Postage Increases Keep Coming. The postal rate increases that occurred in August 2021 and July 2022 totaled 13% and were not kind to mailers’ budgets. In addition, the USPS announced that it will raise postage rates twice a year beginning in 2023.

On October 7, the Postal Service filed a price increase which if approved will take effect January 22, 2023. The PRC is expected to approve the filing in November. Because the USPS is filing just six months from the previous increase in July 2022, the rate authority available for January is only 4.2%. Another 2% can also be added for “non-compensatory” (underwater) categories.

Below are a few of the proposed rates for the January increase:

• The First-Class Forever Stamp increases from 60 cents to 63 cents.
• Postcards increase from 44 cents to 48 cents.
• First-Class 5-Digit Automation Letters price increase 3.5%.
• The overall Marketing Mail Letter increase is 3.2%.

Participate in USPS Promotions

With postage costs continuing to rise, mailers are looking for options to reduce costs. One way is to participate in the USPS Promotions which provide postage discounts that will help minimize the increases during the promotion periods. The 2023 promotions were announced along with the postage increases. The details will be finalized soon so that mailers can begin planning to incorporate them in their mail plans.

Why consider participating in USPS Promotions in addition to the postage discounts?

• Add value to hardcopy mail by incorporating new technologies
• Encourage the use of direct mail which keeps volume in the postal system
• Will hopefully lower future postal increases
• Provide a digital component to mail, as well as other revenue opportunities

In 2022 the USPS increased the percentage of postage savings for participating in many of the promotions, including Informed Delivery and Personalized Color Transpromo.

Proposed 2023 Promotions

The following promotions have been announced for 2023:

• Tactile, Sensory & Interactive runs February 1 – July 31 and the discount has increased to 5%.
• Personalized Color Transpromo also runs February 1 – July 31 with a First-Class 3% discount, and an incentive for CRM/BRM of 4%.
• Emerging and Advanced Technology has been combined with Mobile Shopping and runs May 1 – November 30 with a 3 to 4% discount.
• Informed Delivery runs August 1 – December 31 with a 4% discount.
• NEW Reply Mail IMbA runs from July 1 – December 31 with a 3% discount for using static IMbA on BRM and a 6% discount on serialized IMbA.
• NEW Retargeting Mail running from September 1 – November 30 with a 5% discount for First-Class Postcards mailed to people visiting a website or app.

Informed Delivery for Direct Mailers is Easy and Reduces Postage Costs.

Many of J&Q’s clients participated in the Informed Delivery Promotion which runs through December 31. If your company is working with a mailing services provider, it is simple and low cost to create a color ride-along ad that links to a URL with the mailing’s offer or information on the product or service.

The Basics for an Informed Delivery Promotion

• Ride-along image – a small color ad that appears below the image of the mail piece.
• URL – links to the ride-along image and takes consumers to a website or landing page.
• Optional Representative Image of the mail piece – replaces the grayscale scanned image of the piece.

If it is too late to participate in the promotion this year, consider using Informed Delivery in 2023. It adds a digital dimension to your mail and drives responses to your webpage. If you have questions on implementing Informed Delivery, the other promotions or the upcoming postage increase we will be happy to help. Contact sales by email at jqinfo@jquin.com or call 847-588-4800.