EDDM vs. Direct Mail Lists: Which Is Right for Anchorage?

You want to put a postcard in mailboxes around Anchorage. You have two main paths: Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM), where you blanket entire postal routes, or a targeted mailing list, where you reach specific people. Both work. The right one depends on what you sell and who you need to reach.

The core difference

EDDM mails to every active address on the postal routes you pick, no names, no list. A targeted mailing list mails to specific households or businesses you have selected by criteria like income, age, industry, or past purchase.

	EDDM	Targeted list
Targeting	By neighborhood/route	By individual household criteria
Mailing list	Not needed	Required (we can source it)
Best for	Local reach, broad offers	Specific audiences, higher-value offers
Cost per piece	Lower postage	Higher, but less waste
Personalization	Limited (no names)	Full (names, variable data)
Minimum	200 pieces/route	Varies by list

When EDDM wins

EDDM is built for businesses that serve a geographic area and want maximum local saturation at the lowest postage. Think restaurants, salons, dental offices, retail, and home services. If “everyone near me is a potential customer,” EDDM is efficient and simple.

Watch: how EDDM works

This is the first video in the official USPS five-part EDDM guide. It walks through the basics of selecting routes and sending your mailing.

When a targeted list wins

If your ideal customer is specific, say, homeowners over 50 in certain neighborhoods, or businesses in a particular industry, a targeted list avoids paying to reach people who will never buy. The postage per piece is higher, but every piece has a better chance of converting. Targeted lists also let you personalize each card with names and custom offers.

We handle the whole process either way

Whether you go EDDM or targeted, we print the postcards, follow the size and weight rules, presort for the best postage rates, and prepare the paperwork. For EDDM we bundle by route; for targeted mail we can source the list and print addresses. Explore our postcard and direct mail service, then check which postcard sizes are mailable. Request a free quote to plan your campaign.