called Bulk Rate). A commercial letter that can run on US Postal Service high-speed sorting equipment (automation compatible) can cost as much as 27¢ to mail under Standard Mail rates. If that same letter is mailed using a resident list, the postage drops to 18.2¢. That same letter can be mailed for 13.9¢ if the mail is delivered to the appropriate USPS Sectional Center Facility. If you are a non-profit mailer, those same costs are 11¢ and 6.7¢.

What do these postage rate savings mean in terms of real dollars and cents? In each example below, it is assumed that the number of pieces mailed is 10,000. In the most extreme case, the savings for a non-profit mailer between the highest First Class rate and the lowest Standard Mail rate is 37.3¢ per piece or a savings of $3,730! Wow—that’s a lot of money! A less extreme and more realistic case is the mailer that uses the resident list and is able to move their postage rate from 27¢ to 18.2¢. These are still decent savings of $880.

The name of the game in direct mail marketing is results, response, and ROI. Using the resident list with all its benefits and taking advantage of the lowest postage rates possible should give you the best opportunity to maximize your results and ROI.

Take a look at resident list counts by zip code and carrier route by downloading free count reports.

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