When to send EDDM: picking the week, the season and the gap between drops

Start from the day you want calls

Most people plan a mailing forward. They order cards, wait for the boxes, then mail whenever the boxes arrive.

Flip it around. Pick the week you want the phone to ring, then work back to the drop day, the ship date and the day you approve the proof. With EDDM you carry the bundles to the Post Office yourself, so the drop day is fully in your hands.

Which day of the week to drop

A card that lands early in the week sits on the counter through the days people make plans. Many owners like to drop on a Monday or Tuesday for that reason.

Weekend arrivals are not wasted, but Saturday mail often gets sorted in a hurry. If your shop answers the phone on weekends, a Thursday drop that lands Friday or Saturday also works well.

Weeks to stay away from

Some weeks your card has to fight for attention. The weeks before Thanksgiving and Christmas bring catalogs, cards and bills, and your postcard sits at the bottom of a tall pile.

School breaks and summer holiday weeks are slow in a different way, because whole streets are away. Election season fills mailboxes with campaign mail in the final weeks before voting day. Plan around these, or make your card bigger and bolder if you must mail then.

Mail ahead of the need

People call when the need is fresh in their mind, so the card should land just before that moment. A lawn service mails in late winter, before the first mow. A heating company mails in early fall, before the first cold night.

Here are some rough starting points by trade:

• Roofers and gutter cleaners: after a storm season starts, and again in early fall.
• Pest control: early spring, before the ants and wasps show up.
• Tax preparers: the first weeks of the new year.
• Restaurants: any slow month, with an offer that ends before the busy season.
• Real estate agents: late winter, ahead of the spring listing rush.

How far apart to space repeat drops

One card rarely does the whole job. A second drop of the same card two to four weeks later reaches people who meant to call and lost the first one.

Closer than two weeks and the cards blur together. Wait longer than six weeks and the first card is long gone, so you are starting over. Keep the same offer and design for the repeat, so the second card feels familiar.

Print once, mail several times

Printing in one long run costs far less per card than several short ones. Our 6.5″ × 9″ postcard is $379 for 2,500 and $889 for 10,000, which brings the price per card under nine cents.

Order the larger run, keep the boxes dry, and mail a batch on each planned date. You pay USPS postage per drop, at the rate on usps.com that day.

Set the offer date to match the drop

Print an end date on the offer that falls three to five weeks after your last planned drop. That gives late readers time to act, and it stops the card from going stale.

If you plan a repeat drop, make sure the date still works for it. A card that lands with an expired offer does more harm than no card at all.

A sample eight-week plan

Week one, approve the proof. Week two, the cards arrive. Week three, drop the first half of the routes on a Tuesday.

Week five, drop the same routes again. Week six, mail the next neighborhood. The offer ends in week nine, and every unused card goes to the counter.

Want help fitting the plan to your trade and your town? Call 512-573-1977, and Corey will sketch the dates with you. You can price the whole run first in the EDDM cost calculator, or check that your size qualifies in the EDDM size checker.

Questions

What is the best day to drop an EDDM mailing?

Many owners drop on a Monday or Tuesday so the card lands early in the week. Pick a day when your phone is answered over the days that follow.

How often should I mail the same neighborhood?

Two to four weeks apart works well for a repeat drop of the same card. Wait longer than six weeks and most people have forgotten the first one.

When should a seasonal business mail?

A few weeks before the need starts. A lawn service mails in late winter and a heating company in early fall.

Is it cheaper to print all my mailings at once?

Yes. Our 6.5″ × 9″ postcard costs $379 for 2,500 and $889 for 10,000, so one long run costs far less per card than several short ones.