Political Mail FAQs

Engaging voters in today’s noisy political landscape can be challenging. Choosing the most effective channels is critical to your success.  

Political mail remains a powerful channel and versatile tool that reaches and resonates across demographics. With its ability to precisely target voters, political mail can help your campaign authentically engage and connect with voters. In fact, 91% of surveyed consultants say targeting is a top advantage of campaign direct mail.¹

When integrated with traditional and digital political advertising channels, political mail bridges the gap between physical and digital touchpoints, helping increase voter engagement; 86% of surveyed political consultants found direct mail was strategically important in the last election.¹

Campaign direct mail is a reliable channel that helps campaigns of all shapes and sizes effectively reach voters. A recent study found that on average, approximately 75% of surveyed voters find political mail to be the best channel to learn about a candidate in local, statewide or nationwide elections—and even for referendums that will appear on the ballot.² Political mail is a highly effective medium to support any level of candidate, political campaign committee, referendum, or special election.

Want help?  Take advantage of the Campaign Mail Planner

Answer five simple questions to get a customized direct mail plan tailored to your campaign goals, budget, and target audience.

Work with a political mail expert

USPS political mail experts are on hand to help guide your success every step of the way.

Here are some best practices to help ensure your success.

Do:

• Start early. Be thoughtful as you plan each detail, such as who you want to reach, when you need to reach them, and what action you want voters to take once receiving your mail.
• Personalize your campaigns. Target voters with political mail that speaks to their geographic location, demographics, party affiliation, and ethnicities.
• Consider the impact of your design. Include eye-catching graphics, bold colors and fonts, and messaging that helps your constituents understand your candidate’s stance on local, national, and global issues.
• Measure your success. Track responses to measure the effectiveness of your political mail strategy so you know what’s working and what isn’t.
• Integrate digital innovations. A QR code^® and Personalized URLs enhance mail to help drive higher engagement to your other campaign resources like websites, social channels, or fundraising efforts.

Don’t:

• View campaign direct mail as a one-off.  Mail is not a siloed communication strategy. It can foster long lasting impressions by targeting voters with precision and reinforce credibility across channels, online and offline.
• Overwhelm voters. Sending too much mail or repetitive messaging makes them more likely to throw it away.³
• Forget to link your campaign direct mail to online experiences. And be sure to share mobile-friendly resources that voters can access through a QR code^® on their phone.
• Send political mail too close to an election.  Research shows that voters want and need time to process information and make a decision.³
• Use highly emotional or volatile messaging. Attacking your opponents can turn voters off and limit your opportunity to influence their decision.

If you’re new to campaign direct mail or just want a refresher, visit our Get Started page to learn the fundamentals or to sharpen your skills on how to deploy a successful, integrated, political mail campaign.

QR Code^® may not be compatible with all phone models and operating systems. QR Code^® is a registered trademark of Denso Wave Incorporated.

Campaign direct mail integrates well with other channels, such as email, social, and even emerging digital channels like Connected TV (CTV). When paired with the right media mix, direct mail can amplify the effectiveness. In fact, 40% of surveyed political consultants say an advantage of political mail is being able to link mail to other websites and digital resources.¹

Whether you’re running programmatic display ads, posting on billboards, or capturing voter attention on social media, political mail mirrors and reinforces what voters have seen across those platforms, helping enhance the memorability and credibility of your campaign. Carrying messages and visual treatments across mediums and driving to other channels through a QR code^® are all ways you can cohesively integrate mail into your current efforts.

QR Code^® may not be compatible with all phone models and operating systems. QR Code^® is a registered trademark of Denso Wave Incorporated.

Political direct mail is effective at every stage of a campaign, from introducing your candidate and generating awareness to fundraising and helping Get Out the Vote.

Recent post-election studies revealed that voters want to receive direct mail at least a few months before an election.² However, surveyed political consultants said that they find campaign direct mail to be most impactful 3-4 weeks before Election Day and that political advertising that once peaked in October is now peaking in the months prior.¹  With the growth of early voting, it’s become more effective than ever to send political mail earlier in the election cycle.

Learn how to guide your direct mail strategies by where you are in your campaign by answering a short quiz.

Campaign direct mail is extremely versatile and can be implemented before, after, and alongside other channel tactics. The sequencing of your political mail strategy should be driven by the message it needs to convey at that time and how it complements your broader omni-channel political campaign strategy.

For example: If you’re introducing a candidate with out-of-home or digital ads, direct mail can follow as a deeper touchpoint, providing detailed information on your candidate that other formats can’t accommodate. Mail can also act as a messaging preview for your upcoming TV or radio ads to build early awareness.

Quantifying the return on investment (ROI) of your campaign direct mail is essential to maximizing its full potential. By integrating additional touchpoints to your political mail strategy, such as a digital preview of your political mailpiece through the USPS Informed Delivery^® dashboard, you’ll be empowered to see when and how often voters have engaged with your mailpiece. These types of insights can help guide your retargeting efforts to drive stronger results at the polls and potentially increase ROI over time.

Discover how to turn your campaign performance into a roadmap for future success here.

The United States Postal Service is committed to helping political campaigns reduce the cost of political mail by offering exclusive incentives and promotions. These apply to qualifying First-Class Mail^® or USPS Marketing Mail^® that meets the volume requirements or is integrated with multisensory experiences or new and innovative technologies, including Informed Delivery. These postage discounts are a great way to help you affordably grow your campaign direct mail volume and manage costs, increasing your reach by creating memorable, tactile experiences.

Browse USPS promotions and incentives here.

With USPS tools like Informed Delivery and Informed Visibility^®, you have access to real-time tracking and data. This allows you to see where your political mail is in the delivery process, engage with voters before it even arrives, and gather insights into how voters have interacted with your campaign.

This information can empower you to refine your approach, coordinate broader communication strategies, ensure your messages are timed for maximum impact, and ultimately drive better results.

Standard delivery times for campaign direct mail is typically 1 to 5 business days, depending on the type of mail service, its origin and destination, fees etc. To help speed up the process, USPS has an effective system called “Tag 57” that keeps political mail moving quickly and efficiently from drop-off to delivery.

When political mail is delivered to the postal facility, each tray, sack, and pallet is affixed with a red Tag 57. The tag identifies it as political mail, adds more visibility, and helps mail move more efficiently through the mailstream and into mailboxes faster before Election Day.

Whether you’re sending personalized postcards to a specific voter address or canvassing entire neighborhoods with address-free political mail postcards using Every Door Direct Mail^®, it’s important that your campaign direct mail meets USPS mailing standards before drop-off. This helps to ensure that it arrives where and when it should and reduces costs associated with returned mail.

When designing your political mailpiece, be sure you consider the placement of the address, postage, and any required markings, like endorsements or barcodes, that help process, route, and track political mail more efficiently. 

Before you print and produce a new campaign direct mailpiece, it’s beneficial to consult with a USPS Mailpiece Design Analyst (MDA) to review and approve the artwork of your political mailpiece so that it’s compliant and ready for delivery.