Choosing the correct direct mail service is critical to your company’s success. The ideal direct mail service can help you achieve your objectives by ensuring that your message reaches the correct people and printing and delivering your materials on time. I selected and reviewed the top 8 direct mail providers in this guide.
A direct mail campaign, believe it or not, is still an effective and economical marketing strategy. You may target a local population with direct mail campaigns, generate leads, boost sales, and communicate with new and existing consumers. You must utilize a dedicated direct mail service to succeed in the direct mail marketing industry.
These companies allow you to develop, produce, and deliver marketing content directly to your prospects’ inboxes. Direct mail has impressive open rates of up to 90%, far more significant than traditional email marketing.
Let’s get going.
How to Choose the Best Direct Mail Service For Your Business
Each direct mail service is different. If you don’t know what to look for, finding the ideal one for your company might be difficult.
We looked at each service’s performance in five critical areas and restricted our options depending on the results. Use these criteria to identify the best service for your company’s specific needs.
Industry-Tailored Solutions
A local mom-and-pop restaurant will not require the same level of service as a multi-million dollar B2B firm. That is why they should not use the same direct mail service provider.
Look into the industries that each direct mailer caters to. Gunderson Direct, for example, focuses on telemedicine, B2B businesses, and financial advisors. SaaSMQL is an attractive solution for SaaS organizations, as the name suggests.
PostcardMania, on the other hand, assists any company that uses postcards and brochures as a marketing tool. To mention a few, these include air conditioning and heating, restaurants, roofing, and real estate.
When looking into direct mailing services, examine who some of their previous clients are. Is there anything they can do to target your specific customers? Can they effectively market your products? Otherwise, they aren’t an excellent service for you.
Mailer Varieties
You might have precise marketing requirements right now, but what if they change in the future? It would help if you had a direct mailer that gives you choices.
The following are examples of common mailer types:
- Postcards
- Flyers
- Invitations
- Greeting cards
- Brochures
- Newsletters
- Catalogs
- Booklets
- Custom products
A postcard may be sufficient for your business to announce a primary event or deal. On the other hand, a brochure or catalog can be more suited to send out more thorough information about your organization.
Gunderson Direct, for example, provides a broader range of services, including letters, brochures, and more. They’ll even help you develop the most effective direct mail strategy for your business.
Organizations like SaasMQL send packages via direct mail for specific business kinds, which is less typical. Finding a firm that offers various services will help you stick with the same provider as your marketing efforts grow.
Of course, the opposite is also true. Some services, such as PostcardMania, have restricted features but excel at what they do. If you only need postcards or brochures and don’t expect that need to change anytime soon, hiring a company that specializes in that field is another viable option.
Eye-Catching Designs
For direct mail initiatives, first impressions are critical. You want your finished product to be able to:
- It appears clean and attractive when it gets in prospect mailboxes.
- With an eye-catching and informative design, you can instantly attract a potential lead.
This can be a difficult balance to strike, but effective direct mail services can help you do it while being faithful to your brand. Industry-specific templates are available from several services (e.g., PostcardMania has postcard designs for realtors). If you don’t have much expertise in graphic design, this is a fantastic place to start.
Other companies allow you to customize your products’ quality, size and finish. If you have a particular picture of how your mailer should look, this will help.
When speaking with or investigating a direct mail provider, ask to see any case studies or samples of their previous work they may have. This should give you a decent idea of their design quality and whether or not the service is a good fit for your brand, industry, and target market.
It’s worth noting that the cost of their graphic design services is occasionally distinct from the cost of their direct mail service. PostcardMania, for example, offers graphic design as a separate service, whereas Gunderson Direct includes it as part of your overall package.
Supplemental Services
Your marketing activities can have an even more significant influence on your bottom line when they are organized and coordinated. Additional marketing goods are available from the leading direct mail service firms to supplement your direct mail campaigns.
PostCardMania, for example, provides an omnichannel marketing strategy that includes Facebook, Instagram, and Google ads, as well as call tracking, follow-ups, and mail tracking.
This service can help you keep your marketing efforts consolidated, focused, and cost-effective. You’re not juggling a bunch of different companies and services at once, attempting to make them all work together when you have all of your marketing handled by one company. You can avoid the regular headaches that come with this predicament.
Vistaprint can create a slew of highly exceptional on-brand promotional items for you, such as handbags, hats, and whatever else you believe people would utilize. The goal is to get your company’s name out there in ways other than conventional mailers.
Even if you don’t need every service a firm provides right now; it’s something to think about for the future.
Turnaround Time
This isn’t always the essential feature in a direct mail provider. However, there are occasions when getting mailers out to potential clients swiftly is critical for businesses and brands (e.g., when you have a very time-sensitive promotion). Not to mention that sending a mailer to customers and prospects after a campaign has ended or expired is a waste of money and reflects negatively on your company in the eyes of people who receive it.
As a result, we took turnaround time into account when compiling this list. Mailing turnaround time varies from the next business day to 10 business days after printing is completed.
You may usually pay more to get your mailers delivered sooner. However, selecting a low-cost direct mail provider that works rapidly is preferable. Fortunately, some direct mail initiatives are more time-sensitive than others, such as NextDayFlyers, which can send your mailers around quickly.
1. PostcardMania
Due to their exceptional bulk discounts, PostcardMania is ideal for high-volume postcard direct mail. They’re also a good choice if you want to use direct mail as one of several marketing platforms.
Let’s start with the more classic direct mail alternatives. The following services are available through PostcardMania:
- Postcard printing
- Postcard design
- Direct mailing
- Bulk mailing
- Mailing lists
- Every direct door mail (EDDM)
While they have wonderful postcard and brochure mailing campaign options, their Everywhere Small Business solution stands out. Direct mail is part of a multi-channel marketing campaign. You’ll get postal monitoring, tailored Facebook follow-up commercials, Instagram ads, Google follow-ups, and call tracking in addition to mail.
PostcardMania uses digital advertising channels to target people who receive your mail-in campaigns. It combines numerous initiatives to generate leads and raise brand awareness.
Standard-sized postcards in high-volume start at just $0.05 per piece. A better bulk rate is unlikely to be found in the industry.
2.PsPrint
PsPrint has a wide choice of direct mail items available. They have ten different sorts of mailers to deliver to potential consumers. This is significantly more than other providers, which often only provide one or two mailer alternatives.
Among PsPrint’s offerings are:
- Brochures
- Door hangers
- Flyers
- Magnets
- Newsletters
- Postcards
- Rack cards
- Sales sheets
- Stickers
- Gift labels
They have a wide range of direct mailers that they may send to you. They also offer mailing list processing (CASS certification, inkjet addressing, and postal resorting), foil stamping, die-cutting, and even a graphic designer to help you achieve your desired look.
PsPrint also has a short turnaround time. Your order can be mailed two to five days after printing is completed. The entire procedure can be managed online as well. Choose your product, add your artwork, and include your mailing list. PsPrint will also give you any additional prints that were not mailed. If the “overs” fit inside one box, they are free.
PsPrint will let you construct a mailing list in less than 15 minutes if you don’t already have one. Respond to a few questions about your target demographic based on age, income, ZIP Code, and other information.
3. Vistaprint
Vistaprint is one of the most widely used printing services. They’re well known for their business card printing, but they also have a fantastic direct mail postcard service.
They also have over 1,000 postcard designs, so you’re sure to find something that suits you and your brand.
Design your card and email your address list to Vistaprint, and they’ll take care of the rest. Standard and oversized postcards are available from Vistaprint. Their mailing lists are another excellent service. This site also allows you to purchase a focused list. These lists can be tailored to specific audiences based on demographic information such as income, interests, new homeowners, or even B2B sectors.
Vistaprint is fantastic because they offer so many additional services and goods. Vistaprint has all of your marketing needs covered. Among the most popular categories are:
- Promotional products
- Labels and stickers
- Bags and Clothing
- Signage
- Trade shows
- Marketing materials
- Business cards
If you want your mailing service, promotional products, and printing all from the same company, VistaPrint is the way to go.
4. Gunderson Direct
Gunderson Direct is a direct marketing firm that offers a broad range of services. Their representatives will collaborate with you to design a fully customized direct mail campaign tailored to your company’s needs.
They provide everything you need to maximize the effectiveness of your direct mail operations. Please use their knowledge to build postal campaigns that complement and support your marketing strategy. A chat with the Gunderson Direct team will be the first step. As a full-service agency, they’ll ensure that every area of your program is optimized for success, from testing to data, message, and offers.
You’ll acquire all the information you need to create a successful program from that consultation. Gunderson Direct can assist you in creating direct mail collateral from both internal and external sources. Their award-winning design team will create targeted, print-ready creative for you, and their production experience will ensure that you’re sending out high-quality materials.
They’ll handle almost every part of your marketing campaign from start to finish, consulting with you to ensure it achieves the desired outcomes. They’ll also provide you with detailed statistics and analytics so you can track your progress. When it comes to direct mail services, that’s a unique proposition.
5. PrintingForLess
Direct mail business PrintingForLess is well-known and dependable. It’s a one-stop-shop for printing and shipping services. They provide various tools for employees to have simple access to sales and marketing assets, including free templates, direct mail advice, connectivity with marketing automation platforms, and web-to-print. Their Every Door Direct Mailing (EDDM) service is where they shine. They’ll collaborate with you to identify a specific area or region to target and ensure that your mailers reach those addresses.
This is ideal for promoting the opening day of your restaurant or retail store, local promotions, and other location-specific advertisements. While a few other firms on this list (such as NextDayFlyers) offer EDDM, none of them have the same number of mailer varieties as PrintingForLess.
They’ve also worked with many political campaigns to ensure their mailers reach constituents and potential voters. If you hold (or wish to hold) an elected post, I recommend PrintingForLess. PrintingForLess is one of my favorite companies because they stand behind their product. They’ll fully compensate you for any fees incurred if your postage and printing are late. This takes away a lot of the stress of significant marketing efforts.
PFL will provide you with free custom printing samples before you begin mass production and mailing. To find which one works best for your company, you can experiment with various paper types, weights, coatings, binding options, and effects.
6. NextDayFlyers
NextDayFlyers, as the name implies, will provide you with a lightning-fast turnaround so you can get your mailers out immediately.
They provide printing services the next working day. Although this premium service comes at a cost, it’s a terrific alternative for time-sensitive offers and campaigns.
Your business can use NextDayFlyers to send:
- Postcards
- Brochures
- Mail rack cards
- Custom products
NextDayFlyers will take care of storing your inventory, verifying addresses, presorting your products, and sending your mail. For campaigns, you may also rent mailing lists.
It is simple to navigate this site. Select your flyer’s size, tweak the material, and add a shine or matte finish and quantity. You can either use their website to generate artwork or upload your own.
You’ll see the cost as you adjust to your direct mail campaign.
7. Cactus Mailing
Cactus Mailing is a straightforward direct mail provider that provides excellent postcard and brochure mailers and a unique Google Ads offering.
The following are some of the best services:
- Direct mail postcards
- Direct mail brochures
- Targeted mailing lists
- Mailpiece design
- Call tracking
But it’s in their Smart Marketing product that they excel. They collaborate with you to design a Google Ads campaign that complements your direct mail effort and produces more significant results. This will raise response rates, resulting in more leads and purchases.
This service includes Google display advertisements and landing pages to assist your direct mail postcards and brochures. Cactus varies from PostcardMania’s multi-channel service in that it focuses primarily on Google Ads. PostcardMania provides Facebook and Instagram advertisements as well as follow-ups.
Dentists, restaurants, salons, spas, churches, real estate, retail, and fitness are just a few businesses that use Cactus Mailing. Cactus specializes in designing attractive brochures to showcase your company.
Another reason to think about Cactus Mailing is their fantastic discounts when bundling multiple services. They provide these specials regularly so that you can save money at any time.
8.SaaSMQL
In comparison to the other direct mail companies on our list, SaaSMQL stands out. They provide account-based demand generating for SaaS companies. SaaSMQL should be a high consideration if your firm fits this description.
SaaS isn’t frequently associated with direct mail. However, SaaSMQL has altered your perspective on lead generation. They employ direct mail to generate leads and opportunities with prospects in the mid-market and enterprise.
A direct mail campaign for one of its clients resulted in more than 50 quality meetings in less than two months. This generated almost $2 million in revenue. The success of SaaSMQL is due to its unique methodology. Instead of only flyers or postcards, SaaSMQL offers business bundles.
This stands out among the hundreds of emails, phone calls, and junk mail many people receive regularly. Nobody throws a package in the trash without considering it. In addition to direct mail, SaaSMQL can help you with account-based marketing campaigns and analytics. They give you everything you need to generate SaaS demand through various channels.
Conclusion
In many cases, direct mail is highly effective. It’s easy to lose sight of this when you’re focused on email, online adverts, and other digital marketing strategies. For most businesses, PostcardMania is the best direct mailing solution. Regardless of your budget, printing demands, or direct mail approach, the reviews and recommendations in this guide will help you locate what you’re searching for.
