USPS postage rates are increasing on July 9, 2023. It’s not all bad news in that direct mail still is very effective and driving response. Did you know that 74% of marketers agree that direct mail delivers the best ROI, response rate, and conversion rates than all other channels used. They also agree direct mail is a more effective channel for their company than digital. Are you harnessing the power of print marketing?

Did you know that print is seen as more trustworthy by consumers than online sources? In a consumer survey 31% of respondents said they trusted print advertising compared to just 11% who trusted search engine advertising.

So, what do the new rates mean for you? Get your rate chart now!

Here are the few of the basic rates:

First Class Regular

• 1 ounce stamped letter size pieces will increase to $0.66 each
• 1 ounce metered letter size will increase to $0.63 each
• 1 ounce Flats size pieces will increase to $1.35 each

First Class Presorted

• Mixed AADC letters will increase to $0.561 each
• Mixed AADC cards will increase to $0.388 each
• Mixed ADC Presorted flats will increase to $1.234 each

Standard Mail

• Mixed AADC Letters will increase to $0.381 each
• Mixed ADC Flats will increase to $0.976 each

Nonprofit Mail

• Mixed AADC Letters will increase to $0.226 each
• Mixed ADC Flats will increase to $0.751 each

The biggest takeaway from these rate changes is that presorted first class mail and flats are growing more and more expensive. Flats do have better ROI than letter size pieces even at increased postage though, so make sure you take that into consideration before you choose to no longer send flat size mail.

Postage Discounts

The Postal Service is offering 4 promotional discounts from July through the end of this year. Do you have a planned strategy to not only save money on postage but really stand out and increase your response rate?

1. Emerging Technology – This promotion is for creative ways to incorporate technology into direct mail. You can get a 3% discount if you use augmented reality, basic voice assistant or QR codes for mobile shopping. You can get a 4% discount if you use advanced voice assistant, video, NFC, mixed reality or virtual reality. This runs May 1 – Nov 30^th.
2. Reply Mail IMbA – This promotion is for a faster easier way to do reply mail. You can get a 3% discount by using a static barcode and enrolling in IMbA. You can get a 6% discount by using a serialized barcode and enrolling in IMbA. This runs July 1 – Dec 31^st.
3. Informed Delivery – This promotion is for Integrating direct mail with digital marketing channels. With Informed Delivery, business mailers can engage users through an integrated mail and digital marketing campaign that generates additional consumer impressions, interactions, and insights. This gives you a 4% discount. This runs Aug 1 – Dec 31^st.
4. Retargeting – This promotion is for matching either the visitor’s IP address to a website or an app to a customer’s physical address. Triggered automatically by a digital interaction, retargeted direct mail is a dynamically printed, targeted message sent in a timely manner to a customer’s home via a First-Class Mail Postcard. You can get a 5% discount. This runs Sept 1 – Nov 30^th.

Check out these special programs with the USPS to save on your postage for the rest of this year. There are a variety of programs to choose from, so you should be able to find at least one that is a good fit for you. If you want, you can actually participate in all 4!

Direct mail postage rates are rising, but you can still get great results! Consumers like and respond to direct mail. There are many things you can do to keep your costs under control.

3 Direct Mail Cost Controls

1. List: Make sure to clean your list of bad addresses, use a move update service like NCOA to make sure you have current addresses, and suppress deceased people.
2. Design: Make sure to design with postal regulations in mind so that you don’t get stuck paying extra postage. Your mail service provider can check your design before you print.
3. Target: You will also want to segment your list to select the right targets for your message. Sending the right offer to the right person is key to increasing your response rates.

Don’t let the postage rate increases scare you away from this important marketing channel. Direct mail has the highest ROI of all marketing channels when done correctly! On average the postage rates increased by less than a penny per piece, so they are not going to drastically increase your overall direct mail budgets, but it is important to account for the additional postage funds.

It’s time to get creative and send direct mail that is interesting as well as cost effective. Don’t let the 2023 postage rate increase get you down, we can help you get better results! If you have questions or would like to participate in any of the promotions contact us today (619) 297-2281 or contact@neyenesch.com. We are glad to help!