Solo or shared? Presorted or commingled?
The format decides the postage more than the design does. Here is how we choose between them, and why “solo” and “commingled” are not opposites.
- Decision 1
- The piece: what you mail, and whose offer is on it
- Decision 2
- The stream: how it reaches the post office
- Decided by
- The list, not habit
Two decisions, not one
A mail program makes two separate choices, and they are easy to run together. The first is the piece: what you mail, and whose offer is on it. The second is the stream: how the finished pieces are sorted and carried to the Postal Service. The piece decides what you are saying and what it costs to produce. The stream decides which postage discounts it earns.
The two combine freely. A solo mailer can be presorted and commingled; commingling never puts another advertiser’s offer in your envelope. Which pairing is cheapest depends on list size, mail class and how the pieces sort, so we run the list analysis first and show you the cents per piece both ways.
Decision 1
The piece: what you mail, and whose offer is on it
Formats we produce and mail, with the trade-off each one carries.
| Format | What it is | Choose it when | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo mailer | One brand, one offer, mailed individually and not combined with other companies or offers. | Targeting on purchase history, interests or location matters, and you want control of the branding, the message and who it reaches. | The postage is yours alone. Presort and commingling bring it down. |
| Shared mail | Several advertisers in one envelope or package. | Cost per household matters most and the audience is broad. | Reduces the cost of postage dramatically, but your message can be lost amidst other advertisers. |
| Catalog | A bound book of products and offers. | You need to show more than a smaller mailing can hold. | Much more expensive to produce and ship. |
| Postcard | A single printed card, no envelope. | Lead generation. | The size necessitates succinct language. |
| Sampling mailer | The product itself, in a box, carton or mailer, often with brochures, coupons or educational inserts. | Trial matters more than reach: you want the product in hand before the shelf. | Pack size and weight drive the postage, so we design the pack around the rate before we print it. |
Decision 2
The stream: how it reaches the post office
Unsorted mail, such as single-piece First-Class, pays standard prices; the options below are priced against it. Any format above can be presorted, and commingled on top when that earns a deeper discount. This decides which postage discounts the mail earns.
| Option | What happens | Choose it when | Effect on postage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Presorted | Sorted by destination ZIP code in our plant before it reaches the post office. | Almost always; commingling builds on it rather than replacing it. | Less USPS processing work, so lower postage than unsorted mail. |
| Commingled | Your mail combined with other clients’ mail headed to the same regional destination, in a single mail stream. Each client’s pieces stay sealed and separate. | Your volume is too small to earn deep discounts alone; national lists. | Combined volume reaches required quantities for reduced USPS rates, and the mail bypasses local SCFs and NDCs as often as possible. |
Mail entry
How the mail leaves our dock
We are approved for Optional Procedure, so mail can be verified and accepted at our plant and entered into the USPS mail stream without active USPS supervision. It does not change the rate; it saves transport and time, because the mail ships directly from our facility.
Targeting
Two ways to choose who receives it
Your list
Names and addresses from your customer or prospect file, cleaned and analyzed first. This is what makes personalization, and targeting on purchase history, interests and location, possible.
Every door on a route
Without a list, the USPS Every Door Direct Mail® (EDDM®) tool lets you target specific areas of interest. Our direct mail specialists coordinate large- and small-volume campaigns on your budget and timeline.
The questions that get mixed up
Which mail classes we send is answered on To the Mailbox.
General notes
If shared mail cuts postage, why mail solo?
Shared mail reduces the cost of postage dramatically, but your message can be lost amidst other advertisers. A solo mailer focuses attention on a single product without competing with other inventory or offers, and you control the branding, the message and who it reaches. When your volume is small, commingling earns deeper postage discounts without putting anyone else’s offer in your envelope.
Isn’t commingling the same as shared mail?
No. Shared mail puts several advertisers in one envelope or package. Commingling combines multiple client mailing projects into a single mail stream sent to the same regional destination; each client’s pieces stay sealed and separate, and your reader only sees yours. See how commingling works.
How we choose the format with you
Step 1: Send the list size and the in-home date
Add the format you have in mind and the mail class, if you know them.
Step 2: We analyze the list
Removing unverified addresses, incomplete information and outdated destinations, then the sort plan that decides the rate. See presort and list analysis.
Step 3: We price it both ways
You see the cents per piece for each realistic pairing of piece and stream, side by side.
Step 4: You choose; we run it
We produce the pieces in our lettershop, presort them, commingle them when that earns a deeper discount, and enter the mail from our own dock.
What we mail
Pieces we produce and mail
- Letters and flyers
- Postcards
- Catalogs
- Die-cut mailers
- Gift card mailers
- Mailers with scannable coupon codes
- Solo mailers
- Product sampling custom mailers
- Mailers with affixed cards, samples and promotional items
- Bespoke packaging and kits
Related
Read next
- USPS mail operations
Optional Procedure, commingling and presort, in full.
- Solo mailers
One brand, one offer, a targeted list.
- Lettershop services
The seven operations a mailpiece passes through.
- Product sampling programs
When the mailer carries the product itself.
- To the Mailbox
Direct mail, lettershop and sampling, from one plant.