How to Save on Postage When Rates Increase in July

USPS postage rates are set to increase on July 10, 2022. This is a large increase. Our last postage rate increase, which was also a historic, was in August of 2021. It’s not all bad news since direct mail is still very effective and driving response. We just have to get more creative to save on postage. So, what do the new rates mean for you?

Here’s a look at the new rates. Sometimes you will send mail at rates other than nonprofit, so those new rates are listed as well.

Nonprofit Mail

• Mixed automated area distribution center (AADC) letters will increase to $0.207 each.
• Mixed area distribution center (ADC) flats will increase to $0.648 each.

First-Class Regular

• 1 oz. stamped letter-size pieces will increase to $0.60 each.
• 1 oz. metered letter-size will increase to $0.57 each.
• 1 oz. flats-size pieces will remain the same at $1.20 each.

First-Class Presorted

• Mixed AADC letters will increase to $0.515 each.
• Mixed AADC cards will increase to $0.372 each.
• Mixed ADC presorted flats will increase to $0.934 each.

Standard Mail

• Mixed AADC letters will increase to $0.349 each.
• Mixed ADC flats will increase to $0.854 each.

The biggest takeaway from these rate changes is that flats are growing more and more expensive. Flats do have better ROI than letter-size pieces though — even at increased postage — so make sure you take that into consideration before you choose to no longer send flat-size mail.

You want your donation requests to stand out in the mailbox, but you also want to be cost effective. You can send a 6x11” envelope at letter rates with a color image to stand out while still getting letter postage rates. You just need to get creative to find what works best for your budget.

The U.S. Postal Service is offering six promotional discounts. Do you have a planned strategy to not only save money on postage but really stand out and increase your donations? Check out the special programs with the USPS to save on your postage in 2022. There are a variety of programs to choose from, so you should be able to find at least one that is a good fit for you. If you want, you can actually participate in all six.

Direct mail postage rates are rising, but you can still get great results. Consumers like and respond to direct mail. There are many things you can do to keep your costs under control. Here are the top three:

1. Clean your list of bad addresses. Use a move update service like NCOA to make sure you have current addresses, and suppress deceased people.
2. Design with postal regulations in mind. This way you don’t get stuck paying extra postage. Your mail service provider can check your design before you print.
3. Segment your list to select the right targets for your message. Sending the right offer to the right person is key to increasing your response rates.

Don’t let the postage rate increases scare you away from this important fundraising channel. Direct mail has the highest ROI of all marketing channels when done correctly. On average the postage rates increased by less than a penny per piece so they are not going to drastically increase your overall direct mail budgets, but it is important to account for the additional postage funds. It’s time to get creative and send direct mail that is interesting as well as cost effective. Are you ready to get started?