Advertising mail is a form of direct advertising where printed materials are delivered through the mail service to a target demographic. It is also known as direct or bulk mail, or by the pejorative “junk mail” among consumers who dislike advertising mail. Many postal services allow companies to negotiate special rates for mail handling and may use this to generate revenues to maintain operations. In regions where postal services are struggling to compete with package services and other methods of communication, bulk mail rates can be a good source of income.
In advertising mail, a company can include coupons, promotional compact discs, fliers, and a variety of other information. It may vary in size from a simple postcard announcing the opening of a new store to a large catalog. Advertisers have a number of options for determining which demographic to target.
Some may deliver bulk materials to a postal service and ask mail carriers to insert a circular into every mail and post office box. It is usually not legal for anyone other than a mail carrier to put materials into a mailbox, so companies must pay the post service to deliver their advertising materials. The company pays a bulk rate based on the number of materials. Others may rely on a mailing list to send advertisements to suitable customers, and can also buy a mailing list that contains members of a demographic of potential interest, like members of a specific church or customers with high credit ratings.
Companies use advertising mail to solicit donations of funds, orders for products and services, and signups for things like credit and rewards cards. One concern with advertising mail raised by critics is that it can create a risk of identity theft. If mail is misdelivered or the recipient throws it out without looking closely, another party could use it to apply for credit or engage in other activities. Additionally, advertising mail generates a large volume of waste material and can be an environmental problem.
Some nations allow postal customers to opt out of advertising mail. They fill out paperwork asking not to receive advertising, and this can include solicitations from nonprofits. Mail from political organizations is usually not subject to such bans, depending on the law about campaign advertising in the region. Some customers may also post notices requesting no bulk mail deliveries, so they only receive packages and first class mail directly addressed to them.
