Honest comparison
EDDM vs. targeted direct mail
Both put real mail in real mailboxes. The difference is who gets it: EDDM reaches every home in a neighborhood, targeted mail reaches selected homes across a whole market. We sell both — so here's the honest version of when each one wins.
EDDM (saturation)
Every Door Direct Mail is a USPS program: your postcard goes to every mailbox on selected postal routes. No addresses, no names — you're buying coverage of a neighborhood.
- • Cheapest cost per piece (ours: $0.86 down to $0.66 all-in)
- • Reaches everyone — including people who'll never buy
- • Best when most households could plausibly become customers
- • Typically a one-time buy, repeated when it works
Targeted direct mail
Specific homes get your offer because something about them says they're likely to need you. Our contractor program scores and ranks every home in your markets through our proprietary lead-qualification process, then mails the top homes — the same ones — every cycle.
- • Higher cost per piece, far fewer wasted pieces
- • Only reaches homes worth reaching for your trade
- • Best when a small share of homes drives all the value
- • Subscription with repeated touches — how big tickets close
| EDDM | Targeted | |
|---|---|---|
| Who gets your mail | Every mailbox in chosen neighborhoods | Only homes ranked most likely to need you |
| Cost per piece | $0.66–$0.86 all-in | Higher — you pay for the qualification, not just the stamp |
| Waste | High by design — renters, recent buyers, non-fits all get one | Low — that's the entire point |
| Exclusivity | One business per neighborhood per category per month | Your reserved homes are yours alone for your whole term |
| Cadence | One-time drop; rebuy when it works | Same homes every cycle for 3–6 months — repeated touch |
| Fits best | Broad-appeal local businesses: dental, fitness, restaurants, salons… | Home-service trades with big tickets: roofing, HVAC, windows, siding… |
The one question that decides it
Could most households in a neighborhood plausibly become your customer this year? Everyone eats, gets haircuts, and has teeth — so a restaurant, salon, or dentist wastes little by mailing everyone, and EDDM's low cost per piece wins. But only a small share of homes will need a roof, a furnace, or new windows this year. For a $10,000-ticket trade, finding those homes is worth far more than cheap coverage of everyone else — which is why contractors do better paying more per piece to reach dramatically fewer, better homes.
Home-service contractor?
Roofing, HVAC, windows, siding, electrical, water heater, or pool service — see the qualified-lead program built for your trade.
Or read: direct mail for contractorsLocal business with broad appeal?
Dental, med spa, fitness, restaurant, salon, and 17 more categories — EDDM with smart neighborhood recommendations.
Or read: the complete EDDM guide