Plug in your numbers. Get an honest projection of cost, response rate, revenue, and profit. No fluff, no email gate, no "request a demo."
| Pieces mailed | — |
| Responders (response rate × qty) | — |
| Buyers (conversion × responders) | — |
| Revenue (buyers × avg sale × LTV) | — |
| Gross profit (revenue × margin) | — |
| − Campaign cost (qty × cost per piece) | — |
| Net profit | — |
Inspired Design handles the print + mail for small businesses in Southern California. Get a real, custom quote for your campaign — including design, list, and EDDM routing — within 24 hours.
The DMA's most recent multi-year average is around 4.4% for house lists (people who already know you) and 0.9% for cold prospect lists. For most small-business campaigns to a targeted local list, plan on 1–2% as a realistic baseline. Anything above 3% is excellent.
For USPS Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM), postage alone is roughly $0.21 per piece. Add printing — postcards run $0.15–$0.40 each depending on size and quantity — for an all-in cost of around $0.40–$0.80 per piece. Letters and flyers are higher. The calculator defaults to $0.75 to give you a conservative number.
The most common culprits are (1) a too-cold list, (2) low average sale value, or (3) no real LTV. Direct mail rarely pays off on a one-and-done $20 sale. It works best for businesses with $100+ tickets, repeat customers, or service offerings where one mailed lead converts into months of work.
Response rate is the percentage of mailed pieces that generate any kind of inbound action — calls, web visits, walk-ins. Conversion rate is how many of those responders actually turn into paying customers. A 2% response with a 40% conversion is way better than a 5% response that doesn't close.
Every Door Direct Mail is a USPS program that lets you mail a flyer or postcard to every address on a chosen postal route without buying a mailing list. It's the cheapest way for a local small business to blanket a neighborhood. Ideal for restaurants, salons, contractors, and seasonal services.
It uses the standard direct-mail unit economics model used in the industry — pieces × response × conversion × ticket × margin − cost. The numbers are only as good as your inputs, but the math is the same one a marketing agency would use. For a refined estimate tailored to your actual offer, list, and market, request a quote and we'll model it together.