The data is clear—when digital media is combined with direct mail, businesses are capturing 39% more attention than with digital campaigns alone. That’s why the USPS created their Mailing Promotions Program—to help marketers, printers, and mailers drive customer engagement and increase the returns on their campaigns. While the full terms of eligibility vary from promotion to promotion, they all start with the incorporation of direct mail into your communications strategy. Take advantage of the discounts the USPS is offering and use print to get the most out of your marketing budget.

How the USPS Promotions and Incentives Programs Work

There are five USPS mailing promotions and two supplementary discounts running in 2025, each covered in detail below. The USPS provides a promotional calendar and technical information on their site, making participation easy.

The USPS currently makes the following promotions available throughout the year:

Integrated Technology (6 Consecutive Months Once Activated)

This promotion (previously called the Emerging Technology Promotion) encourages mailers to connect physical mail with digital experiences, driving web traffic and enhancing interaction.

Dates: While registration begins on November 20, 2024, participants can activate the promotion at any point during 2025 and take advantage of the 6-month window to maximize their discount.

Discount:   3% discount on eligible mail pieces

Digital enhancements include:

• Video in Print Technology
• Augmented Reality
• Mixed Reality
• Near Field Communication
• Integration with Voice Assistants
• Artificial Intelligence

Eligible Mail:

• First-Class Mail letters, cards, and flats
• USPS Marketing Mail letters and flats
• Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail letters and flats

Tactile, Sensory, and Interactive (February 1, 2025 – July 31, 2025)

The Tactile, Sensory, and Interactive Promotion encourages the use of special effects to enhance the sensory experience of mail pieces. The goal is to make mail more engaging and memorable.

Dates: Registration begins December 15, 2024. The program runs February 1 – July 31, 2025.

Discount: 4% discount on eligible mail pieces.

Qualifying effects include:

• Specialty inks like thermochromic and metallic inks
• Sensory treatments including textures, scents and visual effects like holographic treatments and filters
• Interactive elements like pop-ups, zip strips, infinite folding and trailing edge die cuts

Eligible Mail:

• USPS Marketing Mail letters and flats
• Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail letters and flats

Continuous Contact (April 1, 2025 – December 31, 2025)

This promotion supports campaigns that involve a series of mailings, encouraging businesses to send iterative or complementary mail pieces to maintain customer engagement. The requirement is that each piece must offer unique content or value—duplicative mailings are not eligible.

Dates: Registration begins February 15, 2025.  The program runs April 1 – December 31, 2025.

Discount: After the initial mailing, subsequent mailings in the series qualify for a 3% discount.

Eligible Mail:

• First-Class Mail letters, cards, and flats
• USPS Marketing Mail letters and flats
• Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail letters and flats

Reply Mail IMbA® (July 1, 2025 – December 31, 2025)

The Intelligent Mail Barcode Accounting (IMbA) Promotion offers a discount for using intelligent mail barcodes in your campaigns. While add-ons like Informed Delivery or Sustainability incentives cannot be combined with IMbA, the promotion still provides a great way to enhance tracking and response analysis.

Dates: Registration begins May 15, 2025. The program runs July 1 – December 31, 2025.

Discount: Discounts range from 3% for static barcodes to 6% for serialized barcodes, which offer more tracking and customization capabilities.

Eligible Mail:

• First-Class Mail letters, cards, and flats
• USPS Marketing Mail letters and flats
• Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail letters and flats

First-Class Mail Advertising (September 1, 2025 – December 31, 2025)

Replacing the previous Color Transpromo Promotion, the First-Class Mail Advertising Promotion is considered the “easiest to participate in.” It’s geared toward continuing the customer journey by transitioning from transactional communications to targeted advertising. To qualify, the mail must be a standalone promotional piece and cannot simply add a marketing message to an existing First-Class item like a billing statement.

Dates: Registration begins July 15, 2025. The program runs September 1 – December 31, 2025.

Discount: 3% discount on eligible mail pieces.

Eligible Mail:

• First-Class Mail letters, cards, and flats

Add-Ons (Available January 1 – December 31)

To increase savings, mailers can combine any of the above promotions with the following add-ons, except IMbA. These add-ons offer additional ways to save and improve mailing impact. Eligible users will be given the option of applying on or both discounts to their mailings.

Informed Delivery (1% Discount)

• Participating mailers receive a 1% discount for integrating Informed Delivery, where recipients can preview digital images of their mail before it arrives.
• An additional 0.5% credit is available for e-Doc submitters, encouraging the use of electronic documentation.

Sustainability (1% Discount)

• Mailers can qualify for a 1% discount by demonstrating that their paper comes from certifiable, responsible sources like SFI® or FSC®.
• Other certifications can also be submitted for review.
• While the SFI/FSC logo isn’t required on the actual mailpiece, the appropriate certification must be provided when submitting.
• Most of Domtar’s products are eligible for this promotion, including, Cougar, Lynx, Husky, Lettermark Colors, and our business papers in addition to all of our Envelope grades. Our Uncoated Mechanical and Coated Mechanical grades are available with SFI or FSC certification by request.

The USPS offers these programs to help support any initiative that a marketer or mailer may have, and participating is simple. Direct mail stands out and is an intentional way to market to customers. Will you take advantage?

For additional information on how to qualify and the eligibility of mail pieces, visit the Postal Pro website.

For more on the benefits of direct mail, visit our blog.