What are USPS promotions and how do you qualify?

What are USPS promotions and how do you qualify?

Marketers are under constant pressure to tighten budgets and eliminate excess spend. For direct mailers, that means paying close attention to postage.

What many marketers don't realize is that USPS offers a set of promotions each year that can take meaningful percentages off your postage costs – if you know how to find them and plan ahead.

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What are USPS promotions?

USPS promotions are limited-time programs that offer savings to senders who meet specific creative or technical criteria. They're designed to encourage the use of features that make mail more engaging, like interactive elements, digital integration, and sustainable materials.

Discounts typically run between 3% and 7% depending on the promotion. That adds up fast at volume.

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The promotions worth knowing

Here are a few of the most commonly used promotions in 2026:

• Tactile, Sensory and Interactive rewards mail that incorporates specialty inks, textures, or interactive elements like pop-ups and scratch-offs.
• Integrated Technology covers mail that incorporates digital touchpoints like QR codes linked to augmented reality experiences or other interactive digital content. 
• First-Class Mail Advertising offers a discount for First Class mail that includes advertising content, opening up savings for categories that typically default to Marketing Mail.

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Consider incentives

USPS also offers incentives beyond standard promotions. These incentives are ongoing and worth considering if you’re new to mail or plan to grow your program. 

The Mail Growth Incentive, for example, provides credits for mailers who grow their volume year over year.

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How to stack promotions

The real opportunity is in stacking. Start with a primary promotion like Integrated Technology or Tactile/Sensory, then layer on add-ons. An Informed Delivery campaign, for example, can add an additional 1% rebate on top of your primary promotion. Sustainable paper sourcing can add another 1%.

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Plan ahead

Promotions require advance registration before your campaign launches. You can't opt in retroactively. Each promotion has its own registration window, eligibility requirements, and creative specifications – so planning early is essential.

If you aren't aligning your campaigns to the USPS Promotions Calendar, you're leaving savings on the table on every send.

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Want to go deeper?

The 10-Day Postal Fix covers USPS promotions in detail – plus lots of other helpful tips from Lob and USPS insiders. It's free and available on demand here.