For my clients in the USA, mailer postcards either using EDDM or through their own bulk mailing permits have been a super popular way for them to get their name and message out to potential or current customers. They are probably the number one thing I create and I love designing them for my clients in Orange County, California, and beyond! I’ve designed dozens and dozens of these mailer postcards for businesses in different industries. Today, I thought we’d chat about the 3 things that must be on them or the post office won’t send them.
Indicia (say In-Dish-Ee-Ya)
An indicia is a replacement for the traditional stamp. For EDDM or other promotional postcards. It usually appears as a white square on your mailer postcard. It has information about the sender’s mailing permit. It must be on your mailer postcard and needs to be larger than 0.5 inches (1.27 cm). It needs to be on the upper right-hand side of the back of the postcard in order for the post office to send them.
Mailing Panel
Sometimes called an address area, this is a 2 in by 4 inches (5.08 cm x 10.16 com) white rectangle located at the bottom right-hand side of the back of the postcard. This is a non-negotiable as this is where the address of the postcard’s recipient goes and the post office won’t mail your postcard without this. I know a lot of businesses think this makes the design “ugly”. It can definitely be a detractor from the overall flow of the design, but a good designer will be able to make the rest of the design work with this requirement.
Contact Information
This is important for multiple reasons, first off is the post office requires a return address on the top left corner of the back of the postcard. Secondly, you want your clients to be able to contact you. So despite the post office’s requirement, make sure all of your contact information shows up somewhere in the design. People need to be able to know how to get in touch with you if they’re interested in your offer. In addition to the required return address, have your phone number, website, or any other type of contact info you need
By the way, if you loved this tip and you want tips customized to your business, Grab your FREE 30 minute 1:1 Getting to Know You Strategy Session. Each session is full of tips tailored for your business to help you now. I do a very limited number of these sessions each month and these can only be scheduled through email, so if you want one, email me today! Let’s chat about how branding and design can get your business where you want it to be! Talk to you soon!