Direct mail works brilliantly when you get it right, but postage costs can absolutely destroy a campaign before it even gets started. Countless businesses pour money into beautiful brochures only to watch their margins disappear because they didn't understand Royal Mail's pricing structure.
Understanding how to reduce direct mail costs and optimise brochure mailing expenses is crucial for any UK business running print marketing campaigns. Last year, Stannp.com worked with a client who was about to spend a fortune on postage for their brochure campaign. After a proper look at their specifications and a few strategic changes, the team managed to cut their costs in half. Not by compromising quality, by being smarter about how they approached the whole thing.
Here's what happened.
The client had big ambitions for their brochure mailing.
The obstacle? Those specifications would've pushed their mailing straight into Large Letter territory with Royal Mail. That's basically double the postage cost right there. Before they'd even started, the campaign was heading towards being financially unviable.
This one's absolutely crucial for reducing postage costs: stay within 240mm x 165mm x 5mm, including your envelope. Go even 1mm over and you're suddenly paying Large Letter rates, literally twice the price.
The client's original 250mm x 180mm brochure would've cost them double to post. By switching to A5 format (210mm x 148mm instead), they stayed comfortably within standard letter dimensions whilst still looking professional and impactful.
The lesson? Design for C5 envelope dimensions from day one.
Here's something loads of businesses miss when planning direct mail campaigns: if your mailing is purely promotional, it qualifies for Admail rates. Sales brochures, product catalogues, service advertisements, t his can knock up to 30% off your postage costs.
The test is straightforward: does the recipient expect this mailing? If not, it's advertising content and you're eligible for the discount.
One word of warning though, chuck in editorial content, news articles, or anything that's not directly promotional, and you'll lose the Admail pricing
3. Reach the 4,000 item volume threshold
Royal Mail's best discounts kick in when you're sending at least 4,000 items. If you're planning something smaller, it's worth thinking about how you might reach that threshold. Could you consolidate a few smaller mailings? Partner with another business? Build up your list a bit more before sending?
The volume discounts genuinely make a massive difference to your per piece costs when sending bulk mail.
Paper weight affects both how your brochure feels and what you'll pay to send it. Instead of the original spec, Stannp.com went with:
That single change saved about 30 grams per brochure. Doesn't sound like much, but it was absolutely critical for staying under the 100 gram weight limit.
Your cover needs to create that brilliant first impression. The team stuck with a substantial 250gsm cover with a matt finish, thick enough to feel expensive, light enough to keep costs down.
Quick tip: matt finishes give you that lovely tactile quality without the weight penalty you get with heavier glossy stocks.
Here's something that surprised the client: pages are cheap, postage isn't. Stannp.com actually kept their full 48-page specification, the maximum they could fit within the 100 gram weight limit.
Think about it this way: adding four extra pages on 100gsm stock weighs less than upgrading your existing pages to 120gsm. You get more content space without crossing that crucial weight threshold.
Perfect binding looks smart, but it adds both weight and cost. For most direct mail campaigns, saddle stitch binding does the job just fine whilst keeping your weight and production costs down.
Perfect binding's worth it when you're selling premium products and that square spine serves a specific branding purpose, or when your publication needs to stand upright on shelves. Otherwise? Saddle stitch is your friend.
This isn't negotiable when planning brochure mailings. Once your complete mailing goes over 100 grams, you're paying Large Letter rates. That's double the cost, and there's no way around it.
Budget your weight like this:
You can send brochures without envelopes, which saves weight and materials. But here's the catch: you need tabbing on three sides to stop Royal Mail's sorting machines from jamming.
Stannp.com looked at this option for the client and found that tabbing costs often end up being more than lightweight envelope expenses. Plus, enveloped mail generally performs better with recipients anyway.
Don't stick an A5 brochure in a C4 envelope. Oversized envelopes let your content slide around, which causes sorting machine jams. That can mean surcharges or your mail getting returned.
Your envelope should fit snugly around your brochure with minimal excess space.
After going through all these considerations, here's what Stannp.com recommended for cost effective brochure mailing:
By staying within Standard Letter specifications rather than Large Letter, the client's postage costs were cut in half whilst still delivering a high-quality product that did their brand justice.
You can have the most compelling design and brilliant messaging in the world, but if you don't understand the technical requirements behind postage pricing, you're leaving money on the table. A few millimetres or grams genuinely can make or break your campaign's return on investment.
These direct mail best practices work whether you're sending 4,000 pieces or 400,000. Getting smart about Royal Mail's requirements means more of your budget goes towards reaching your audience rather than disappearing into unnecessary postage fees.
Don't let postage costs eat into your marketing budget. At Stannp.com, the team has spent years getting to grips with printing and Royal Mail's requirements, and they've helped countless UK businesses deliver cost effective direct mail campaigns that actually work.
Fancy a free consultation on your next brochure mailing? The team can go through your specifications and show you exactly how much you could save, just like they did for this client.