Direct mail for local services: a complete guide

Overview

For a plumber, window cleaner, gardener, salon or dog groomer, the customer list is essentially a map. Addressed mail lets you choose those streets and put your name, service and phone number in every home there.

Repetition matters for local services: people often keep a card until they need you. A clear, practical design with your service area, a phone number and a reason to call beats clever copy.

When to use it

How to start, step by step

1. Map your service area. Choose the postcodes you can serve profitably, closest first.
2. Build the audience. Use an audience of UK addresses around a postcode, or your own past-customer list.
3. Say what, where and how to book. Name the service, the area you cover, and a phone number or booking link.
4. Add a reason to call now. A seasonal service, availability this month or an introductory offer with an end date.
5. Record where calls come from. Ask every new caller how they heard about you, or use a dedicated number.

Which format to choose

Prices come from the live AutoLetters price list. They include printing and UK postage, are the same at any quantity, and have no VAT added because AutoLetters is not VAT registered.

Worked example

Illustrative scenario, not a customer case study. A window cleaner mails 1,000 addresses in the postcodes around existing rounds. The card lists the area covered, prices on request and a phone number.

1,000 × Postcard — A6 at £2.15 each = £2,150.00, printed and posted.

Response depends on your list, offer and timing, so we do not quote response rates. Measure your own with a unique code or web address.

Mistakes to avoid

• Mailing areas you cannot actually serve.
• Too much text; customers need the service and number.
• One-off sends instead of a regular rhythm.
• No record of which calls came from the mailing.

Preparing artwork that prints correctly

Every format has a trim size, a bleed area and a safe zone. Extend background colours and images into the bleed so no white edge appears after cutting, and keep text, logos and QR codes inside the safe zone. Use images at 300 DPI at printed size, and leave the address area clear, because the printer adds the recipient's address there. Each product page lists the exact supplier measurements, and Lenny checks uploaded artwork against them before you approve it.

Building a list you can use

You can send to a list you already hold or to an audience of UK addresses built around a postcode. If you use your own list, include only people you have a lawful basis to contact by post, remove anyone who has asked not to hear from you, and keep a record of where the data came from. The Information Commissioner's Office publishes guidance on direct marketing under UK GDPR. Check that every address is complete and current: incomplete addresses cost money and do not arrive.

Measuring the result

Decide how you will count responses before you send. A unique discount code, a short web address, a dedicated phone number or a simple “how did you hear about us?” question all work. Divide the campaign cost by the number of responses to get a cost per response, then compare it with your other marketing. Where you can, hold back a small group from the mailing, so you can see how many of them would have responded anyway.

How AutoLetters handles it

Lenny, the AutoLetters AI campaign specialist, helps you choose a format, drafts the wording and artwork to the printer's exact measurements, and helps build the audience: either UK addresses around a postcode or a list you already hold. You review a print-accurate preview, then approve the exact print file. Nothing is printed or posted until you approve it.

AutoLetters sends addressed mail to UK addresses only and does not offer unaddressed door drops. Postal delivery timings are not guaranteed.

Questions