What is the difference between EDDM and direct mail?

EDDM (Every Door Direct Mail) delivers a mail piece to every address on the USPS carrier routes you select — no mailing list and no addresses required. Targeted direct mail uses a purchased or in-house list to mail specific people by name and address, so you can filter by demographics, purchase history, or business type.

Is EDDM cheaper than targeted direct mail?

Per piece, yes. EDDM Retail postage is roughly 20–25 cents per piece with no list cost and no addressing. Targeted first-class or standard mail typically runs 35–70 cents per piece once you add postage, list rental, and addressing. Targeted mail often wins on cost per response because far less of the run is wasted.

What size does an EDDM postcard have to be?

EDDM pieces must exceed one of these: 6.125 inches high, 11.5 inches long, or 0.25 inches thick, and can be no larger than 12 x 15 inches. The most common sizes are 6.5 x 9, 8.5 x 11, and 6 x 12 inches.

Can I use EDDM for B2B marketing?

EDDM works for B2B only when your prospects are geographically clustered, such as an industrial park or a downtown business district. If your ideal customer is defined by industry, company size, or job title rather than location, a targeted list will waste far less of your budget.

EDDM vs. Targeted Direct Mail: Which to Use

Quick answer

Use EDDM when your customers are anyone nearby: restaurants, salons, dental practices, home services, gyms, grand openings, and seasonal promotions.
Use targeted direct mail when your customer is a specific type of person or business: past buyers, high-income homeowners, a given industry, or a purchased demographic list.

How each one works

EDDM (Every Door Direct Mail)

You pick USPS carrier routes on a map. Every residence — and optionally every business — on those routes gets your piece. There's no mailing list, no addresses printed, and no permit required for EDDM Retail. Bundles are dropped at the local post office serving those routes.

Targeted direct mail

You start with a list: your own customer file, or a rented list filtered by age, income, homeownership, SIC code, employee count, or purchase behavior. Each piece is addressed individually and mailed first-class or standard.

Side-by-side comparison

Targeting: EDDM is geographic only. Targeted mail can filter by nearly any demographic or firmographic attribute.
Postage: EDDM Retail runs roughly 20–25¢ per piece. Targeted standard and first-class mail typically runs 35–70¢ per piece.
List cost: None for EDDM. Rented lists usually cost 5–15¢ per name.
Minimums: EDDM Retail caps at 5,000 pieces per ZIP code per day. Targeted mail has no practical cap and can go as small as a few hundred.
Personalization: EDDM cannot address a recipient by name. Targeted mail supports variable data — names, offers, even map directions from their address to your door.
Waste: EDDM reaches everyone, including people who will never buy. Targeted mail reaches fewer people, more of whom fit.

Cost per response beats cost per piece

EDDM is almost always cheaper to send. That doesn't make it cheaper to succeed. Mailing 5,000 EDDM postcards at 45¢ all-in (print + postage) costs about $2,250. If 0.5% respond, that's 25 responses at $90 each. Mailing 1,200 targeted pieces at 95¢ all-in costs $1,140. If 2% respond, that's 24 responses at $48 each — half the cost, for half the spend.

The math flips whenever your product has broad local appeal. A pizza shop doesn't need a demographic filter; everyone within two miles eats. In that case EDDM's low per-piece cost wins outright.

Design and size rules

EDDM pieces have to exceed at least one of these dimensions: 6.125″ high, 11.5″ long, or 0.25″ thick — and stay under 12″ × 15″. Common sizes we print are 6.5 × 9, 8.5 × 11, and 6 × 12. Each piece needs an EDDM Retail indicia and a clear address block area reading "Local Postal Customer" or similar.

Targeted mail has no oversize requirement, so standard 4 × 6 and 5 × 7 postcards qualify for lower postcard postage rates. It does need an address block, IMb barcode clearance, and CASS-certified addresses to earn presort discounts.

Choose in four questions

Can any household near you become a customer? → EDDM.
Do you already have a customer or lead list? → Targeted.
Is your offer worth more than a few hundred dollars per sale? → Targeted — you can afford the higher per-piece cost.
Are you announcing a location, opening, or neighborhood event? → EDDM.

You can run both

The strongest local campaigns we print do exactly that: EDDM to blanket the trade area and build recognition, then a targeted follow-up to the people who responded or who match the best-customer profile. The second piece converts far better because the first one already introduced you.

Get a quote

We print, address, and drop both types of mail. Tell us your ZIP codes or send us your list and we'll price the whole thing — printing, postage, and delivery.

Start an EDDM quote → or request a custom direct mail quote.