Cut through rising costs with better timing, targeting, and execution
Quick guide | 5 min read
Direct mail marketers are navigating a more complex mailing landscape than ever – with evolving postage rates, shifting delivery standards, and rising operational demands. This guide breaks down the key factors that impact cost and performance – and the strategic levers you can pull to streamline execution, boost efficiency, and make every mailpiece count.
With the next USPS increase slated for July 2025, marketers are facing rising costs and new challenges. USPS adjustments to mail classes and service standards are forcing brands to rethink how they manage speed, format, and cost across every campaign.
You can’t keep running direct mail the same way and expect the same outcomes. Rigid send cadences, underutilized promotions, and siloed campaign planning will quickly eat into both your budget and your results. If you’re not actively adjusting how you send, from timing to targeting, you risk falling behind as the economics and logistics of mail continue to shift.
Direct mail outcomes are shaped by a mix of known and variable factors. The key is knowing what’s in your control – and focusing on the areas that will have the biggest operational and campaign impact. Here’s what shapes direct mail execution:
The number of pieces you send directly affects postage pricing tiers, print efficiency, and campaign performance.
Your choice of mail class (First-Class vs. Marketing Mail) impacts delivery speed, handling priority, and total cost. The choice of class for your campaign can either inflate spend or delay time-sensitive offers.
Where your mail is going affects logistics, delivery timelines, and overall cost.
Your flexibility around delivery windows determines your ability to optimize.
Format affects not just look and feel, but also how mail is classified and priced.
How you print and bundle mail impacts production timelines and fulfillment capacity. How mail is grouped and routed for production dramatically affects speed, cost, and flexibility.
When you focus on the areas you can control, you open pathways to streamline execution, reduce complexity, and increase the impact of every mailpiece.
Align your volume to audience value and segmentation so each send is targeted and purposeful. Flexible delivery windows let you shift mail class or timing to align with campaign objectives.
Pro tip: Plan delivery timelines early to give yourself flexibility in routing, batching, and scheduling across production and postal services.
Fragmented, small-batch production can slow fulfillment and strain workflows. Instead, consolidate similar mail across campaigns, regions, or business units to unlock better routing and processing.
Lob’s Print Delivery Network automatically routes mail to optimal facilities for volume and geography – maintaining SLAs while improving production efficiency.
Every year, USPS offers promotions that reward innovation in mail formats, digital integration, and engagement strategies. Aligning your campaigns to these promotions helps you enhance impact and take advantage of valuable incentives.
Here are three key promotions to use this year:
Integrated Technology Promotion
Informed Delivery Promotion
First-Class Mail Incentive (launching in September 2025)
Bring your creative vision to life with seamless design-to-mail workflows. Integrate your favorite design tools to quickly turn your custom designs into personalized, high-quality direct mail—without any coding or manual adjustments.
Save time by triggering campaigns automatically from your CRM or marketing platform
Instead of manually uploading lists or starting production tasks, automation sends campaigns based on customer actions, whether it’s onboarding, renewal reminders, or loyalty rewards.
See Lob’s direct mail integrationsImprove visibility by automating reporting dashboards
Real-time dashboards pull delivery, production, and engagement metrics automatically, freeing teams from manual tracking and making it easier to adjust campaigns midstream.
Direct mail works best when it’s focused on the audiences most likely to engage. Targeted campaigns aimed at high-intent segments consistently outperform broad, untargeted blasts, especially when every mailpiece needs to count.
Start with your campaign outcome in mind: Can you refine your audience to focus only on the highest-value segments?
Here are four ways to filter your audience:
Lob’s Lookalike Lists feature helps you find new prospects who share attributes with your highest-value customers, allowing you to expand your audience intelligently without sacrificing relevance.
Explore more hereMailing today requires agility, insight, and proactive strategy. With the right tools and approaches, you can optimize workflows, improve campaign delivery, and ensure every mailpiece contributes meaningfully to your marketing goals.
