Independent guide · EDDM®
Every Door Direct Mail®, done right
Every Door Direct Mail® puts your postcard in every mailbox on the routes you pick, for about a quarter a piece in postage. The postage is the easy part. Whether the phone rings depends on three things you control: the routes, the card and the offer. This site is about getting those three right.
SPEC CHECKED 2026-11-06 · SOURCES BELOW
Anatomy of an EDDM postcard
Every card that pulls its weight has the same parts. Here's a 6 x 11 card, front and back, marked up the way a printer would mark a proof.
- Headline. Readable from arm's length, about the customer's problem or the offer, not your company name.
- Offer. One offer, with a reason to act now and an expiry date.
- Proof. A photo of real work, a short review quote or years in business. One is enough.
- Call to action. One way to respond, said plainly: "Call for a free inspection."
- Phone number or QR code. Large. Use a number you can track.
- Brand. Logo and name, smaller than you think.
- Indicia zone. The printed postage mark, top right of the mailing side. USPS sets where it goes.
- Address block. "Postal Customer", or "Residential Customer" for homes only.
- Bleed. Background art extends past the trim line so there are no white edges.
- Safe zone. Keep every word at least a quarter inch inside the trim.
Get the free layout files with every guide drawn in: EDDM templates.
The three things that decide your results
Design
The card has about two seconds at the mailbox. One headline, one offer and one call to action win. See annotated examples and free templates.
Printing
Who prints, bundles and drops off changes your cost and your workload more than the paper does. Compare the four ways to run it.
Results
Know how many calls you need before you mail, then plan a series, not a single drop. See campaign planning.
What a campaign costs, roughly
Three numbers make up the bill:
- Postage. USPS charges $0.26 per piece for EDDM Retail®, the version most small businesses use.
- Printing. Usually the bigger number. It depends on size, paper, quantity and whether the printer also bundles and drops off.
- Your time. Choosing routes, bundling and the trip to the Post Office, unless you pay someone to do it.
The more useful question is how many customers you need to cover it. The break-even calculator answers that in about ten seconds.
Mistakes that sink EDDM campaigns
- Saying everything. A card listing eleven services is read as none. Lead with one.
- No offer. "Quality service since 1998" gives nobody a reason to call today.
- No tracking. If you can't tell which calls came from the card, you can't tell whether it worked.
- Routes picked by ZIP Code alone. Choose the routes where customers like your best ones already live.
- One drop, then quitting. People keep postcards on the fridge and call weeks later. Plan at least three drops before judging.
Pro tip: Before you print, hand the card to someone who doesn't know your business. Give them three seconds, take it back and ask what you're offering. If they can't say, the card isn't done.
Free templates
Questions people ask
Is Every Door Direct Mail® only available from USPS?
USPS delivers it, so yes, the service itself is USPS's. Plenty of printers sell EDDM® printing and handle the mailing for you, but the carrier who drops it in the mailbox works for the Postal Service.
Do I need a mailing list?
No. That's the point of EDDM. Pieces are addressed to "Postal Customer" and go to every address on the routes you choose.
What size works best?
Bigger cards stand out in the mailbox, but they cost more to print. 6.5 x 9, 6 x 11 and 8.5 x 11 are all common and all qualify. A standard 6 x 9 does not meet the EDDM Retail® size minimum. Check our templates page for sizes.
Can a printer handle all of it?
Many can. Some only print, some also bundle and drop off, and full-service companies even pick the routes. See EDDM services compared.
Sources
- USPS: Every Door Direct Mail
- Domestic Mail Manual 143: EDDM-Retail eligibility
- Domestic Mail Manual 602: Addressing
- USPS Notice 123: Price list
Checked 2026-11-06. Rules, prices and services change. Confirm before you order or mail.