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An independent guideChecked against USPS sources

The guide

Direct mail, explained properly

Paper that arrives in a mailbox because someone paid to put it there. It's one of the oldest forms of advertising, and one of the few where every piece reaches a real address. This guide covers what it is, how it's built, what it costs and how to choose between the ways of sending it.

Checked November 7, 2026 · Sources at the end

In this guide

  1. 01What is direct mail?A plain definition, and what doesn't count.
  2. 02The advertising caseWho uses mail, what it does well and badly.
  3. 03Formats and shapesCard, letter, flat: the rules behind the price.
  4. 04The postcardSizes, postage and when a card isn't a postcard.
  5. 05Eight examplesDrawn and explained, format by format.
  6. 06What it costsPostage by class, printing and lists.
  7. 07Lists vs. saturationThe two ways mail reaches people.
  8. 08GlossaryThe jargon, in plain English.

Why it's still here

Inboxes filter. Feeds scroll. A mailbox gets checked by someone who lives at that address, and a piece stays in the house until somebody throws it out. Nobody can promise it gets read. But it does arrive, at an address you chose, at a price per piece you know before you mail.

The three decisions

Every direct mail campaign comes down to three choices:

  1. Who gets it. A list of chosen addresses, or every address in an area. See addressed vs. saturation.
  2. What it is. A postcard, a letter, a folded self-mailer, a catalog. See formats.
  3. How it's sent. First-Class Mail, USPS Marketing Mail or Every Door Direct Mail®, each with its own price and rules. See cost.

Get those three right and the rest is design and timing.