As we enter the second year of the United States Postal Service (USPS) 10-Year Plan, the USPS has filed for a mid-year postage increase for Market Dominated products. The increase averages 6.5% across First Class, Marketing Mail, Periodicals, Package Services and Special Services. Flat rate mail, Periodicals and Packages will have a higher average rate due to the fact they are not meeting the cost associated with delivery. The USPS call these products "Under Water". The USPS has the authority to add an additional 2% increase above the 6.5% until these products are covering delivery costs.

The 2022 USPS Promotions Calendar has been published and there are a few changes to note from previous years. The great news is the amount of the available discounts is higher for a number of the promotions. My 2021 USPS promotions blog explains each of the promotions, so I will leave those details out, but I have included a link below each promotion that will take you to their resource pages. Let's review them individually by promotion and registration dates.

The first coupon was issued by Coca-Cola back in 1888. Surprisingly, coupons have endured the test of time to be a high-performing marketing tactic for more than a century.

The 2021 Holiday Shipping dates have been released. The USPS no longer has Parcel Airlift Mail (PAL) and Space Available Mail (SAM) services available. I would advise that you ship out packages as early as possible as this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, as people will do less traveling for the holidays. This means more packages will be in the mail stream. The dates to ship out packages to Military Bases is listed below.

The United States Postal Service (USPS) recently provided an update on their Informed Delivery program. More than 42.2 million users have now signed up for an account to get a view of what's coming to their mailbox each day. That's a 24% national household saturation rate. A total of 111,475 mail campaigns have been sent using the Informed Delivery add-on digital service.

The United States Postal Service (USPS) is helping mailers by increasing the maximum size of a presorted or automated First-Class postcard to 6 inches high by 9 inches wide. The new size goes into effect on August 29^th, 2021 with the new postage rate increase.

As part of their new 10-Year Plan, the United States Postal Service (USPS) has filed for a mid-year postage increase for Market Dominated products. The increase averages 6.8% across First Class, Marketing Mail, Periodicals, Package Services and Special Services. Flat rate mail and Packages will have a higher average rate due to the fact they are not meeting the cost associated with delivery. The USPS call these products "under water."

A non-profit's annual appeal is a critical campaign to sustain their good works. Here are six techniques you can consider that have led to improved results in recent campaigns:

Research has found that consumers crave a personalized advertising experience and that 71% of respondents prefer ads tailored to interests and shopping habits.

Personalization increases the relevance of a direct mail piece, which in turn increases the likelihood that it will resonate with a prospect and they will respond to it.

The USPS has received permission to move ahead with six postage promotions for mailers this year. The 2021 promotions are similar to the past two year's promotions. The promotions for First Class Mail are Earned Value and Personalized and Preprinted Color Transpromo. The Emerging & Technology and the Informed Delivery promotions can use either First Class Mail or Marketing Mail, while the Tactile, Sensory & Interactive Engagement and Mobile Shopping promos are only for Marketing Mail.