USPS offers annual mailing promotions that provide postage discounts to commercial mailers who incorporate specific features into their mailings. Informed Delivery has been part of several promotional programs, allowing businesses to offset campaign costs—and sometimes come out ahead—by including interactive campaigns with their direct mail.
Understanding how these promotions work helps you plan mailings to capture available discounts. The savings typically amount to small percentages per piece, but they compound meaningfully on larger mailings and provide incremental value for businesses already investing in Informed Delivery infrastructure.
This guide explains how USPS mailing promotions work, what Informed Delivery-related discounts have been available, and how to position your mailings to qualify. Keep in mind that promotional specifics change annually—always verify current programs and requirements through official USPS channels before planning campaigns around specific discounts.
How USPS Mailing Promotions Work#
USPS runs promotional programs designed to encourage adoption of specific mailing technologies and practices. These aren't coupons or rebates—they're structured discounts applied to qualifying mailings that meet defined criteria during specified promotion periods.
Promotions typically run for windows of several months and require advance registration. You don't simply mail qualifying pieces and receive automatic discounts; you must register for each promotion before submitting qualifying mailings, and your mailings must meet all technical requirements to qualify.
The registration process happens through the USPS Business Customer Gateway, the same portal used for other commercial mailing activities including the Mailer Campaign Portal for Informed Delivery campaigns. Promotion registration involves agreeing to terms and confirming your intent to participate.
Once registered, qualifying mailings submitted during the promotion period receive the specified discount applied to postage. The discount appears in your postage accounting—you pay the reduced rate rather than receiving a refund after the fact.
Informed Delivery and Promotional Discounts#
Informed Delivery has appeared in USPS promotions in various configurations over the years. The general structure has included base discounts for Full-Service mailings with additional discounts for including interactive campaign elements.
A typical promotion structure might look like:
Base discount for Full-Service participation: A small percentage reduction (often 1-2%) on postage for mailings using Full-Service Intelligent Mail barcodes with electronic documentation. This rewards the infrastructure investment required for commercial mail compliance.
Add-on discount for Informed Delivery campaigns: An additional percentage reduction (often 0.5-1%) for mailings that include interactive Informed Delivery campaigns—ride-along images, representative images, or both linking to responsive URLs.
The combined effect can reach several percentage points off postage, which adds up on substantial mailings. A 2% total discount on a 50,000-piece mailing at $0.50 per piece saves $500 in postage—meaningful money that helps justify Informed Delivery campaign investment.
Eligibility Requirements#
Qualifying for Informed Delivery-related promotions typically requires meeting requirements in several categories.
Mailing infrastructure: Full-Service Intelligent Mail barcodes are the foundation. Basic IMb mailings generally don't qualify for Informed Delivery promotions. The electronic documentation requirements for Full-Service ensure USPS has the data needed to verify campaign compliance.
Campaign elements: Promotions specify what campaign components qualify. Requirements often include ride-along or representative images (or both), functional clickable URLs, and compliance with all standard Informed Delivery image specifications.
Mobile optimization: Recent promotions have required that landing pages accessed through Informed Delivery clicks be mobile-optimized, reflecting that most Daily Digest engagement happens on mobile devices. This means your destination URL should pass mobile-friendliness standards.
Registration: You must register for the specific promotion before mailing. Registration windows have deadlines—waiting until after your mailing drops to register disqualifies those pieces from the promotion.
Timing: Mailings must be inducted during the promotion period. Planning your mail schedule around promotion windows can maximize captured discounts, though you shouldn't artificially delay mailings just to hit promotion dates.
Registration Process#
Registering for USPS mailing promotions follows a consistent process through the Business Customer Gateway.
Navigate to the promotions section of BCG (this appears under different menu labels depending on USPS portal updates—look for "Promotions" or "Mailing Promotions" in the services menu).
Review currently available promotions. USPS publishes promotion details including dates, discount amounts, eligibility requirements, and registration deadlines. Read the requirements document completely—qualifying conditions can be specific, and missing a detail can disqualify your mailing.
Complete the registration form for each promotion you want to participate in. Registration typically requires confirming you understand the requirements and agree to comply with promotion terms. Some promotions may require additional information about your expected mailing plans.
Note your registration confirmation. You'll need this reference if questions arise about your qualification. Save confirmation emails and take screenshots of portal confirmations for your records.
After registration, plan your mailings to meet promotion requirements. This may involve coordination with your mail service provider to ensure campaign elements and timing align with promotion specifications.
Planning Mailings Around Promotions#
Strategic planning helps you capture maximum promotional value without compromising your marketing calendar.
Review the promotion calendar early. USPS typically announces the year's promotion schedule in advance. Knowing promotion windows for the coming year lets you plan mailing schedules to overlap with discount periods where practical.
Don't force-fit unnatural schedules. Promotions are valuable, but they shouldn't drive mailing timing that doesn't serve your business goals. A well-timed mailing without promotion discounts usually outperforms a poorly-timed mailing that captures a few percentage points off postage.
Coordinate with your MSP. If you work with a mail service provider, discuss promotion eligibility during planning. They can help ensure your mailings meet technical requirements and handle the compliance documentation needed for discount qualification.
Factor promotions into ROI calculations. When evaluating whether Informed Delivery infrastructure investment makes sense, include potential promotion discounts in your math. The discounts reduce the effective cost of participation and improve the ROI threshold for campaigns.
Build in margin for compliance verification. Promotions require meeting all specified conditions—if your campaign fails a requirement, the discount doesn't apply. Planning mailings with time for compliance checks prevents discovering qualification issues after it's too late to address them.
Calculating Potential Savings#
Understanding the math helps you evaluate whether pursuit of promotional discounts makes sense for your situation.
Consider a hypothetical 2% combined discount (base Full-Service discount plus Informed Delivery add-on) applied to different mailing scenarios:
Small mailing (5,000 pieces at $0.50/piece):
Total postage: $2,500
2% discount: $50 savings
Medium mailing (25,000 pieces at $0.50/piece):
Total postage: $12,500
2% discount: $250 savings
Larger mailing (100,000 pieces at $0.50/piece):
Total postage: $50,000
2% discount: $1,000 savings
These savings compound across multiple mailings throughout the year. A business running monthly campaigns of 25,000 pieces could capture $3,000 annually in postage savings if all mailings qualify for promotions—enough to meaningfully offset infrastructure and campaign management costs.
The calculation becomes more interesting when you consider that Informed Delivery campaign submission itself is free. If you're already running Full-Service mail (which may have its own base discount), adding Informed Delivery campaigns to capture the add-on discount costs only the time to prepare and submit campaigns. The promotional savings could exceed your time investment, making Informed Delivery campaigns profitable on postage alone before counting any marketing benefit.
Staying Current With Promotion Changes#
USPS promotional programs evolve annually. Discount amounts change, eligibility requirements are updated, and new promotion categories emerge while others are retired. Relying on last year's information can mean missing opportunities or expecting discounts that no longer exist.
Check USPS promotional announcements quarterly. USPS announces promotion schedules through PostalPro, the Postal Bulletin, and industry communications. Subscribe to relevant USPS newsletters or follow industry publications that cover postal updates.
Verify requirements before planning. Before committing to a mailing plan based on expected promotions, confirm current requirements through official USPS documentation. Informal information from industry sources may be outdated or incomplete.
Ask your MSP for promotion guidance. Mail service providers typically track promotion programs closely since their clients' interest aligns with theirs. Your MSP should proactively recommend promotion participation opportunities and help ensure compliance.
Budget conservatively. Don't plan budgets that depend on promotional discounts that aren't yet confirmed. Treat captured discounts as beneficial bonuses rather than required assumptions.
Beyond Postage: Other Promotional Benefits#
While postage discounts drive most promotion participation, some promotional programs include additional benefits worth noting.
Performance insights: Some promotions have included enhanced reporting or analytics as a participation benefit, providing data beyond standard campaign metrics.
Testing opportunities: Promotion requirements can push you to try campaign elements you might not otherwise test. Mobile optimization requirements, for example, may prompt landing page improvements that benefit all your marketing.
Infrastructure investment justification: Promotional discounts can help justify the business case for Full-Service mail infrastructure. The ongoing discount capture provides recurring value beyond one-time campaign benefits.
Frequently Asked Questions#
Do I need to register separately for each promotion?#
Yes, each USPS promotional program requires separate registration. Having registered for one promotion doesn't automatically enroll you in others.
What happens if my mailing doesn't meet all promotion requirements?#
Non-qualifying mailings are charged standard postage rates. There's no penalty for failing to qualify—you simply don't receive the discount. However, you won't discover qualification issues until postage is calculated, so compliance verification before mailing is important.
Can I combine multiple promotion discounts on the same mailing?#
It depends on the specific promotions. Some years, USPS has structured promotions as combinable (base discount + add-ons), while other structures have limited combining. Check the specific promotion rules for current policies.
Are promotion discounts available for all mail classes?#
Promotions typically specify eligible mail classes. First-Class Mail and USPS Marketing Mail have most commonly been included in Informed Delivery-related promotions, but eligibility varies by program. Verify mail class eligibility for any promotion you're considering.
How much notice does USPS provide before promotions launch?#
USPS typically announces the year's promotion calendar well in advance—often in the fall for the following year's programs. Individual promotion registration windows may open a few weeks before the promotion period begins. Planning mailings around promotions works best when you're tracking the promotional calendar ahead of time.
Making Promotions Part of Your Strategy#
Promotional discounts aren't a reason to adopt Informed Delivery on their own—the infrastructure investment outweighs the discount value for businesses without ongoing mailing programs. But for businesses already committed to regular direct mail, promotions provide incremental value that improves overall economics.
The strategic approach: treat promotional discounts as a bonus that rewards good practice rather than a driver of mailing decisions. Full-Service mail and Informed Delivery campaigns provide value independent of discounts through tracking, compliance, and enhanced recipient engagement. Promotions make that value proposition even stronger.
When the postal economics of Informed Delivery participation include both the marketing benefits and the promotional savings, the ROI picture often looks better than analyses focused only on campaign click rates. That comprehensive view helps make informed decisions about whether and how to incorporate Informed Delivery into your direct mail strategy.
Related reading: Informed Delivery Image Specifications: Ride-Along vs Representative Images Explained
Related reading: How to Set Up Your First USPS Informed Delivery Campaign: A Step-by-Step Guide