All Posts By

Isabella Mest

Unlocking ROI with Direct Mail Innovations

By | Direct Mail

Today’s consumer’s buying cycle is longer, more complex, and packed with digital. Direct mail offers a powerful, personal way to stand out, keep your brand top of mind, and drive results across your customer’s buying journey. Direct Mail Depot (DMD) is your trusted mail service provider and will support you every step of the way.

Why Direct Mail Works

Direct mail stands out. With ad blockers on the rise and inboxes overflowing, putting the right piece in the right hands can drive action and deliver strong ROI:

  • Response rates as high as 77%.
  • 40% better customer acquisition.
  • 84% reported that direct mail improves multi-channel campaign performance.

 Direct Mail Generates Results Every Stage of the Buying Journey

  1. Boosts awareness: 54% tried something new after receiving marketing mail.
  2. Adds a personal touch: 70% say mail feels more personal than digital.
  3. Reinforces loyalty with exclusive offers, check-ins, or celebratory mailings.
  4. When you’re ready to get started, DMD is here for you. Your success is our priority.

USPS Tools That Take Mail Further and Qualify for Savings

Informed Delivery® gives recipients a preview of their mail via email or app, along with clickable digital content—tripling brand impressions.

Informed Visibility® lets you track mail in near real-time, helping you align digital outreach (emails, texts, ads) for maximum impact.

Retargeted Mail uses digital data to trigger timely, personalized mailings—proven to drive 8x higher response rates than digital retargeting.

Tech-Enhanced Mail That Engages

Today’s direct mail can do much more than land in a mailbox, it can launch a digital journey. USPS-supported innovations like QR Codes, augmented and virtual reality, personalized URLs (PURLs), and custom hashtags are transforming traditional mail into an interactive experience that resonates with audiences. Plus, you can earn USPS discounts of up to 7%. Complete details here.

  • QR Codes allow recipients to instantly access your website, app, landing page, or video with a quick scan.
  • Augmented Reality (AR) adds a wow factor by overlaying animations or 3D elements onto your mail piece using a smartphone.
  • Virtual Reality (VR) offers an immersive experience by transporting recipients into a branded environment, often with a simple cardboard headset.
  • PURLs create a one-to-one connection with unique web addresses tailored to individual recipients, and are perfect for tracking engagement and personalizing messaging.
  • Hashtags can encourage recipients to join a conversation or campaign on social media, driving further engagement and visibility.

From QR codes to AR, these enhancements grab attention—and may unlock valuable USPS discounts. DMD helps you turn traditional mail into a high-performance marketing channel that connects, converts, and delivers results.

From Touchpoint to Conversion: The Modern Direct Mail Strategy

By | Direct Mail

The savviest marketers know: direct mail still delivers — especially when backed by a smart strategy. With Direct Mail Depot (DMD) as your trusted partner, you can elevate your campaigns to perform better, reach farther, and generate stronger ROI.

Brands are shifting their approach, not just to control costs, but to ensure every dollar works harder. By embracing innovative formats, personalized messaging, and seamless integration with digital channels, they are unlocking new levels of engagement.

Here’s how it’s done, and how DMD supports you every step of the way.

Why Direct Mail Works

Marketers focused on ROI have powerful reasons to lean into mail. According to recent studies, direct mail sent to house lists delivers the highest ROI among media types at 161%, outperforming email (41%), digital display advertising (23%), and social media (21%).

All generations are engaging with mail. Gen X, with substantial buying power, continues to value it. Gen Z, raised in the digital age shows even greater interest. The tactile experience cuts through digital noise, building emotional connections that digital alone often can’t.

Mail as the Momentum Builder

Direct mail plays a critical role in driving conversions. Whether you’re aiming for an online sign-up, an app download, or a retail visit, mail often serves as the trigger.

Trends and Innovations in Direct Mail

Rising postal rates may challenge budgets, but savvy marketers aren’t pulling back — they’re adapting. Strategic changes in size and structure can reduce costs without reducing impact. Adding personalized QR codes can link customers directly to their offers, supporting data collection and app usage.

From high-quality embossed paper to streamlined postcards, personalization helps you connect meaningfully, at the right price point.

Personalization That Performs

Today, personalization means more than a name. With advanced data and technology, DMD creates one-to-one experiences. Our Digital Variable Color Printing allows you to tailor content by income, location, purchase history, household size, and more — all within a single mail stream.

Personalized QR codes or links enhance tracking, engagement, and relevancy — and they’re gaining traction for good reason. They’re easy to use and highly measurable.

Unlock USPS Promotions

Smart enhancements like unique die cuts, tactile finishes, or AI-generated content can earn you up to 6% or more in USPS discounts (and up to 7% or more in 2026). See details here.

Your 2025 Direct Mail Game Plan

Direct mail has evolved. It’s dynamic, data-driven, and deeply connected to your broader marketing strategy. Whether you’re returning to mail or scaling up an already successful strategy, DMD is here to help you deliver results smarter, faster, and with greater ROI.

10 Direct Mail Must-Dos for Marketing Success

By | Uncategorized

Direct mail remains a powerful marketing tool when done right, and with the right partner. Direct Mail Depot (DMD) is your trusted partner and will be with you every step of the way.

Here are 10 essential tips to ensure your campaigns stand out and deliver results:

  1. Define and Segment Your Audience

A well-defined target audience will result in an effective direct mail campaign. Segment your mailing list using demographics, customer behavior, or purchase history to ensure your message is highly relevant and resonates with the right customers.

  1. Include a Strong, Specific Call to Action (CTA)

Make it clear what you would like the customer to do, whether that’s calling a number, visiting a landing page, or using a special offer. A compelling CTA drives engagement and boosts response rates.

  1. Customize Every Piece

At DMD, our Digital Variable Color Printing technology enables highly personalized mail pieces in a single mail stream. Advanced software selects and prints unique images, graphics, and text for each recipient based on your database. This customization can be tailored to various factors, including personal preferences, demographics, location, income, occupation, purchase history, and household size.

  1. Design with purpose

Keep layouts clean, readable, and visually focused.  Your design should be easy to navigate and draw attention to the headline, key message, and CTA.

  1. Test Everything

A/B testing allows you to compare different versions of your copy, design, or offer to see what resonates most with your audience. You can even change images within a mailing to measure the impact of personalized targeting—testing psychographic variables within defined demographics. While isolating every factor analytically can be complex, these tests enable deeper insights and can significantly improve ROI.

  1. Track and Measure Your Results

Incorporate tools like QR codes, PURLs, or unique promo codes to monitor engagement. Tracking lets you evaluate performance, attribute results, and continuously refine future campaigns.

  1. Follow USPS Guidelines and Best Practices

DMD will work with you so that your mailings are formatted correctly and meet postal regulations. Partnering with a trusted mail house like us will help you avoid costly delays, plus take advantage of postal discounts.

  1. Time Your Campaigns Strategically

Plan your mailing schedule around customer behavior, key dates and buying cycles. You should maintain the right frequency, enough to stay top-of-mind without overwhelming your audience.

  1. Keep Your Message Focused and Concise

It’s best to stick to one core message. Use clear headlines, short paragraphs, and bullet points to make your content easy to skim and absorb.

  1. Use High-Quality Materials

Your mailer is a physical extension of your brand. Invest in quality paper, professional printing, and a strong finish to make a great first impression and reinforce brand credibility.

DMD Success Tips

Direct mail delivers results when executed with care and intention. By focusing on audience targeting, strong messaging, smart design, and consistent tracking, you will transform your mail into a high-performing part of your marketing strategy.

Drive FinTech Growth with Retargeted Direct Mail That Converts

By | Direct Mail

In the fast-paced world of financial technology, where digital engagement is constant and competition is fierce, standing out requires more than just an online presence. Smart FinTech brands are turning to retargeted direct mail to re-engage prospects, reduce acquisition costs, and increase conversions.

At Direct Mail Depot (DMD), we help FinTech companies combine the precision of digital tracking with the power of tangible mail to create personalized, data-driven outreach—delivered soon after a prospect’s online interaction.

Why Retargeted Direct Mail Works for FinTech

Retargeted direct mail uses behavioral data from your website or app to send a tailored message directly to the prospect’s mailbox. Unlike digital ads or overcrowded inboxes, direct mail is personal, secure, and trusted, especially when financial decisions are at stake.

Direct mail delivers results:

  • Converts 10% more customers than digital-only outreach
  • 90%+ open rate (vs. email’s \~30%)
  • Drives 60% of consumers back to your website
  • 1% house-list response rate (vs. 0.06% digital CTR)
  • Protected by over 200 federal laws via the U.S. Postal Inspection Service

This physical, less intrusive medium offers a unique trust factor, especially valuable for FinTech companies handling sensitive financial data.

Make Digital Work Harder with Direct Mail

Retargeted direct mail isn’t an either/or tactic—it works best alongside your existing digital efforts. By setting up automated triggers for visitors who didn’t convert, you create a timely, personalized follow-up that reinforces your brand.

84% of FinTech marketers report that retargeted direct mail delivers the highest ROI. In a category where trust and recognition drive customer decisions, this edge matters.

The DMD Advantage

At Direct Mail Depot, we make it easy to integrate retargeted mail into your FinTech strategy. From automated triggers to personalized content and rapid mail production, we help you convert online interest into lasting customer relationships.

FinTech moves fast and your marketing should as well. Let DMD help you turn clicks into conversions—with results you can measure. Reach out to us today at: in**@di*************.com.

Partner with DMD to Unlock USPS Mail Promotion Savings

By | Direct Mail

Take advantage of valuable USPS mail promotions with a trusted partner by your side. Direct Mail Depot (DMD) is more than a mail house; we’re direct mail experts with deep industry knowledge and hands-on experience to help your business maximize savings and results.

 

Expert Guidance from Start to Finish

As your Mail Service Provider, DMD stays current on all USPS promotional offerings. We act as your advisor, managing the entire process from registration and sample submission to execution and tracking so that you can focus on your business.

 

Drive Innovation with Confidence

Some USPS promotions may involve unfamiliar techniques or technologies. DMD will guide you through innovative strategies like interactive formats or new printing styles, helping you test, measure, and refine campaigns for improved performance and ROI.

 

Increase Customer Touchpoints

The Continuous Contact promotion rewards repeat mailings with a 5% discount. By mailing more frequently to the same audience, with variations that build on your original message, you can boost engagement while reducing costs.

 

Available 2026 USPS Discounts Include:

5% – Integrated Technology: Enhance response rates through tech-enabled mail.

5% – Tactile, Sensory, Interactive: Create mail pieces that captivate.

5% – Continuous Contact: Get rewarded for repeat campaigns.

5% – First-Class Mail Advertising: Leverage First-Class for marketing purposes.

10% – Catalog Insights: Save big with catalog improvements.

+1% each – Informed Delivery and Sustainability Add-On Promotions.

Additional info for each discount can be found here.

 

Let DMD Handle the Details

From printing and prep to compliance and reporting, DMD ensures your mailings meet all USPS requirements for each promotion. We’ll track results and help optimize your future campaigns, turning discounts into measurable success.

 Get Started Today

Don’t leave potential savings on the table. Partner with DMD to take full advantage of USPS promotions and elevate your direct mail strategy.

Direct Mail Gets an Upgrade: Use AI and Save 3%

By | Direct Mail

Direct mail is evolving, and businesses that integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) into their campaigns are gaining a competitive edge. By leveraging AI, companies can deliver hyper-targeted, personalized mailings that drive stronger engagement, boost response rates, and maximize ROI. Better yet, when you incorporate AI into your campaigns, you may qualify for a 3% discount through the USPS Integrated Technology Promotion.

At Direct Mail Depot (DMD), we specialize in helping businesses tap into the full potential of AI-powered direct mail. From strategy to execution, our experts will guide you through cost-saving opportunities and smarter marketing decisions ensuring your campaigns are both impactful and efficient.

How AI Enhances Direct Mail Campaigns

Smarter Personalization

AI analyzes data like purchase history, browsing behavior, and demographics to create deeply personalized messages, offers, and visuals, delivered right to your customer’s mailbox.

Creative Content Generation

AI tools can help craft compelling headlines, body copy, and visuals tailored to your audience, streamlining content creation and elevating design quality.

Precision Targeting and Segmentation

You can identify high-value audiences with AI’s predictive modeling. Plus, reach the customers most likely to engage with your message, and build lookalike audiences for even broader reach.

Streamlined Efficiency and Automation

From scheduling to A/B testing, AI automates repetitive marketing tasks saving you time and resources while increasing campaign accuracy.

Real-Time Optimization

AI tracks performance metrics and adapts campaigns in real time to improve results and increase ROI.

Physical-to-Digital Integration

Link direct mail to digital channels through QR codes and personalized URLs, making engagement measurable and seamless.

Omnichannel Intelligence

AI merges insights from both online and offline behavior to create a unified, data-driven customer experience.

The Business Benefits of AI in Direct Mail

  • Boosts response and conversion rates
  • Strengthens customer engagement and loyalty
  • Improves ROI and reduce campaign costs
  • Simplifies campaign execution and reporting
  • To qualify for USPS AI Incentive Discounts, it’s as simple as having one sentence in the message generated by AI, and showing the message before and after the modification. Or adding a mail piece related image(s) generated using AI tools. The experts at DMD will assist you.

Partner with DMD to transform your direct mail into a smarter, more effective tool, and take advantage of exclusive USPS discounts. Your next campaign could be your most powerful yet.

Informed Delivery: A Smarter Way to Do Direct Mail

By | Direct Mail

Would you invest in a marketing channel with a 60%+ open rate? With USPS Informed Delivery and Direct Mail Depot (DMD), you can do that now.

Informed Delivery is a free service offered by USPS, that sends subscribers a daily email preview of what’s arriving in their physical mailbox. With 73 million users and growing, it gives businesses a powerful new way to enhance direct mail campaigns. It’s proven to boost engagement, brand recall, and response rates. Plus, DMD will be there every step of the way to ensure your campaigns run smooth.

Why Businesses Love Informed Delivery

Email Open Rates of 60%

That’s 3–4 times higher than average marketing emails.

Extra Digital Touchpoints, No Extra Cost

Your physical mail appears as a scanned image in subscribers’ daily email, plus you can add a clickable call-to-action that links to your website or special offer.

Average Time Spent on Dashboard

The USPS Informed Delivery dashboard time is 1 minute and 13 seconds. This is significantly longer than the average time spent on other websites, which is 52 seconds.

Improved Response Rates

Multiple impressions drive action. Informed Delivery campaigns consistently lead to better engagement.

Top Email Placement

Campaign-enabled mailings show up near the top of the Informed Delivery email summary.

Zero USPS Fees

Participation is free. Most service providers, including DMD, help with setup and registration. There are no ongoing costs.

Bonus: Postage Discounts

Informed Delivery is an easy add-on promotion and mail campaigns that meet the requirements will earn an additional 1% discount all year.

To make the most of Informed Delivery campaign:

  • Align campaign content with your customer personas.
  • Use it as part of an omnichannel strategy to reinforce your message.
  • Take advantage of user tools like reminders and social sharing to extend your reach.
  • Reach out to DMD as your trusted partner.
  • To see the full USPS report, click here.

With Informed Delivery, your direct mail doesn’t just arrive—it gets noticed, opened, and acted upon. Reach out to us today at in**@di*************.com.

Why Direct Mail Matters

By | Direct Mail

Digital channels may be fast, but they’re often fleeting. Direct mail still stands out by creating a physical connection, one that feels more personal, more trusted, and more memorable. It doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. It gets opened, read, and remembered. Direct Mail Depot (DMD) stands out as your go-to partner for all things direct mail and marketing, delivering results you can count on.

Here’s why direct mail matters and continues to earn its place in the modern marketer’s toolkit:

It’s Tangible — and That Matters

Direct mail lands directly in the hands of your audience. People touch it, hold it, and often keep it, giving your brand staying power that digital channels alone can’t match.

Personalization That Performs

With advanced data tools and customization, direct mail can be tailored to individual preferences, behaviors, and purchase history. That means every message is relevant, not generic.

Smart Spend, Long-Term Value

While print and postage have upfront costs, the payoff is often greater thanks to higher conversion rates and more meaningful customer engagement.

Supercharges Your Digital Campaigns

Direct mail doesn’t compete with digital; it complements it. Use it to reinforce your message, drive traffic to landing pages, or activate QR codes and special offers.

Trackable and Testable

Modern mail campaigns are easy to track using custom URLs, QR codes, and unique offer codes. That means you can measure success and refine your strategy.

When a well-crafted piece of mail shows up in the mailbox, people notice. It’s personal, unexpected, and surprisingly effective at getting real results in a busy marketing landscape. At DMD, we bring strategy, creativity, and reliability to every direct mail project so you can focus on what matters most.

USPS Catalog Promotion Offers 10% Discount—No Minimums Required

By | Direct Mail

Attention catalog mailers: the USPS has announced a brand-new Catalog Insights Base/Primary Promotion, launching in Q4 of 2025, and it’s designed to help you save 10% on eligible catalog mailings. Direct Mail Depot (DMD) is your trusted partner and is ready to help you make the most of this opportunity.

Key Details:

Discount: 10%

Registration Opens: August 15, 2025

Mailing Window: October 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026

Eligibility Requirements: Catalogs must be 12+ pages, bound or fastened, and include product, pricing, and ordering information.

What sets this promotion apart is that discounts are applied at the time of mailing, with no minimum volume requirements—a first for USPS promotions. You can mail what you normally would and still receive the savings.

This initiative, backed by the American Commerce Marketing Association (ACMA, formerly the American Catalog Mailers Association), and supported by catalog industry leaders, highlights the enduring value of catalogs and the critical role postage costs play in shaping mail volumes.

Whether you already have a mailing strategy or are looking to optimize your approach, now is the time to act. DMD is here to guide you through the registration and execution process to ensure you maximize your savings and your impact.

Upgrade Your Mail Strategy with Direct Mail Depot: USPS Savings up to 10%

By | Direct Mail

There’s good news for mailers: many of the current USPS promotions will return in 2026—some with even higher discounts. Here’s a look at them and how you can plan to maximize savings. Direct Mail Depot (DMD) will help you every step of the way.

INCREASED DISCOUNT: 5% (up from 3% in 2025)

Integrated Technologies that will enhance mail’s performance.

You can incorporate mobile shopping, integration with voice assistant, Augmented, Mixed or Virtual Reality, Video in Print, and the use of QR Codes directing to a website where a purchase can be made.  Even a credit card application where the card is mailed back is considered a purchase by the USPS.  Another is the use of AI tools like ChatGPT to create letter or teaser copy on the piece.

Registration starts Nov. 15, 2025 and the mailing window is any 6-month consecutive period starting in Jan. 2026.

INCREASED DISCOUNT: 5% (up from 4%)

Tactile, Sensory, Interactive will boost customer engagement.

Combine with add-on promotions to increase total discount up to 7%.

You can use specialty inks, coatings, and paper; non-geometric die cuts, or interactive elements, and finishing techniques. (Gloss stock not eligible).

Registration starts Nov. 15, 2025 and the mailing window is Jan. through June 2026.

INCREASED DISCOUNT: 5% (up from 3%)

Repeat mailings can earn the Continuous Contact discount.

Increase customer touchpoints by mailing more frequently to the same addresses. To qualify, follow-up mail pieces should relate to the original mailing and must differ in some way. An example is a new cover on a product catalog. (Content of each mailing must be iterative or complementary, not duplicative). While the initial mail pieces do not receive the discount, they can qualify for the add-on promotion discounts. Each qualifying follow-up mail piece earns the discount and can be combined with the add-on promotions to earn up to 7%.

Registration starts Feb. 15, 2025 and the mailing window is April 1 through Dec. 31, 2026.

DISCOUNT: 5%

Leverage First-Class Mail for advertising.

Elevate your marketing strategy and promote your offerings to customers by adding your marketing message to customer reward or billing statements. In addition to letters/flats, this is a huge opportunity to save big on postcards up to 6″ x 9″.

Combine with add-on promotions to increase total discount up to 7%.

Registration starts July 15, 2026 and the mailing window is Sept. 1 through Dec. 31.

DISCOUNT: 10%

NEW! Catalog Insights

Program starts in the fourth quarter 2025 and provides a 10% discount for eligible catalogs. Must include 12+ pages, be bound/fastened and provide sufficient product, pricing and ordering information.

Registration starts Aug. 15, 2025 and the mailing window is Oct. 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026.

Save an additional discount of 1% each with these two Add-On Promotions

To qualify, these are required to be used with one of the four available primary promotions mentioned above.

Informed Delivery

Informed Delivery is now an add-on promotion and mail campaigns that meet the requirements will earn the 1% discount all year. Combine with the Sustainability promotion to increase savings.

Registration period is Nov. 15, 2025 through Dec. 31, 2025 and the mailing window ends Dec. 31.

Sustainability

In addition to promoting responsible environmental practices, demonstrating the paper used in your mailing is responsibly sourced and sustainably produced earns a 1% postage discount.

Combine with the Informed Delivery promotion to increase savings.

Registration is now through Dec. 31, 2025 and the mailing window ends Dec. 31.

Make the most of these valuable USPS promotions to increase engagement, boost response rates, and reduce postage costs—all by meeting a few straightforward requirements.

View the full list of proposed 2026 promotions here.

DMD is your trusted partner and we’ll help you every step of the way. Reach out to us today at: in**@di*************.com.

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