Direct Mail Postcards
Direct mail postcards, printed and mailed for up to 60% less
Full-color direct mail postcards in two sizes, 5×8.25 and 6×11, printed on heavy cover stock, addressed, presorted and mailed anywhere in the US, quoted for your city at up to 60% less than the big online printers.
A direct mail postcard is the cheapest way to put a physical offer in front of a specific household or business, and it is still the format that produces the most response per dollar. There is no envelope to open: the offer, the picture and the call to action are read in the seconds between the mailbox and the kitchen counter.
We print two sizes, a 5×8.25 and a 6×11 jumbo, on heavy 14pt or 16pt cover stock in full color on both sides. Your list or the neighborhoods you choose go through CASS and NCOA so the postage discount applies, the mailing is presorted, and it enters the USPS through one of our three partners, the largest print and mail companies in the country. The quote is written for your city, your mail date and your job, with printing, mail processing and postage stated separately.
Which postcard size should you mail?
The 5×8.25 is the workhorse: big enough for a photo, a headline, an offer and a map, small enough to keep the print cost down, and it mails as a letter-size piece at Marketing Mail or First-Class rates. It is the card for offers, reminders, follow-ups, appointment cards and monthly farming drops where the same household will see the piece again next month.
The 6×11 is the jumbo. It is the largest card that still mails at letter rates, it dominates the mailbox on the day it lands, and it is the card we suggest when you want every household in a neighborhood to get one, no list required. Real estate, home services, restaurants, grand openings and anything with a big photo use it.
What drives the cost of a postcard mailing?
Three things: printing, mail processing and postage. Printing rises with size and stock and falls per piece as the quantity grows, so a 25,000-piece run costs far less per card than a 5,000-piece run. Mail processing covers address hygiene, presort, barcodes, paperwork and USPS entry. Postage is set by the Postal Service and depends on the class you choose and how well the list sorts, and it is the same in every city.
Because the mix is different for every job and the sort is different for every city, we quote each mailing for the city it goes to rather than publishing one national number. Most online printers quote a single blended price with the markup folded inside, which is how "a dollar a piece" became the figure everyone remembers. Our quote separates the three and lands at up to 60% less.
Marketing Mail or First-Class?
Marketing Mail is the right default for promotions: it is the cheaper class, it takes three to ten business days to arrive, and the USPS asks for at least 200 pieces, which every order of ours clears. First-Class costs more per piece, arrives in one to five days, is forwarded when the recipient has moved and is returned to you when it cannot be delivered, which makes it the choice for time-sensitive mail and for any list you want to clean.
What makes a postcard actually get a response?
One offer, stated in the headline, with a deadline. A picture that shows the outcome rather than the product. A short URL and a QR code, because different people respond different ways. Your name and a real address, because people check. And a second and third drop to the same homes four to six weeks apart, because the household that ignored the first card is often the one that responds to the third.
- Headline: the offer and the deadline, not the company name
- Front: one image, one message, readable at arm's length
- Back: the details, the map, the QR code and a plain call to action
- Personalization: the recipient's name or neighborhood on the card lifts response
- Cadence: three drops to the same homes outperform one drop to three times as many
The USPS rules behind the two sizes are in postcard sizes and mailing requirements; a design that fits them is what postcard design services start from.
Our work
Postcards we have printed and mailed
Both sizes, front and address side, from real mailings. Every card is a single offer, a picture that earns the mailbox and a clear way to respond: a phone number, a website, a QR code.
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Quote a direct mail postcards job for your city
Send the postcard size, the quantity and the city it is going to. Pricing is set for your city and your job, so you get a written quote — printing, mail processing and postage — with no obligation. No finished design or mailing list needed.
Answers
Direct Mail Postcards: questions people ask
How much does it cost to send 5,000 direct mail postcards?
It depends on the size, the stock, the mail class, the city the cards are going to and the date they need to land, so we quote it for your city rather than from a national price list. A quote separates printing, mail processing and USPS postage, and comes back in writing, at up to 60% less than the big online printers.
What postcard sizes do you print?
Two: 5×8.25 and 6×11. Both are printed on 14pt or 16pt cover stock in full color on both sides. Both mail at letter rates; the 5×8.25 suits a list, and the 6×11 is the one we suggest for saturating whole neighborhoods.
Is there a minimum order for direct mail postcards?
Yes. Orders start at 1,000 pieces. That clears the USPS minimum for Marketing Mail, the cheaper presorted class, five times over, and it is the size of job our three print partners quote best.
How long does it take for direct mail postcards to arrive?
The mail date depends on which of our three print and mail partners takes the job, since each has its own distribution and its own schedule, and the job is priced around the date that fits. From entry, First-Class postcards arrive in one to five business days and Marketing Mail postcards in three to ten.
Can you design the postcard for us?
Yes, start to finish. You do not need a finished file: our designers write the offer and lay out a two-sided postcard from your logo, photos and goals, quoted with the job, with revisions until you approve the proof. Free templates for both sizes are there if you would rather do it yourself.
Do you print postcards for realtors?
Yes, real estate is one of our largest categories: just listed, just sold, open house, market update and farming postcards, with variable data so each card can carry the recipient's street name. See the real estate industry page for the program and cadence that work.