- The USPS Promotions and Incentives program offers a variety of initiatives to help mailers save 5% to 10% on postage
- The Mail Growth Incentive helps high-volume mailers earn up to 30% discounts on postage.
- Stackable upgrades and add-ons provide additional savings to help mailers create cost-effective direct mail campaigns that generate revenue and ROI.
Postage costs account for a significant portion of a direct mail campaign budget. This expense can be a deterrent for brands to incorporate direct mailers into larger communications strategies, making opportunities to reduce postage a mission-critical concern for printers and mailers.
The good news is the Postal Service offers a variety of promotions and incentives to help mailers drastically reduce postage costs without sacrificing important performance metrics, like response rates and conversions. Whether it’s through the USPS Mail Growth Incentive (MGI) or the annually updated USPS Promotions, mailers in the know can take actionable steps to produce high-quality, cost-effective direct mail campaigns.
What to know about the Mail Growth Incentive
The USPS Mail Growth Incentive helps mailers earn credits towards postage reductions as a reward for increasing the volume of mailers sent in a given year. MGI participants can earn up to 30% postage discounts on eligible mailings above their previous baseline or the 1 million pieces mark.
This year’s incentive program runs through December 31, 2025 for mailers who:
- Increase their mail volume above the level of the previous year, or exceed 1 million mail pieces during a calendar year.
- Use First-Class Mail® or Marketing Mail® — other mail types are not eligible for the MGI program.
- Register and track volumes exclusively through the USPS Business Customer Gateway to maintain accurate, detailed mailing documentation.
Established in 2023, the MGI generated more than $500 million in credits in its first year, helping mailers across nearly every industry. The MGI not only helps mailers reduce overall costs, it also helps them more strategically allocate print marketing budgets in face of price increases on things like paper, ink and other print materials.
This year’s MGI is open to eligible mailers until December 31, 2025. Mailers can learn more about the MGI or register for this year’s program by visiting the USPS Business Customer Gateway.
How to benefit from USPS Promotions
The USPS Promotions program is an annual offering of about five different initiatives designed to help mailers reduce postage costs and create innovative direct mail campaigns that better engage target audiences. These promotions also help mailers and designers alike think outside the box and in a more creative way about the kinds of experiences that print materials like direct mail can provide, incorporating digital technology, sensory components and more.
These USPS programs range in available postage discounts from 5% to 10% depending on the promotion. Unlike the MGI, there is no minimum mailing volume in order to qualify for discounts, and these promotions offer a little more variety in terms of the classes or types of mail that are eligible for postage savings. Here’s a quick rundown of next year’s promotions, complete with registration and promotion periods to help you start planning now.
Integrated Technology
Registration period: November 15, 2025 to December 31, 2026.
Promotion period: Any six-month period during 2026 calendar year.
This promotion provides a 5% discount on Marketing Mail or First-Class letters and flats that incorporate digital technology like augmented reality, virtual reality and video in print.
Tactile, Sensory and Interactive
Registration period: October 15, 2025 to June 30, 2026.
Promotion period: January 1, 2026 to June 30, 2026.
This program offers a 5% discount on Marketing Mail or First-Class letters and flats that use specialty inks, scented or textured papers, finishings and other interactive components.
Continuous Contact
Registration period: February 15, 2026 to December 31, 2026.
Promotion period: April 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026.
This promotion provides a 5% discount on Marketing Mail letters and flats that follow up and build on the messaging of an initial mailing. This promotion is designed to help create an ongoing conversation with a targeted audience in service of boosting response rates.
First-Class Mail
Registration period: July 15, 2026 to December 31, 2026.
Promotion period: September 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026.
This incentive offers a 5% discount on First-Class letters & flats that incorporate sales and marketing messaging into more traditional transactional communications like invoices or account statements.
Catalog Insights
Registration period: August 15, 2025 to June 30, 2026.
Promotion period: October 1, 2026 to June 30, 2026.
This promotion offers a 10% discount on Marketing Mail or Bound Printed Matter that includes images, photographs or illustrations of the products or services, descriptive details, fulfillment information and pricing information.
Don’t forget about these upgrades and add-ons — and yes, they’re stackable
There are a couple of program upgrades and add-ons that can be combined — and even stacked — with the MGI and other incentives and promotions to further reduce postage costs. These add-ons also help mailers create a more multi-channel marketing approach with an eye toward eco-friendly print.
Informed Delivery®
With USPS Informed Delivery®, mailers can better engage recipients with digital previews of incoming mail, along with special offers or promotions that are exclusive to these digital previews. This multi-channel approach gives mailers an additional communication touchpoint and gives recipients more incentive to engage with mailers when they reach the mailbox. The Informed Delivery add-on provides an additional 1% discount on postage.
Sustainability
The sustainability add-on also provides an additional 1% postage discount for mailers that use sustainably harvested paper. This means specifying papers that are certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®).
Accent® Opaque qualifies as a responsibly sourced paper with both SFI® and FSC® designations to help you create more eco-friendly direct mailers that also reduce your postage costs. Plus, our diverse line of text, cover and heavyweight paper stocks provides superior versatility to create high-quality mailers that can make the most of the USPS postage incentives and promotions.
Contact us today to find the right paper to create cost-effective direct mailers.
