Direct Mail Size

Businesses and individuals have equally depended on direct mail for communications for ages now. Although direct mail has become less significant for individual communication with the advancement of online communication methods, especially smartphones, direct mail remains a major communication channel.

Direct mails are now majorly used by businesses for communicating with their target audience, and this can include both past customers as well as potential customers.

Even though direct mail has been available for businesses for many decades now, many of us are still not fully aware of the direct mail sizes. Admittedly you don’t really have to be educated about direct mail sizes for sending out direct mails to your customers so long as you don’t mind needlessly paying extra money to your postal service provider.

However, businesses of all sizes want to optimize all their operations, including direct mail communication, so that they can have the highest ROI. Therefore, any business with an optimized direct mail process needs to educate itself about direct mail sizes.

Furthermore, finding the right postcard size for your direct mail campaign can be hard, and choosing the wrong one can even affect how your campaign works out.

Choosing one that is too small could end up the postcard getting overlooked by the target audience, and using one that is too big can end up costing you significantly more money than you intended.

Unlike what many may think, a lot of thought and deliberation goes into determining the right proportion for the direct mail businesses employ in a marketing campaign. This is especially true if the business regularly employs bulk mail as part of its marketing campaign. Then there is also the design to be considered along with the messaging and even the CTA. It is no wonder that choosing the appropriate size for the direct mail is critical for the success of your direct mail campaign.

This article aims to provide you with valuable insights that can help you choose the right direct mail sizes for your direct mail campaigns. Postcards are considered the most effective direct mail when it comes to pitching new ideas or products/services to potential customers.

We discuss the major postcard sizes used in direct mail campaigns and how each can be effectively used for your business needs. Furthermore, we also take a look at some of the commonly used envelope sizes for direct mail campaigns.

Canada Post Mail Classifications

The postal mail sent through Canada Post typically falls under one of the four groups. This includes Lettermails, Addressed and Unaddressed Admail, and Business Reply Mails.

Below we discuss the different mail classifications in Canada Post and their direct mail piece sizes.

1. Lettermail

Lettermail from Canada Post is an exclusive service that is ideal for sending your billing statements, personal messages, invoices, etc. Therefore, it is the ideal postal mail for businesses that wish to send their business documents, such as those mentioned before.

Lettermail offers the most convenient and cheapest way to send any kind of reports, letters, receipts, etc., via Canada Post. Furthermore, you can even send CDs and DVDs using Lettermail.

Lettermail is further classified into two, which are Standard Lettermail and Non-Standard or Oversized Mail. The Standard Lettermails are those which meet the size and weight requirements specified by Canada Post.

At the same time, the Non-Standard or Oversized Mails do not meet the size and weight requirements specified by the Canada Post but do not exceed the max. And min. Weight required by Canada Post.

Moving on to the direct mail sizes used in Lettermails, we have Standard Lettermails, Non-Standard Letter Mails, and finally, Oversized Lettermails.

2. Addressed Admail

Addressed Admail from the Canada Post is specifically designed for ads and is often the best friend for marketers from different industry verticals. It is the most popular choice of mail when it comes to direct marketing.

As the name suggests, the Addressed Admail is sent to specific addresses, and this means this is only used when you have a dedicated target list. It would be best for businesses to make use of an advanced address verification tool like PostGrid to ensure the deliverability of their marketing mail.

Your direct mail needs to satisfy one or more of the criteria listed below to be classified as an Addressed Admail:

• The mailpiece is used to promote the sale/use of a product or service
• The mailpiece is a report on financial performance which is mainly aimed for promotional purposes
• The mailpiece is used to ask for any form of donations or contributions

The AdCard from Canada Post is the preferred choice for businesses who want to send out postcards for their marketing purposes. The AdCard is functionally the same as a regular postcard except that it is specifically used for marketing purposes by businesses. The standard size for a typical Machinable AdCard is 8.5″ x 4.69″ or 119.06mm x 215.9mm, with the former being the Adcard’s length and the latter being the width.

Sometimes marketers also tend to use panelled Adcards so that they can accommodate more extensive details on the product or service that they are trying to sell. When it comes to panelled AdCards, there are mainly three options available for businesses. This includes Single Panel, Double Panel Adcard, and Triple Panel Adcard. The names are self-explanatory when it comes to panelled Adcard, and below, we discuss the direct mail sizes of the different Paneled AdCards.

3. Unaddressed Admail

As you can figure out from the name, the unaddressed Admail are basically the same as Admails, except they are not targetted to a particular audience like the Addressed Admails. Unaddressed Admail typically includes printed matter or product samples that are not specifically addressed to anyone. Unaddressed Admail generally targets specific geographical areas, which can be taken at a local or national level based on your unique business and its marketing requirements.

Businesses usually use advanced direct mail automation tools like PostGrid with geocoding capabilities to target their audience better. Features like geocoding enable you to better understand the targetted area and its demographics, which ultimately enables you to create better marketing strategies for your business. The Unaddressed Admail allows you to convey direct messages to local areas as precise as single postal routes, apartments or farms, or businesses.

Unaddressed Admail generally includes everything from flyers, cards, single sheets, catalogues, brochures, envelopes, magazines, co-op mailings, and much more. It is also worth noting that Unaddressed Admail is the most economical mode of advertising through the mail. Furthermore, you should also note that the sizes apply to the residential and business distributions. Below we take a look at the direct mail sizes for Unaddressed Admail.

4. Business Reply Mail

The Business Reply Mail is popular among Canadian businesses as a proven response vehicle. The business reply mail consists of cards that can be used with or without an envelope. Since BRM can be sent with and without envelopes, it is important to get a proper idea about the direct mail sizes for the postcards and the envelope. A significant highlight of this type of mail is that there is no cost to the consumer.

With Business Reply Mail, you need only pay for items that are returned to you. Furthermore, Canada Post even provides you with the capability to set up your Business Reply Mail artwork online, and you can do this quickly with ease. Below given is the maximum and minimum size required for BRM postcards and envelopes.

Businesses that hope to employ direct mail for their business operations, especially for marketing purposes, must make it a point to be informed of direct mail sizes. Canada Post has different classifications for its mailing services, and it is essential to understand this classification.

Furthermore, businesses must be aware of the direct mail sizes of different mail types, including Lettermail, Addressed Admail, Unaddressed Admail, and Business Reply Mail. Furthermore, it is also vital that you have the right tools for the job if you want to create and execute successful direct mail campaigns.

Businesses must turn to advanced direct mail automation tools like PostGrid to optimize their direct mail operations. Advanced tools such as PostGrid come equipped with features such as geocoding, bulk-address verification, and much more, which can effectively be used to streamline direct mail campaigns.

Furthermore, the address verification capability offered by PostGrid enables you to make sure that the addresses you have are accurate and deliverable by Canada Post. You can even integrate the PostGrid API to implement the address autofill feature so that you can ensure the quality of the data right from the point of collection.