We Do Mail FAQs

If you have at least 200 pieces to mail, the We Do Mail direct mailing company can send your mail at the marketing mailing postage rate of about 28 cents apiece as opposed to the standard USPS rate of 55 cents apiece. If you’re a non-profit, your rate can be even lower!

We’re also set up to handle mail quickly and efficiently, with many special services like printing, folding, inserting, and more, and we can do it at a much lower rate than most industries.

Still considered one of the most cost-effective marketing techniques around, direct mail advertising is not for everyone. Consider these aspects:

Since the typical cost of mailing 5,000 pieces is anywhere from $1,500 to $3,000, if you’re trying to sell inexpensive goods and services this is probably not a cost-effective method.

That said, however, you need to keep your Return on Investment (ROI) in mind. You either must generate enough revenue or at least enough product or service awareness to justify the costs, but the lifetime value of your investment may not be immediately apparent.

If you have a large database of existing customers, you’re in a good position to use that information to create a mailing list and reach them through direct mail. If you don’t have a mailing list but know your targeted audience, you can buy and customize a specific mailing list from us.

In most cases, we recommend at least 5,000 pieces. This lets you reach a large enough audience to judge the effectiveness of your approach, and you save on production costs by buying in high volume.

We Do Mail likes to look at Return on Investment (ROI) instead of response rates. That’s because a low response rate on a high-dollar product – say a mortgage or medical services – will still be worth the investment. Most direct mail campaigns are for big-ticket items and services.

At the same time, mailers can bring in first-time customers to lower priced businesses and still add lifetime value if the customers become repeat visitors. It’s hard to pin down that kind of value, but it exists and should be considered.

From low cost to high cost, here are some of the mailer types we offer.

• Postcard Mailer: Common sizes are 4 x 6, 5 x 7, 8.5 x 5.5, 6 x 9, 6 x 11

• Self Mailer: Usually printed on 8.5 x 11, 8.5 x 14, 11 x 17 and folded to smaller size and tabbed before addressing

• Snap Pack Mailer (Pressure Sealed)

• Letter and envelope

• Catalogs/Brochures: Trifold, Bifold and four-page newsletters

Postage rates for flat-size pieces are considerably higher than letter-size pieces. A letter-size mailer is generally a rectangle at least 5 inches long and 3.5 inches high, but once it exceeds 6-1/8 inches by 11.5 inches, it’s considered a flat-size mailer. Flat-size mailers can’t be bigger than 12 inches by 15 inches.

• EDDM (Every Door Direct Mail): For a fraction of regular postage costs, you can send out direct mail pieces to each address on a carrier route. The pieces will not have a name or address. 

• Saturation Mailing or Residential Mailing is similar to EDDM but each piece includes a name and address. You’ll receive general demographic information about the carrier route you choose, including average age, household income, and more. 

• Targeted Mailing: Uses marketing (standard or bulk) mail and first-class mail to reach a targeted mailing list for delivery to specific prospects. Your mailing lists can target consumers, businesses, renters, pet owners, health ailments, ethnicities, and more!

• Marketing Mail (previously called standard or bulk mail) typically has a delivery time of one to two weeks and costs approximately 29 cents each for letter size and 63 cents each for flat size pieces.

• First Class Mail has a delivery time ranging from one to five days and costs about 43 cents each for letter size and about 80 cents each for flat size.

• Marketing Non-Profit Mail has the same delivery times as Marketing Mail but features lower rates: approximately 17 cents each for letter size and approximately 46 cents each for flat size.

Lower rates can be achieved through various processing approaches, so be sure to ask!

In most cases, no. Things like premium paper and expensive printing techniques don’t usually impress customers enough to make a difference. You’d be better off on spending that money to increase the number of mailed pieces or sending a follow-up mailer.

The United States Postal Service doesn’t guarantee the times marked with an asterisk but posts the following, which are generally accurate in our experience.

• Express Mail - 1 to 2 days

• Priority Mail - 1 to 3 days

• First Class Mail - 1 to 3 days

• Parcel Post - 2 to 9 days*

• Bound Printed Mail - 2 to 9 days*

• Media Mail - 2 to 9 days*

• Standard Mail - 2 to 14 days*

If you’re mailing outside your local delivery area, PMOD (Priority Mail Open and Distribute) can speed up delivery. What usually could take from one to three weeks can be reduced to a mere three to four days! It works because we can ship trays of mail closer to the destination post office. 

Essentially, you’re getting first-class mail delivery times without paying first-class prices. Call us for additional information.

Also known as National Change of Address (NCOA), move update is used when people have arranged with the post office to have their mail forwarded to a new address. When we prepare your mailing list, we compare it with the updated USPS list to reduce undeliverable mail. We also can supply the updated list to you so you can update your mailing list.

Only if it is extremely thin – think of the old saying, “as thin as a dime.” If your sample is thicker, you will have to use parcel post, which is much more expensive.

Of course. While We Do Mail stores your materials in our warehouse, we can add additional services at your request.

• Inventory management

• Custom cover letter printing

• Package presorting

• Bulk shipment packaging and palletizing

You’re also welcome to visit our site at any time to practice your own quality control. Call now for additional details.