Want to jump straight to the answer? The best direct mail service for most people is PostcardMania.
Direct mail is an effective and affordable way to drive brand awareness and generate fresh leads. With it, you can put your message in people’s hands and target the streets and neighborhoods that matter to your success.
It’s an excellent opportunity for both new and established businesses to reach new consumers who otherwise may not see a company’s digital presence.
The 8 Best Direct Mail Services of 2023
Best of 2023: PostcardMania, VistaPrint, PsPrint, Gunderson Direct, PrintingForLess, NextDayFlyers, Cactus Mailing, and SaaSMQL.
There are dozens of direct mail services out there, so I narrowed it down to my top 8 using an an-depth methodology. Along the way, three providers stood out above the rest.
My favorite options for 2023 are:
- PostcardMania — Best for multi-channel marketing campaigns
- VistaPrint — Most postcard designs
- PsPrint — Most options for mailer type
Whether you’re looking for a wide range of designs, consistency across all of your marketing channels, or non-traditional items, my top three are great for most.
All of the companies on my list will print, stamp, and deliver your flyers, postcards, or brochures for you. Some services go further by providing design templates and helping you create a list of viable addresses.
Below, you’ll find in-depth reviews of the benefits, drawbacks, and use cases for each of my top options. Along with my top three headline recommendations, I’ve reviewed a handful other other direct mail services that excel in particular niches too.
Best Direct Mail Services Reviews
PostcardMania — Best for Multi-Channel Marketing Campaigns
- Postcard & brochure mailers
- Omnichannel marketing solutions
- 80+ industries served
- Direct, EDDM, and Bulk Mailing
PostcardMania is great for high-volume postcard direct mail due to its excellent bulk discounts. It’s also a great option if you are looking to make direct mail one of many marketing channels.
Let’s take a look at the traditional direct mail options first. PostcardMania offers the following services:
- Postcard printing
- Postcard design
- Direct mailing
- Bulk mailing
- Mailing lists
- Every door direct mail (EDDM)
While it offers stellar postcard and brochure mailing campaign offerings, where the company really stands out is with its Everywhere Small Business product.
This is a multi-channel marketing effort that includes direct mail. In addition to mail, you’ll also benefit from targeted Facebook follow-up advertisements, Instagram ads, Google follow-ups, and call tracking. It even includes YouTube ads. Everything follows the same design as the mailers, giving your customers the same message throughout all your ads.
The Everywhere Small Business product tracks your direct mailing pieces using a proprietary barcoding system. This helps you figure out where the cards are in the mail, so you can prepare for new customers to arrive.
PostcardMania claims to have more than 105,000 business customers. On its website, it highlights many case studies from these customers, helping you understand how PostcardMania’s experience can potentially help your business.
PostcardMania targets the people who receive your promotions in the mail across digital advertising channels. It brings multiple campaigns together for lead generation and brand awareness.
Pricing for high-volume standard-sized postcards starts at just $0.05 per piece. You likely won’t find a better bulk rate in the industry.
For a limited time, you can get 1,000 postcards printed free with your first Postcard Mania order.
VistaPrint — Most Postcard Designs
- Postcard mailing service
- Buy targeted mailing lists
- Promotional products
- Wide range of services
VistaPrint is one of the most popular printing solutions out there. While it’s best known for business card printing service, it also offers a great direct mail postcard service.
It includes more than 1,000 postcard designs too—so it’ll likely have something that’s right for you and your brand.
Simply design your card, send in your list of addresses, and VistaPrint will handle the rest. VistaPrint has both standard and oversized postcards.
One other service I really like is that you can buy a targeted list directly through this platform as well. These lists can be targeted to audiences by demographic data, like income, hobbies, new homeowners, or even B2B-targeted industries.
VistaPrint is great because it has so many other products and services. No matter your marketing needs, VistaPrint has you covered. Some popular categories include:
- Promotional products
- Labels and stickers
- Bags and Clothing
- Signage
- Trade shows
- Marketing materials
- Business cards
Having promotional products available can simplify things for you versus using multiple companies for creating mailings and promotional products. VistaPrint delivers packaged candies, clothing, water bottles, pens, device chargers, and more products. You can use the mailer to promise promotional gifts to new customers, using VistaPrint for everything.
If you want your mailing service from the same provider as your promotional products and printing needs, VistaPrint puts it all in one place.
PsPrint — Most Options for Mailer Type
- Wide range of products
- Quick turnaround
- Create a mailing list
- Manage everything online
PsPrint offers a wide range of products available for direct mail.
In fact, it offers 10 types of mailers to send to prospective customers. That’s much more than other services which often offer just one or two mailer options.
PsPrint’s products include:
- Brochures
- Door hangers
- Flyers
- Magnets
- Newsletters
- Postcards
- Rack cards
- Sales sheets
- Stickers
- Gift labels
This is a huge variety of direct mailers they’ll send for you. It’s also worth mentioning they offer mailing list processing (CASS certification, inkjet addressing, and postal resorting), foil stamping, die cutting, and even a graphic designer to work with you to get exactly the look you want.
If making use of eco-friendly printing services is important to your business, PsPrint has multiple options available. PsPrint offers recycled paper stock for your mailings, if desired, as well as soy-based inks that still deliver the vibrant colors you want to see.
Additionally, PsPrint has printing facilities in a few different locations spread across the United States. This type of setup allows PsPrint to reduce the distance over which your products must travel, reducing the fossil fuel impact of receiving your order.
PsPrint offers a quick turnaround as well. In just two to five days after printing is complete, your order can be mailed.
The entire process can also be managed online. Just select your product, upload your artwork, and attach your mailing list. PsPrint will even send you extra prints that weren’t mailed. The “overs” are free if they fit into one box.
For those of you who don’t have a mailing list, PsPrint will help you create one in less than 15 minutes. Just answer some questions related to your target market based on age, income, ZIP Code, and other details.
If you want to get your hands on a finished product before you make a decision, sign up for a free Sample Kit from PsPrint.
More Great Direct Mail Services
Gunderson Direct — Best for Hands-Off Marketing Campaigns
- Full-service marketing agency
- Free consultations
- Fully managed campaigns
- Customized services
Gunderson Direct is a full-service direct marketing agency. That means its representatives will work with you to create a fully customized direct mail campaign that’s perfect for your brand.
These reps give you everything you need to get the most out of your direct mail campaigns. Tap into their expertise to create mail campaigns that complement and work in conjunction with your marketing strategy.
You’ll start with a consultation with the Gunderson Direct team. As a full-service agency, Gunderson makes sure every aspect of your program is optimized for success—from testing to data, messaging, and offers.
From that consultation, you’ll get all the insights you need to build a successful program.
Gunderson Direct can help you create direct mail collateral from your in-house database as well as external sources. Its award-winning design team will provide you with targeted, print-ready creative and its production expertise ensures you’re mailing out high-quality material.
From start to finish, the company will take care of most every aspect of your marketing campaign for you, making sure to consult with you as needed to make sure it gets the results you’re looking for.
These services even include in-depth reporting and analytics so you can measure your success. That’s a rare offering when it comes to direct mail services.
Get in touch with the Gunderson Direct team to get a custom quote for your company’s direct mail needs.
PrintingForLess — Best for Targeting Specific Neighborhoods
- Excellent EDDM service
- Custom free printing samples
- Free templates
- Great for political campaigns
>> Compare Quotes
PrintingForLess is a well-known and reliable direct mail service.
It’s a one-stop shop for both printing and mailing.
The company offers a wide range of tools like free templates, direct mail tips, and integration with marketing automation platforms. They also have web-to-print for employees so they have easy access to sales and marketing collateral.
Where it really stands out is in the Every Door Direct Mailing (EDDM) service. This service helps you to determine a specific neighborhood or region that you want to target and make sure your mailers get to those houses.
This is great for promoting your restaurant or retail business’s opening day, local promotions, and other location-specific advertisements.
Printingforless helps ensure your direct mail campaigns reach the right audience.
While a few other services on this list offer EDDM (such as NextDayFlyers), none of them offer it with the amount of variety of mailer types that PrintingForLess gives you.
This brand also has a lot of experience working with political campaigns to make sure their mailers get out to constituents and potential voters. If you’re holding an elected office (or aspire to), I highly recommend PrintingForLess.
Another thing I like about PrintingForLess is that their people really stand behind their product. If your mailing and printing aren’t on time, they’ll fully reimburse you for your incurred costs. That eliminates a lot of the anxiety that surrounds big marketing projects.
Before you start producing and mailing at scale, PFL will give you custom free printing samples. You can choose from different paper types, weights, coatings, binding options, and effects to see which one is the best for your business.
>> Compare QuotesNextDayFlyers — Best for Fast Turnaround Times
True to its name, NextDayFlyers will give you an incredibly quick turnaround to make sure you get your mailers out quickly.
In fact, the company offers next business day printing turnaround. Although you will pay extra for this premium service, it’s an excellent option for time-sensitive offers and campaigns.
With NextDayFlyers, your company can send:
- Postcards
- Brochures
- Mail rack cards
- Custom products
NextDayFlyers will store your inventory, verify addresses, presort your products, and send your mail. You can also rent mailing lists for campaigns as well.
Navigating through this platform is easy. Simply choose the size of your flyer, customize the cardstock, add a gloss or matte coating, and select your quantity. You can create artwork directly on their website or upload your own file.
You’ll see the cost for your direct mail campaign in real time as you continue to make changes.
>> Compare QuotesCactus Mailing — Best for Coordinated Google Ad Campaigns
- Direct mail and call tracking
- Excellent Smart Marketing tool
- Targeted mailing lists
- Trusted by 17,000+ businesses
>> Compare Quotes
Cactus Mailing is a simple and straightforward direct mail service that offers great postcard and brochure mailers—along with a unique offering focused on Google Ads.
Top services include:
- Direct mail postcards
- Direct mail brochures
- Targeted mailing lists
- Mail piece design
- Call tracking
Where this brand really shines, though, is in its Smart Marketing product. This service helps you create a coordinated Google Ads campaign that compliments your direct mail campaign, driving better results. Doing so will increase response rates which boosts both leads and sales.
This program includes Google display ads along with landing pages to support your direct mail postcards and brochures.
This differs from the multi-channel offering of PostcardMania because Cactus focuses solely on Google Ads. PostcardMania offers Facebook and Instagram ads along with follow-ups.
Some of the top industries using Cactus Mailing include dentists, restaurants, salons, spas, churches, real estate, retail, and fitness. Cactus excels at creating beautiful brochures to promote your business.
Another reason to consider Cactus Mailing is its great specials when you combine more than one service. The company runs these specials regularly, so you always have a chance to save.
>> Compare QuotesSaaSMQL — Best for SaaS Lead Generation
- Focused on SaaS businesses
- Send packages to your prospects
- Create leads & opportunities
- Stand out against the competition
>> Compare Quotes
SaaSMQL offers account-based demand generation for SaaS businesses. This is extremely unique compared to the other direct mail services on my list.
If your organization falls into this category, SaaSMQL should be a top choice to consider.
In most cases, direct mail isn’t associated with SaaS. But SaaSMQL has revolutionized the way you approach lead generation strategy by using direct mail to create leads and opportunities with mid-market and enterprise-level prospects.
One of its clients generated more than 50 qualified meetings using a direct mail campaign in less than two months. This generated over $2 million.
This success is attributable to SaaSMQL’s unique approach. Instead of just sending a flyer or a postcard, SaaSMQL sends packages to businesses.
This stands out compared to the hundreds of emails, calls, and junk mail these recipients get on a daily basis. Nobody is going to throw a package in the garbage without a second thought.
In addition to direct mail, SaaSMQL helps you with other account-based marketing campaigns and analytics. It has everything you need for SaaS demand generation across multiple channels.
>> Compare QuotesHow to Choose the Best Direct Mail Service For Your Business
Every direct mail service is unique. Finding the best one for your business isn’t impossible to do on your own, but can be a challenge. That’s why I created this list.
I studied five key areas to see how each service stacked up and narrowed down my choices based on the results. Use these criteria to find the right service for your specific business needs.
Industry-Tailored Solutions
A local mom-and-pop restaurant isn’t going to need the same services as a multi-million dollar B2B company. That’s why they shouldn’t go to the same place for direct mail services.
Research the industries each direct mailer targets. For example, Gunderson Direct focuses on telemedicine, B2B companies, and financial advisors. SaaSMQL is, as the name would suggest, a great choice for SaaS companies.
PostcardMania, on the other hand, helps any business that relies on postcards and brochures as part of its marketing efforts. These include AC and heating, restaurants, roofing, and real estate, to name a few.
When researching direct mailing services, be sure to see who some of their past clients are, too. Do they have solutions to target your specific customers? Can they effectively promote your offerings? If not, they’re not the right service for you.
Mailer Varieties
You may have specific marketing needs today, but what if those evolve in the future? You want to find a direct mailer that gives you options.
Common mailer types include:
- Postcards
- Flyers
- Invitations
- Greeting cards
- Brochures
- Newsletters
- Catalogs
- Booklets
- Custom products
A postcard might be more than enough for your business to promote something simple like an upcoming event or sale. But if you want to send out more detailed information about your organization, a brochure or catalog might be more appropriate.
A service like Gunderson Direct offers a wider variety of offerings that include letters, brochures, and more. They’ll even work with you to help plan out the most effective direct mail campaign for your brand.
Less commonly, companies like SaasMQL even send packages via direct mail for certain business types. Finding a service with diverse offerings may help you keep the same service provider no matter how your marketing efforts expand.
Of course, the converse is true, too. Some services, like PostcardMania, are limited in their offerings—but they excel at what they do. If you only need postcards or brochures and don’t anticipate that need to change anytime soon, choosing a service that specializes in that area is another good strategy to follow.
Eye-Catching Designs
When performing a direct mail campaign, it’s vital to grab the attention of the recipient. Think about all the mailings you receive each day. Having an eye-catching mailing gives you a better chance of standing out in a crowded mailbox. The final product should:
- Have a pleasing design that enhances the message, rather than detracting from it.
- Provide an informative message that the recipient can understand it in a couple of seconds.
This can be a very tough balance to achieve. However, a trusted direct mail service can pull off this balance, all while maintaining the unique look and feel of your brand.
Some services offer industry-specific templates. For example, PostcardMania has specific postcard designs for realtors. Templates are a great starting point when you don’t have experience with graphic design.
Although some mailing companies dictate things like the size and paper quality of the mailer, others provide more versatility. If you have a specific vision of what your mailer should look like, you will want some options for size, finish of the paper, and print quality.
Ask the direct mail service company for examples and case studies. When you see examples of past designs the company did, it can help you figure out whether the company can match your ideas and expectations.
If you have a particular image that you want to include in your mailer, for example, the service must be able to match the print quality you need for that image.
Remember, though, that the service will be showcasing its best work through its case studies. If you have a small budget, you may not be able to afford to match the quality you see in the case study example.
It is important to note that sometimes the price for their graphic design services is separate from their direct mail service. For example, PostcardMania offers graphic design as a separate offering, while Gunderson Direct offers it as part of your whole package.
The wrong design choice can end up being a poor reflection of your business. So don’t gloss over this element as you’re comparing different mailing services side-by-side.
Supplemental Services
When your marketing efforts are coordinated and work together, they can have an even greater impact on your bottom line. The best direct mail service companies offer additional marketing products to help support your direct mail campaigns.
For example, PostCardMania also gives you an omnichannel marketing plan including Facebook, Instagram, and Google ads, along with call tracking, follow-ups, and mail tracking.
An offering like that can be very helpful to keep your marketing efforts centralized and focused, not to mention more cost-effective. With all your marketing handled by one company, you’re not juggling a ton of different companies and services at once, trying to make them all work together. You can avoid the typical headaches that scenario often brings.
This is also really useful if you’re running the type of business that requires multiple touch points before your audience converts. When people see your flyers, along with digital ads and phone calls, your brand awareness will start to skyrocket. Keeping all of this under one roof helps ensure that your branding and message are both consistent for each campaign.
VistaPrint can whip up a ton of really cool on-brand promotional swag for you, like handbags, hats, or whatever else you think people will use. The point is to get your company name out there beyond simple mailers.
Even if you don’t need every service a company offers today, it’s something to consider for your future plans.
Turnaround Time
This is not necessarily the most common element businesses look for in a direct mail service.
However, there are times when it can be important for businesses and brands to get mailers out to potential customers quickly (e.g. when you have a very time-sensitive promotion). Not to mention that if customers and prospects are receiving a mailer after a promotion has expired or come to an end, it’s a huge waste of money and reflects poorly on your business in the eyes of those recipients.
As such, turnaround time is a consideration I factored in when researching this list.
In terms of the timeline, you need to understand that direct mailing companies are really offering multiple services. First, there’s the design and printing element. But then those materials still need to be mailed out and delivered to customers.
Once printing is complete, mailing turnaround time typically ranges anywhere from next business day to ten business days.
You can usually pay extra to get your mailers out faster. But it’s better to find a direct mail service that works quickly at no additional cost.
Luckily, some direct mail campaigns are more time-sensitive than others, like NextDayFlyers which can turn around your mailers fast.
The Top Direct Mail Services in Summary
Direct mail works really well in many situations. It’s easy to lose sight of this when you’re focused on email, online advertisements, and other digital marketing tactics.
PostcardMania is the best direct mailing service for most businesses. Regardless of your budget, printing needs, or direct mail strategy, you can find what you’re looking for using the reviews and recommendations in this guide.
https://www.quicksprout.com/best-direct-mail-services/
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