USPS Postal Trucks

Earlier this year we told you about some of the upcoming promotions that the United States Postal Service is running throughout 2019 that you should definitely keep on your radar. Whether it’s discounted rates or earning credits towards a future campaign, there are several ways to leverage these promotions so that it benefits your direct marketing budget.

The first promotion we wanted to unpack is the 2019 Earned Value Promotion.

So, what is it?

The focus of the Earned Value Promotion is to encourage businesses to send more First Class Mail, specifically Business Reply Mail (BRM), Courtesy Reply Mail (CRM) and Share Mail campaigns (when you send customers a prepaid return envelope so that they can easily respond to whatever you’ve sent them). As a way to do this, the USPS is offering postage credit to any businesses sending these types of campaigns during the promotion window.

When is it?

Registration for this promotion ends March 31st, but the promotion itself runs from April 1st through June 30th 2019.

How to Register

  • The only way your business will be eligible to benefit from this promotion is if you register your Mailer ID (MID) during the allotted window (February 15th – March 31st). You can register online through the Business Customer Gateway and once you’ve created or logged into your business account, navigate to the Mail Services tab and select “Promotions Incentives”. Be sure to confirm that your Mailer ID and permit information are entered correctly.

How the Credits work

  • The USPS is awarding postage credits based on how many Intelligent Mail barcodes (IMbs) it scans from reply envelopes during the promotion period, which is April 1st through June 30th. In other words, you won’t get credit just for sending the campaign, it depends on how many people send the reply envelope back through the mail.
  • Businesses that haven’t participated in the Earned Value Promotion before this year will earn $0.03 for each BRM, CRM, and Share Mail piece counted during the promotion period.
  • Business that have participated in the Earned Value Promotion in previous years will earn $0.03 for each BRM, CRM, and Share Mail piece counted if they meet or exceed the count they reached in previous years.
  • The postage credits can be used on future First-Class Mail Presort and Automation cards, letters and flats, and USPS Marketing Mail letters and flats.
  • Credits must be used before December 31st, 2019 or they will expire.

What DDD says: If your business has been considering sending campaign that includes a reply envelope (which can be very effective at gathering leads!), this is a great opportunity to do it. Depending on the size of the list you’re sending to, you could accrue a decent amount of postage credits to apply to future campaigns, especially if this your first year participating in the promotion.

To learn more about the Earned Value promotion, check out the USPS’s FAQ.