The USPS announced this past September that postage rates will not increase in January 2025and introduced  a slate of new and updated cost-saving promotions and incentives that will provide opportunities to reduce postage costs throughout the year for advertisers.

The 2025 USPS Promotions and Incentive Programs are intended to encourage innovations in First Class Mail®, USPS Marketing Mail®, and Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail® letters, cards, and flats and help to mitigate rising postage rates. Since 2015, with the introduction of the Emerging Technology Promotion, these programs have increased the effectiveness of direct mail, continued to enhance customer engagement, and improved response rates and return on investment (ROI) for mailers.

“The 2025 USPS promotions represent a powerful tool for businesses looking to enhance their direct mail marketing efforts,” explains Janice Maraj, Director of Postal Affairs for Marketing.com. “By leveraging these initiatives and following best practices, businesses can unlock new levels of engagement and ultimately drive growth.”

2025 USPS Primary and Add-On Programs

In 2025, promotions will fall under two categories: Primary and Add-on. Primary promotions offer stand-alone discounts, while two add-on promotions provide extra discounts of up to 1 percent each when combined with primary promotions.

One important change in the new year will be the way discounts are applied. In 2025, all per-piece discounts will be determined before calculating promotional discounts. Only one primary promotion discount for USPS Marketing Mail^® can be applied even if the piece has other qualifying technologies or print treatments. Mailers may achieve additional discounts by qualifying for add-on promotions that stack on primary promotions, with the exception of the Reply Mail IMbA^® Promotion. Add-ons are a new feature to USPS 2025 Mailing Promotions and give businesses opportunities to increase their discounts by up to 2 percent when paired with primary promotions.

The 2025 USPS Primary Promotions are:

Integrated Technology Promotion—Previously called Emerging and Advanced Technology, this promotion will have a flexible schedule and give businesses the ability to select their own start date from which USPS Marketing Mail® and Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail® campaigns must run for up to six consecutive months.

It offers 8 ways to build a new mail experience for customers by incorporating digital technologies, including Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR), Virtual Reality (VR), Integration with Voice Assistant, Video in Print Technology, near-Field Communication (NFC), Mobile Shopping, and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Mailers must include corresponding technology triggers with directional copy that enhances the purpose of the mail piece. Registration begins November 20, 2024, and the promotion offers a 3 percent discount each month for six months from the start date.

Tactile, Sensory & Interactive Promotion – This promotion encourages USPS Marketing Mail^® and Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail^® mailers to incorporate new developments in paper textures and paper stocks, substrates, finishing techniques, and specialty inks into their mailpieces to excite customers with multi-sensory experiences. It rewards businesses that apply sensory treatments to provide innovative elements of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch either on the mailing envelope or envelope contents.

These include sending stock  textured through embossing, foil stamping, using tactile coatings, or adding visual effects with holographic treatments and colors that change with exposure to light and temperatures. Specialty coatings can provide unique aromas to engage through scents and three-dimensional elements created by pop-ups, intricate folds, and die-cutting engage add interactivity. This promotion offers a 4 percent discount for qualified mailers, and runs from February 1, 2025 to July 31, 2025. Businesses can begin registration on December 15, 2024.

Continuous Contact Promotion – This USPS 2025 promotion rewards businesses for engaging customers at multiple touchpoints throughout the buyer journey using mailpieces that build upon, but not duplicate, previous mailings to the same address. Although there is no discount for the first mailing in the series, each subsequent mailer will receive a 3 percent discount. The content of the follow-up mailers must not be identical yet still related to the first piece and every piece must be sent during the Continuous Contact promotion period.  

Businesses must claim the discount via a Component Characteristic Record (CCR) code placed on the first mailing, even though no discount applies, and printed on all mailings after that, which will receive the discount at the time of mailing. Mailing pieces must be pre-approved through the USPS Promotions Portal. Any deviations from approved mailers with not receive a discount. Businesses can register for the promotion beginning February 15, 2025, from April 1 to December 31, 2025.

Reply Mail IMbA^® Promotion – This promotion offers businesses a way to receive either a three percent or six percent discount by adopting Intelligent Mail^® barcode Accounting^® (IMbA^®), Qualified Business Reply Mail™ (QBRM™) and High Volume QBRM™ payment and delivery efficiencies.

Properly barcoded and designed return mail can reduce processing times. A static barcode provides a 3 percent discount and offers basic tracking capabilities, is easy to implement, and contains the same data across multiple mail pieces. A serialized bar code that offers a 6 percent discount is unique for each and contains data that enhances tracking performance and capabilities and is used for targeted campaigns requiring more exact response rate information.

Enrollment begins May 15, 2025, and the promotion runs from July 1 to December 31, 2025. Mailers must receive pre-approval and will not receive any add-on promotions discounts, although the outbound mailing that distributes the QBRM pieces is eligible if it meets the requirements for other promotions. Discounts are claimed at the time of mailing.

First-Class Mail^® Advertising Promotion – When businesses include advertising on First-Class Mail^® invoices and credit card and financial documents, or send standalone advertisements to their customers using First Class mailpieces, this USPS 2025 postal promotion provides a three percent discount. It helps them unlock opportunities to promote new products and services with mail that is delivered faster than other mailing options, is reliable, and has higher open and engagement rates than bulk or marketing mail.

Various marketing messages, including discount offers, limited time offers, new product introductions, loyalty reward outreach, invitations to events, and personalized offers, are acceptable. Mail pieces must be pre-approved to qualify for the 3 percent discount and past acceptance/approval in a prior year does not guarantee acceptance for the 2025 First-Class Mail^® Advertising Promotion. Registration opens on July 15, 2025, and the promotion runs from September 1 to December 31.

The 2025 USPS Add-On Promotions are:

Informed Delivery Add-On Promotion—This add-on allows businesses to create interactive campaigns that reach customers through regular mail and digital channels. It provides a 1 percent discount for each mailpiece. To further streamline USPS operational efficiency, it also gives businesses that submit postage statements and other documents using the eDoc Postage Statement Submitter an additional 0.5% discount. It will be available throughout the entire 2025 calendar year.

Sustainability Add-On Promotion – This add-on promotion is intended to reward businesses for meeting certain sustainability certifications from recognized entities such as the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). These certifications confirm environmentally friendly print practices. The Sustainability add-on encourages the use of paper and stocks that are responsibly sourced and produced. Businesses must upload proof of certification to receive the 1 percent discount offered by this promotion. It will be available throughout the entire 2025 calendar year.

Layering Strategies to Maximize 2025 USPS Postal Promotions

According to various marketing reports, using USPS promotions for direct mail can lead to a positive response rate ranging from 2.7% to 4.4% on average. Many marketers report response rates above 3% for mailing campaigns that take advantage of the promotions, signifying a significant potential for positive engagement with targeted mailings. 

As a result of the scheduling of 2025 USPS postal promotions throughout the calendar year, businesses have opportunities to increase engagement and realize savings with a strategy that stacks and layers the promotions to provide the highest discounts available each month. Remember that it’s only possible to receive a discount from one USPS Marketing Mail^® and Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail^® primary promotion at a time. The Informed Delivery and Sustainability add-on promotions can be added to every primary promotion, except the Reply Mail IMbA^® Promotion, to give businesses 2 percent postal discounts all year long (plus receive a 0.5 percent discount for Informed Delivery eDoc submitters). Companies can receive discounts from both the First-Class Mail Advertising Promotion and Continuous Contact Promotion simultaneously in 2025.

Businesses should be aware of the registration periods to ensure that mailpieces comply with the USPS requirements for the primary promotions. Close collaboration with mailing partners and mail fulfillment centers can help plan, design, and incorporate emerging technologies and personalized content into mailing campaigns. Professional print centers have the ability to deliver discounts and create envelopes and mailers that enhance the customer engagement experience.

While there may not be a one-strategy-fits-all solution for every business to get the biggest discounts throughout the year, here’s one way a business could adopt USPS postal promotions to take advantage of the savings they offer all year long.

• Register for the Integrated Technology Promotion as early as November 20, 2024 to start 2025 with this promotion that offers a 3 percent discount. Layer it with both the Informed Delivery and Sustainability add-on promotions to receive an additional 2 percent discount for 6 consecutive months. Total monthly discount is 5 percent (plus 0.5 percent for eDoc submitters).
• Continue with Integrated Technology Promotion for up to 6 months, or on February 1, 2025 begin claiming discounts using the Tactile, Sensory & Interactive promotion (registration begins December 15, 2024). Until July 31, 2025 businesses can receive the promotion’s 4 percent discount as well as another 2 percent for layered add-ons. Total monthly discount with add-ons through end of promotion 6 percent.
• On April 1, 2025 (registration begins February 15, 2025), businesses have the option of continuing the Integrated Technology promotion until 6 months have elapsed, running the Tactile, Sensory & Interactive promotion until the end of July, or switching the primary promotion to Continuous Contact for Marketing Mail that can run until the end of the year. This promotion offers businesses a 3 percent discount (plus 2 percent using both add-ons) for 9 months.
• On July 1, 2025, business that incorporate reply mail in their mailings can switch to the Reply Mail IMbA® postal promotion (registration begins May 15, 2025) to receive either the 3 percent discount for static barcodes or 6 percent when deploying a serialized bar code. This promotion cannot be combined with add-on promotions, so unless the business is using serialized bar codes, it offers the lowest discount of all of the 2025 USPS postal promotions. It runs until the end of the year.
• Beginning September 1, 2025 (registration begins July 15, 2025), businesses can begin receiving discounts with the First-Class Mail^® Advertising Promotion for all First-Class letters, cards, and flats containing approved advertising content. Businesses receive a 3 percent discount, plus add-on discounts if used. It can run concurrently with the Continuous Contact promotions on USPS Marketing Mail^® and Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail^® until the end of the year.

Each 2025 USPS postal promotion requires enrollment and has its own pre-approval process, design elements, and messaging constraints that must be met to prevent mailers from being deemed ineligible. Businesses should also continuously monitor the USPS promotions because as these promotions evolve, the USPS reserves the right to adjust the sample process.

Working with an experienced direct mail and marketing mail fulfillment partner helps businesses take advantage of the financial incentives offered by the 2025 USPS Postal Promotions. Marketing.com helps businesses adopt the latest print technologies that enhance customer engagement and streamline strategies to get maximum savings out of every mailer. Contact us today with your questions, and get ready to cut your mailing costs in 2025.