Side by side
| EDDM | Addressed direct mail | |
|---|---|---|
| Who gets it | Every address on the routes you pick | Only the people on your list |
| A list needed? | No. No names and addresses on the pieces | Yes: your customers, or a purchased or rented list |
| Targeting | By route: age, household size and income from Census data | By person: purchase history, interest, anything on your list |
| Personalisation | None. Personal information may not be included | Names, personal offers, variable text |
| Permit | None for EDDM Retail | Usually a permit and annual fees for Marketing Mail rates |
| Postage (letter or flat, before printing and list) | EDDM Retail flat: $0.260 | Commercial Marketing Mail prices by shape, presort and entry point. See the letters, cards and flats tables in Price List Notice 123 |
| Tracking | Codes, phone numbers, QR (no USPS tracking) | The same, and each recipient is known |
The EDDM Retail price is from USPS Price List Notice 123; addressed postage depends on the piece, its entry point and presort. EDDM Retail is flats only (see the size rules); addressed mail can be letter-size.
Which one fits
- You want new customers in your area: EDDM. You do not know who they are, which is the point.
- You want to bring back customers you already have: addressed mail to your own list. USPS’s 2025 survey found recipients very likely to respond to 25% of advertising mail from companies they already buy from, against 3% from prospects, a stated likelihood, not a measured response.
- Both: a common approach (our note) is EDDM to find new customers and addressed mail to keep the ones you have.
We also run data-driven, addressed mailings from the same shop at Smart direct mail.