Informed Delivery Direct Mail: 2026 Guide

Most direct mail campaigns get one shot at attention: the moment your piece lands in someone's hands. Informed Delivery direct mail adds a second one: a digital preview the recipient sees before the piece arrives, with your full-color image and clickable link attached.

At Mail Processing Associates, we file USPS Informed Delivery campaigns with the mailings we run for nonprofits, healthcare organizations, and financial services companies. This guide covers the USPS specs, the 2026 promotion math, and the setup steps.

Ready to add Informed Delivery to your next campaign? Schedule a free consultation with our team and we'll walk you through setup, creative specs, and how to maximize your postal savings.

Informed Delivery in 2026: What Changed

USPS publishes Informed Delivery results in a quarterly Year in Review. The edition covering July 2025 to June 2026 reports:

80.8M

active users as of June 30, 2026, up 8.7% year over year

63.4%

average Daily Digest email open rate, July 2025 to June 2026

0.16%

average click-through rate on Basic campaigns (0.18% on Dual), July 2025 to June 2026

36.9%

of eligible delivery points enrolled nationwide as of June 30, 2026

The Informed Delivery add-on works as it did in 2025, and it can only be claimed on top of a base promotion; the 2026 percentages are in the promotion table below. What changed for 2026 is the base: Integrated Technology; Tactile, Sensory, and Interactive; Continuous Contact; and First-Class Mail Advertising each pay 5%, more than they paid in 2025.

The 2026 eDoc Specifications (and Why They Matter)

Informed Delivery campaigns can be filed inside the electronic documentation (eDoc) that accompanies a presorted mailing. The current Mail.dat and Mail.XML Technical Specifications on PostalPro are R64.0.0.0, in editions dated July 24, 2026; the Mail.dat edition covers Release 64, the July 2026 release, and lists the checks USPS runs before it builds a campaign from eDoc data: start and end dates cannot be in the past, the end date must be at least one day after the start date, and the target URL must begin with a lowercase https://. If MPA runs your mailing, we handle the eDoc and the Informed Delivery campaign as part of the job.

Submitting via eDoc vs the Mailer Campaign Portal

There are two ways to attach an Informed Delivery campaign to a mailing, and the right one depends on whether you are filing eDoc:

Mailer Campaign Portal (MCP): a USPS web tool in the Business Customer Gateway where you enter your ride-along image, target URL, and campaign start and end dates by hand. It is the simplest path for a one-off or low-volume campaign and does not require filing eDoc.
eDoc (PostalOne! Mail.dat / Mail.XML): the campaign is embedded directly in the electronic documentation submitted with a presorted, automation-rate mailing. This is how production mail houses file at scale, it ties the campaign to the same IMb data already in the job, and it removes the manual portal step.

MPA files the eDoc and runs the Informed Delivery campaign as part of your mailing, so you are not logging into the portal or matching image specs to mail dates yourself. The campaign rides along with the same job that already carries your presort and IMb data.

What Is USPS Informed Delivery?

Informed Delivery is a free, opt-in USPS service that provides digital previews of incoming letter-sized mail to registered users. Users receive a Daily Digest email and can also check previews in the USPS Mobile app or on the online dashboard at informeddelivery.usps.com.

Here's what matters for marketers planning a campaign:

Reach: 55.0 million households as of June 30, 2026 (USPS)
Email first: 84% of surveyed users read it in the Daily Digest email, which shows up to 10 mail images
Coverage: Most ZIP Codes, but only addresses with their own 11-digit delivery point
No cost to recipients: Free to sign up and use

The default experience shows a grayscale scan of the address side of each incoming letter-size piece. Without a mailer campaign, that scan is all the recipient sees. With an Informed Delivery campaign, you add a full-color "ride-along" image and a clickable URL below the scan, and you can also replace the scan with a color representative image.

Who Uses Informed Delivery?

USPS will not share its user list, but the Pre-Campaign Analysis report in the Mailer Campaign Portal tells you, in aggregate, how many addresses on a recent mailing's list have Informed Delivery users and how many get the email. In a 2026 USPS survey, 92% of users were satisfied or very satisfied with the feature.

Users opt in to see their mail, so a campaign reaches people who asked for a preview of it. Our direct mail services cover the mailing the campaign rides on.

▶ Informed Delivery on your next mailing: MPA files Informed Delivery campaigns with the eDoc on the mailings it prints and mails. See our mailing services

How Informed Delivery Direct Mail Campaigns Work

A campaign has three components.

1. The Ride-Along Image

This is a full-color, clickable image that appears below the grayscale mail scan in the recipient's Daily Digest email, dashboard, and app. USPS requires one on every campaign.

USPS asks that the ride-along relate directly to the offer in the mail piece and work like a branded, clickable button with a clear call to action. Use it to reinforce the offer, highlight a deadline, or show a product image that wouldn't fit on the mail piece itself.

2. The Target URL

Every Informed Delivery campaign includes a clickable target URL: the direct response path from the digital preview to an online conversion. USPS requires it to start with https and to lead to a landing page tied to the mail piece, or to your homepage.

Best practice: Use a dedicated landing page with UTM parameters so you can track Informed Delivery traffic separately from your other channels. Something like yoursite.com/spring-offer?utm_source=informed_delivery&utm_medium=usps. USPS also appends usps_mid and usps_sn parameters unless you opt out, and a redirect can drop them, so enter the final landing page URL.

3. The Representative Image (Optional for Letters)

USPS shows no grayscale image of flat-size mail (large envelopes, catalogs, magazines), so a campaign on flats must include a representative image, a color picture of the piece shown in place of a scan. On letters and postcards it is optional.

Campaign Types

USPS offers two campaign types:

Basic Campaigns: Your ride-along image and target URL display below the grayscale scan for every Informed Delivery user scheduled to receive the piece.

Dual Campaigns: A representative image replaces the grayscale scan, with the ride-along image and URL below it; flats require this type. Either type can cover every piece carrying your Mailer ID or one serial number range in the Intelligent Mail barcode, so one mailing can carry several campaigns.

Ride-Along Images: Creative Best Practices

The ride-along image is the part of a campaign that carries your offer into the inbox.

What Works

Bold, simple visuals: The image is small (the limits are in the Image Specifications Summary), so fine text and complex layouts get lost. Use large headlines, a single strong image, and one clear call to action.
Complement, don't duplicate: Your ride-along should add information or urgency that the physical mail piece doesn't have room for. If your postcard says "Save 20% this month," the ride-along might show a countdown timer graphic or highlight a specific product.
Include your logo prominently: The Daily Digest email shows up to 10 mail images, with campaigns generally placed at the top. A clear logo tells the recipient at a glance whose piece is coming.
Match your landing page: The visual style of your ride-along should align with the landing page behind your target URL.

What to Avoid

Text-heavy designs: This isn't a letter; it's a banner ad. Keep text to a headline and a single line of supporting copy.
Low-contrast colors: At ride-along size, light colors and thin fonts disappear.
Generic stock images: Use real product photography, branded graphics, or custom illustrations. Stock images blend in with everything else in the inbox.

2026 USPS Promotion Calendar and Promotion Savings

USPS runs annual mailing promotions that discount postage for mailers who use specific technologies or formats, and an Informed Delivery campaign earns an extra discount on top of them.

2026 Informed Delivery Promotion Structure

In 2026, as in 2025, Informed Delivery is an add-on discount that layers on top of a base promotion. The pieces, per the USPS 2026 Mailing Promotions Technical Information:

Promotion Component	Discount	Details
Base promotion (e.g., Tactile/Sensory, Integrated Technology)	5%	Primary discount for qualifying mail features
Informed Delivery add-on	1%	Additional discount for including an ID campaign, claimed on top of a qualifying base promotion
Informed Delivery eDoc submitter credit	0.5%	Separate credit paid to whoever files the electronic documentation.
Additional add-on (Sustainability)	1%	Stack with base + ID for more savings
Combined discount (this stack)	Up to 7.5%	5% base + 1% Informed Delivery + 0.5% eDoc credit + 1% Sustainability. Catalog Insights, a 10% base promotion, stacked to 12.5% while it ran.

2026 USPS Postage Rates with Promotion Savings

Here is what the base promotion plus the Informed Delivery add-on saves at the Mixed presort tier, on mail that can carry a campaign:

Mail Class	Mixed Presort Rate (USPS Notice 123, effective July 12, 2026)	With 6% (Base Promotion + Informed Delivery Add-On)	Savings Per Piece	Savings on 10,000 Pieces
Marketing Mail Letters	$0.467	$0.439	$0.028	$280
First-Class Postcards	$0.495	$0.465	$0.030	$297

Basis: savings per piece = Mixed rate x 6%; discounted rate = Mixed rate minus that saving; savings on 10,000 pieces = savings per piece x 10,000, rounded to the dollar.

Promotion Windows

In 2026, Integrated Technology runs six consecutive months from a start date you pick, Continuous Contact runs April 1 to December 31, and First-Class Mail Advertising runs September 1 to December 31; Tactile, Sensory, and Interactive (January 1 to June 30) and Catalog Insights (October 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026) have closed. Both add-ons run all year, but only on a mailing that claims one of these promotions. Check the USPS PostalPro promotions page for current requirements.

MPA handles promotion registration and compliance on the mailings we run.

Want to see how much you'd save? Use our direct mail ROI calculator to estimate your total campaign cost with Informed Delivery postal discounts applied.

What the 2026 Promotion Stack Is Worth on an Informed Delivery Direct Mail Campaign

Here is the full stack from the promotion table against real postage. USPS Marketing Mail letters at the Mixed presort tier are priced at $0.467 per piece per USPS Notice 123 effective July 12, 2026, so a 50,000-piece drop carries $23,350 in postage. The full stack is worth $1,751.25 in combined incentives on that mailing. The eDoc credit is paid to whoever submits the electronic documentation, so the mail owner's own discount is $1,634.50. Schedule the campaign inside a promotion window rather than bolting it on afterward.

Official reference: USPS Direct Mail Promotions and Incentives (usps.com) for current add-on percentages and promotion windows.

Setting Up Your First Informed Delivery Direct Mail Campaign

Step 1: Register on the USPS Business Gateway

All Informed Delivery campaigns are managed through the USPS Business Customer Gateway (gateway.usps.com). You'll need:

A USPS Business Customer Gateway account with access to the Mailer Campaign Portal
The Mailer ID (MID) printed in your pieces' Intelligent Mail barcodes, with the MID owner's approval if it belongs to your mail service provider
Campaign creative assets (ride-along image, target URL)

If you work with a mail service provider like MPA, we handle the gateway registration and campaign submission on your behalf.

Step 2: Prepare Your Creative Assets

Ride-along image specifications:

Format: JPEG
Dimensions: within the limits in the Image Specifications Summary below
File size: 200 KB or smaller
Color mode: RGB (this is digital, not print)

Target URL requirements:

Must start with https
Must lead directly to a landing page tied to the mail piece, or to your homepage
255 characters or fewer; if the link redirects, enter the final destination URL instead

Step 3: Submit Your Campaign

Submit the campaign in the Mailer Campaign Portal, or inside the mailing's Mail.dat or Mail.XML eDoc. Timing rules:

Deadline: By the day before the campaign start date, on either route. The Mailer Campaign Portal requires it, and the USPS Mail.dat Mailer Guide requires an eDoc start date later than the day of submission; PostalOne! can change a submitted start date and reports it with warning 5054
Dates: USPS suggests starting about three days before the first in-home date and ending about three days after the last
Limits: Start no more than 60 days out; run up to 45 days (serial range) or 62 days (Mailer ID level)

Step 4: Monitor Results

USPS posts summary and detailed reports in the Mailer Campaign Portal each morning while a campaign runs, eDoc campaigns included:

Campaign mail pieces sent to Informed Delivery users, and the emails they generated
Email opens and open rate
Click-throughs and click-through rate (clicks per campaign mail piece)

For deeper analytics, pair Informed Delivery tracking with your landing page analytics (Google Analytics, etc.) using the UTM parameters from your target URL. The portal deletes the USPS reports 30 days after completion, so download them.

Informed Delivery and Direct Mail ROI

Informed Delivery changes the return on a mailing in four ways you can measure. The print and postage costs it sits on are covered in our guide to direct mail printing services.

Up to Two Impressions

Every Informed Delivery user on your mailing list can see your brand twice: once in the digital preview and once when the physical piece arrives. Only users who open the Daily Digest email, the dashboard, or the app see the campaign, and other household members who use Informed Delivery can see it too.

Drive Online Conversions from Offline Mail

The clickable target URL turns a traditional mail piece into a direct-response digital channel. The USPS click-through averages in the 2026 figures above count clicks per campaign mail piece: modest next to email numbers, but those clicks arrive on top of the physical piece's response rather than replacing it.

Because each campaign has its own target URL, its clicks can be credited to that mailing and set beside the benchmarks in our direct mail ROI statistics.

Accelerate Response Time

Recipients can click through from a campaign before they collect the physical piece, which USPS says lets brands see results faster than with traditional mail campaigns.

Boost Overall Campaign Performance

USPS publishes open and click numbers, not a response-lift figure, so measure the lift yourself: leave part of the list outside any campaign serial range as a holdout and compare response between the two groups. Add the postal discount the campaign earns to whatever lift you find.

Cost-Benefit Summary

Investment	Return
USPS campaign fee	None; USPS runs campaigns at no additional cost
Campaign setup and submission	Included with MPA's mailing services
Informed Delivery add-on, 50,000 Marketing Mail letters at the Mixed tier	$233.50 (1% of $23,350 in postage). The 5% base discount comes from the base promotion, not from the campaign.
Additional conversions from click-throughs	Varies by offer and industry

Design Specs and Technical Requirements

Mail Piece Requirements

Informed Delivery campaigns work with these USPS mail classes:

First-Class Mail (letters, postcards, flats)
USPS Marketing Mail (letters, flats)
Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail
Periodicals

Each piece must be automation compatible and carry a valid Intelligent Mail barcode with a full-service Service Type ID, and the mailer or its mail service provider must be IMb certified.

IMb (Intelligent Mail Barcode) Requirement

Every piece in your mailing must carry a valid Intelligent Mail barcode. USPS applies the campaign by reading the Mailer ID (plus the serial number, for serial-range campaigns) in that barcode, and it matches the piece to the recipient through the 11-digit delivery point ZIP Code in the same barcode.

MPA applies IMb barcodes to every piece we process as part of standard USPS compliance. If you're working with another printer, confirm they're generating unique IMb codes for each mail piece.

Image Specifications Summary

Element	Specification
Ride-along image size	Up to 300 x 200 px, at least one side at its maximum
Aspect ratio	Not set by USPS
File format	JPEG
Max file size	200 KB
Color mode	RGB
Representative image (flats)	Up to 780 x 500 px, required for flats

Ride-Along vs. Representative Image: Which One You Need

Informed Delivery uses two different supplemental images, and they are not interchangeable. The ride-along image is required on every campaign; the representative image replaces the grayscale scan and is required only on campaigns for flats.

Attribute	Ride-along image	Representative image
Format	JPEG, RGB, 200 KB max	JPEG, RGB, 200 KB max
Required or optional	Required on every campaign	Required on flat campaigns; optional on letters and postcards
Where it appears	Full color, clickable, below the grayscale scan, with a CTA and target URL	Replaces the grayscale scan slot in the daily digest
When you use it	Every campaign, whatever the mail shape	Every campaign on flats (large envelopes, catalogs, magazines); by choice on letters and postcards

Integration with Variable Data Printing

Informed Delivery pairs well with variable data printing services. One campaign shows every recipient the same ride-along image, but you can split a mailing into several campaigns by IMb serial number range, each with its own image and landing page for a different audience segment.

For example, a healthcare organization might run three Informed Delivery campaigns within one mailing: one ride-along for existing patients, another for prospects, and a third for referring physicians. Each gets a different image and landing page URL.

MPA's Xerox Iridesse and Versant presses handle variable data natively, making it simple to coordinate segmented physical pieces with segmented Informed Delivery campaigns.

Best Practices by Mail Type

Postcards

Postcards are the simplest case. USPS scans the address side automatically, so the grayscale image shows the side with your mailing panel; your ride-along image adds color and a click.

Tip: Because the scan shows only the address side, the ride-along is often where the recipient first sees your color art, so lead with the offer and a call to action. A Dual Campaign can also swap the grayscale scan for a color representative image of the front.

Letters in Envelopes

USPS only scans the address side of the envelope, so recipients see a plain envelope in their preview. Your ride-along image shows what's inside before they open it.

For direct mail campaigns using letters, the ride-along becomes your outer envelope teaser copy, in full color and with a clickable link.

EDDM (Every Door Direct Mail)

No EDDM mailing, Retail or BMEU, can carry an Informed Delivery campaign. Campaigns need the full 11-digit delivery point in the printed barcode, which simplified-address EDDM pieces lack, and the USPS Saturation Campaign Mailer Guide excludes Simplified and EDDM mail from saturation campaigns. To reach whole routes, mail addressed (non-simplified) Carrier Route saturation flats entered at the destination delivery unit and filed in PostalOne! Mail.dat, which the 2026 Informed Delivery add-on list names as DDU-entered Carrier Route Saturation Flats, or mail addressed automation letters and flats.

Read our Every Door Direct Mail guide for more on planning routes and formats.

Nonprofit and Fundraising Mail

For donation appeals, write the ride-along to support the reply device in the envelope, for example an impact story or a matching-gift deadline that tells the donor the letter is on its way. USPS campaign terms bar ride-along language that facilitates diversion from Postal Service products, including "pay online" and similar calls to action, so leave give-online buttons out of the image.

Informed Delivery vs. Email Marketing

Some marketers ask: if Informed Delivery sends a digital preview, why not just send an email instead? The two channels do different jobs.

Factor	Informed Delivery	Email Marketing
Open rates	63.4% Daily Digest average, July 2025 to June 2026 (USPS)	Depends on your list and sender reputation
Spam filtering	Arrives in the USPS Daily Digest, not from your domain	Sent from your domain; inbox placement depends on your sender reputation
Physical reinforcement	Yes (paired with mail piece)	No
Creative control	Ride-along image + URL	Full HTML/CSS
Cost	No USPS fee	Separate platform cost
Audience	Informed Delivery users on your list	Your email list

Use both: Informed Delivery carries a mailing into the inbox, while email marketing handles the ongoing relationship. For a detailed comparison of the two channels, see our analysis of direct mail vs email marketing.

Frequently Asked Questions About Informed Delivery Direct Mail

What does Informed Delivery cost for mailers? +

USPS charges no fee: basic and dual campaigns run at no additional cost to mailers. Your costs are the ride-along image, the landing page, and any setup fee your mail service provider charges. In 2026 a campaign can also lower your postage through the Informed Delivery add-on, covered in the add-on answer below. At MPA, Informed Delivery campaign setup is included with our standard mailing services at no extra charge.

Do all mail recipients see my Informed Delivery campaign? +

No. Only recipients who are Informed Delivery users (80.8 million as of June 30, 2026, per USPS) see the digital preview and ride-along image. Everyone else still receives the physical mail piece as usual.

Can I use Informed Delivery with EDDM mailings? +

No. EDDM mailings, Retail or BMEU, cannot carry an Informed Delivery campaign. Campaigns need the full 11-digit delivery point in the printed barcode, which simplified-address EDDM pieces lack, and the USPS Saturation Campaign Mailer Guide excludes Simplified and EDDM mail from saturation campaigns. To reach whole routes, mail addressed saturation flats entered at the destination delivery unit and filed in Mail.dat, or addressed automation letters and flats.

How do I track Informed Delivery campaign performance? +

The Mailer Campaign Portal posts summary and detailed reports each morning while a campaign runs: mail pieces, emails, opens, open rate, click-throughs, and click-through rate. For conversion tracking, use UTM-tagged landing page URLs and your web analytics platform.

What size should my ride-along image be? +

Ride-along image: up to 300 pixels wide and 200 pixels tall. Representative image, required for flats: up to 780 pixels wide and 500 pixels tall. Size each so at least one side reaches its maximum, and save it as a full-color RGB JPEG of 200 KB or less.

Can I run A/B tests with Informed Delivery? +

Yes. Split the mailing into IMb serial number ranges and give each range its own campaign with a different ride-along image and target URL; the post-campaign reports then show opens and click-throughs per campaign.

How far in advance do I need to submit my Informed Delivery campaign? +

Submit it by the day before the campaign start date. The Mailer Campaign Portal requires that, and for eDoc campaigns the USPS Mail.dat Mailer Guide requires a start date later than the day of submission; PostalOne! can change a submitted start date and reports it with warning 5054. USPS suggests a start date about three days before the first expected in-home date.

What is the difference between a ride-along image and a representative image? +

The ride-along image is the full-color, clickable marketing image that appears below the grayscale scan with a call to action and target URL, and every campaign must include one. The representative image is a static color picture of the piece that replaces the scan. It is optional on letters and postcards and required on flats, which USPS shows no grayscale image for.

Should I submit through the Mailer Campaign Portal or eDoc? +

The Mailer Campaign Portal (MCP) is a USPS web tool where you enter the ride-along image, URL, and campaign start and end dates by hand. It suits one-off or low-volume campaigns and does not require eDoc. eDoc submission embeds the campaign directly in the Mail.dat or Mail.XML electronic documentation filed with a presorted, automation-rate mailing, which is how production mail houses file at scale and ties the campaign to the job's existing IMb data. When MPA runs your mailing, we file the eDoc and the campaign together.

Is my mail eligible for Informed Delivery, including flats? +

Yes, if the piece qualifies: campaigns run on First-Class Mail, USPS Marketing Mail (including nonprofit), and Periodicals, in letter, postcard, or flat size, when each piece is automation compatible and carries a valid full-service Intelligent Mail barcode with the full 11-digit delivery point. Flats, including large envelopes and catalogs, also need a representative image, because USPS shows no grayscale image of a flat.

How much is the Informed Delivery add-on worth in 2026? +

The add-on is 1% off postage on the qualifying mailing, plus a separate 0.5% credit paid to whoever submits the electronic documentation. It never pays on its own: the mailing must claim a base promotion, and up to two add-ons can ride on one promotion. A 5% base promotion with the Informed Delivery and Sustainability add-ons reaches 7.5% in combined incentives, 7% of it off the mailer's postage.

Add Informed Delivery to Your Next Campaign

An Informed Delivery campaign turns a single mail piece into two touches. Recipients who use Informed Delivery can see your campaign in their Daily Digest email or dashboard, click through to your website before the mail arrives, and then get the physical piece in the mailbox.

At Mail Processing Associates, we handle Informed Delivery campaign setup, postal promotion registration, and full-service printing and mailing from our Lakeland, FL facility. We've been serving clients nationwide for over 35 years as a veteran-owned operation.