Get Informed About USPS Informed Delivery

By Jennifer Wilberschied

The integration of print and digital has made its way into the mail delivery industry through the introduction of Informed Delivery. The United States Postal Service (USPS) launched this special program a year ago as a way for residential customers to keep track of their incoming mail.

It can especially be of service when you are out of town or can be used to catch any missing parcels that slip through the cracks. It can also be a great business tool for in-plants that want to expand a mail campaign’s reach.

How Does It Work?

When the Dauphin County Library System sent out its annual fund drive mailing, Informed Delivery customers received this image in their email. The larger image replaced the scanned grayscale image of the mailpiece, and the smaller ride-along image linked to the donation page.

Informed Delivery is a free, optional notification service that gives residential consumers the ability to digitally preview their letter-sized mailpieces and manage packages scheduled to arrive. To automate the sortation and delivery of mail, USPS digitally images the front of letter-sized mailpieces that run through automation equipment. Users of Informed Delivery — 8.2 million currently — receive email notifications containing grayscale images of the exterior, address side of their incoming letter-sized mailpieces in advance of the delivery of physical mail. (These images are also accessible on the Informed Delivery dashboard at informeddelivery.usps.com.) Users can then take action before important items reach their mailbox.

For items with USPS Tracking, users will be able to view the delivery status of packages, provide USPS delivery instructions, manage notifications and schedule redelivery from the dashboard. Users can also receive USPS Tracking updates for incoming packages via separate email or text notifications.

“Informed Delivery allows users to interact with their incoming mail and packages in one convenient, online location,” notes Christine Dugas, USPS strategic communications specialist.

Images of larger mail, such as catalogs or magazines, are only provided if the mailer conducts a synchronized digital marketing campaign, and this is where in-plants can take advantage of Informed Delivery.

How Can In-Plants Use Informed Delivery?

Mailers that conduct an integrated mail and digital marketing campaign can send a full-color “representative image” of their flats or replace the scanned grayscale images of their letters and postcards with full-color images. A smaller ride-along image can be linked to a website allowing customers to click to get more information. Interactive campaigns will be shown at the top of a user’s email notification or dashboard, before other grayscale scanned mailpiece images. Engaging consumers in this way can generate additional impressions, interactions and insights, notes Duggas.

“Informed Delivery can help mailers increase their marketing campaign reach through a synchronized physical and digital touch point,” she says. “This feature allows you to receive multiple impressions from a single mailpiece, enhance the customer call to action with interactive digital content and connect with customers whenever, wherever — even as they travel — through a computer or mobile device.”

Rich Hoffner at the Dauphin County Library System.

Rich Hoffner, print and mailing services manager at the Dauphin County Library System in-plant in Harrisburg, Pa., has conducted Informed Delivery campaigns and says any department that mails letter-sized advertisements or correspondence can use an Informed Delivery campaign to extend their message.

“If a customer on your mail list is signed up for the Informed Delivery service, they will get a grayscale image of the mail piece, so why not take it one step further and advertise in color and link them directly to your website?” Hoffner asks. “Plus it’s free. We all deal with budgets and try to save money anywhere possible. Informed Delivery gives you a free channel to promote your organization.”

In-plants can set up a campaign through their Business Customer Gateway account at USPS using their mailer ID number and the sequence range of the Intelligent Mail Barcode for the mailing. Campaigns must contain at least 100 mailpieces.

Hoffner says that even the smallest in-plant can have the same impact on a mail recipient as a large in-plant.

“You don’t even have to use an exact copy of the mailpiece for the representative image. Our graphic designer creates an image that is similar,” Hoffner notes. “Have your graphic artist design a few images that really promote your message in a way that draws attention to your campaign.”

To access information on the USPS Informed Delivery program or to start a campaign today, visit the USPS page on Informed Delivery.

An Informed Delivery Campaign Success

The Dauphin County Library recently used the USPS Informed Delivery service to bring additional attention to its annual fund drive mailing, which was sent to library patrons and donors to the library system. It was such a success that the institution plans to run at least six additional campaigns in 2018.

The outcome was “better than expected,” says Rich Hoffner, print and mailing services manager. “According to our local direct mail specialist with the USPS, our campaign was featured in an in-house training presentation as being one of the most successful in the Central Pennsylvania Region based on the number of recipients, number of library patrons who were signed up for the Informed Delivery service and the number of clicks to open the email.”

After a review of the reports at the close of the campaign, there were a great number of recipients who clicked on the representative image or the ride-along image, or both.

“We can’t say for sure how many of those clicks turned into donations, but there was increased website activity around the time the mailing was sent out,” Hoffner explains.

One goal he had for the Informed Delivery campaigns was that the library patron or donor could donate to the annual fund drive without even touching the piece of mail.

“Many of us are busy and don’t have time to go through the mail that is delivered every day,” he states. “Sometimes, it just sits for days and when you do have time to go through it you only look for the important bills.”

Hoffner notes that because of time constraints, he did not run a pre-campaign report to see how many entries on the mail list had signed up for the Informed Delivery service. “If you do this, you will get a better idea of what your post-campaign results will be,” he says.

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Jennifer Wilberschied Author's page Jennifer Wilberschied is the senior editor for the Printing, Packaging and Publishing Group.