Common questions

We run shared postcards for local businesses. Several businesses share one postcard, with one business per category, and the card is mailed to every home on the postal routes chosen for that campaign. Because the card is shared, so is the cost of printing and postage.

EDDM stands for Every Door Direct Mail. It's a USPS program that delivers a piece of mail to every residential address on a chosen postal carrier route, so there's no mailing list, addressing, or stamps. We handle the paperwork and take the mailing to USPS for you.

The Neighborhood Pros is a service of Rapid Print Solutions, a Cincinnati-area print shop. We help with your ad, print the postcards ourselves on sturdy cardstock, and prepare the mailing. When you have a question, you can contact the people doing the work.

Independent, locally owned businesses that serve households, such as HVAC, roofing, plumbing, electrical, landscaping, painting, concrete, pest control, cleaning, pet services, handyman work, windows, gutters, and tree work.

National chains and franchises, even if the local location is independently owned.

Businesses whose customers don't live in the neighborhoods the card is mailed to.

Businesses that only sell to other businesses. EDDM mail goes to households, not offices.

Small spots (coupon size) start at $300. Medium (standard size) is $600 to $750. Large/Double is $1,000 to $1,100. Featured (our largest spot, and the only one that appears on both sides of the card) is $1,500 to $1,800. The exact price depends on the card size for that campaign. The full price list is on the pricing page.

No. Each spot is a one-time purchase for a specific card. We don't renew or charge you automatically. Once your card mails, you don't owe anything more. If you want a spot on the next card, you book again.

They're optional. If you know you want to run for 3, 6, or 12 months in a row, you can book them together and save 10%, 15%, or 20%. Paying for 12 months up front takes off another 5% (24% in total). On a 3-month, 6-month or 12-month booking, your spot is kept for you on each monthly mailing in that market during your booking. That applies to that market only, not to other campaigns or other markets.

Each campaign shows its price and household count before you book, so you can work out your cost per household. For example, a $600 spot on a card mailed to 10,000 households works out to 6 cents per household.

Whether it pays off depends on your offer, your audience, and how many readers become customers. The calculator on our home page lets you try your own numbers.

No. The price of a spot includes help with your ad, a QR code, scan reporting, printing, mailing preparation, and postage. Sales tax is added at checkout and shown before you pay. Our terms explain how many rounds of changes are included and how postage increases are handled on multi-month bookings.

Coupon packs usually put many separate ads in one envelope. Our postcard has a limited number of spots and only one business of each type, so you won't share the card with a direct competitor.

With your own postcard, you pay for the whole print run and all of the postage, and you handle the design. On a shared card, those costs are split between several businesses in different categories, and we help with the design.

No. Send us your logo, your offer (for example '$49 tune-up' or '20% off interior painting'), your contact details, and where you want the QR code to send people. We'll put together an ad for you to review. Nothing prints until you approve the proof.

You can upload your own artwork. We'll check that it fits the card layout and the print requirements, and let you know if anything needs to change.

Yes. Nothing is printed without your approval. When your proof is ready, you'll get an email with a link to your account. You can approve it, or send us notes and we'll make changes. Our terms explain how many rounds of changes are included.

We print the postcards ourselves, in full color, on sturdy cardstock.

The printed offer can't change once the card is printed. Your QR code can. You can change where it sends people (your website, a booking page, or a different promotion) from your account at any time, without reprinting.

It depends on which campaign you choose. Each campaign shows its target mailing date.

After you reserve, we prepare your proof and you review it. Once the ads on the card are approved, we print the postcards, prepare the mailing, and deliver it to USPS. When you pay is shown on the campaign page before you reserve.

Once we deliver the mailing to USPS, the post office delivers it on its own schedule, so we can't promise a specific delivery day.

Nothing goes to press without your approval. If you don't have time to review before the card's print deadline, we'll hold your slot for the next card (at no extra charge) or issue a refund. Just let us know.

Not every area gets a card every month. We start a new card in an area when enough businesses are interested. Open campaigns are listed in your account, and you can tell us about an area you'd like to mail.

It depends on your offer, your audience, and how many readers become customers. We can't promise results.

A clear offer, an easy way to respond (a phone number and the QR code), and a good fit between your business and the neighborhood all help.

Every ad gets a QR code. Your dashboard shows scans over time, by city, and by time of day, so you can match activity to your mailing date.

For phone calls, a unique offer code on the ad, or simply asking 'Where did you hear about us?', helps you see which calls came from the card.

A good offer has a specific dollar amount or percentage off, a clear end date, and an obvious next step (call, scan, or visit). 'Free A/C tune-up with repair (ends June 30)' says more than 'call for spring deals.'

Offers with vague wording ('professional service'), no price, no deadline, and no clear next step are easy to skip. People skim their mail, so give them a reason to look twice.

We'll help you with this when we prepare your proof.

We'll talk it through with you: the offer, the timing for your trade, and the neighborhood. Then we can adjust the next one.

That depends on your trade and your offer. Some services get calls soon after the card arrives. Bigger jobs, like roofing, take longer for people to decide. Give it a few weeks before drawing conclusions.

Only one business of each type goes on a postcard. There won't be two auto shops, two dentists, or two roofing companies on the same card: if you reserve as an HVAC company, no other HVAC company can be on that card. This covers the postcard and mailing you booked, not other postcards or campaigns. On a 3-month, 6-month or 12-month booking, your spot is kept for you on each monthly mailing in that market, but not in other markets.

Whoever reserves first gets the spot. Once one company has the HVAC spot on a card, it's taken. Tell us where you'd like to mail and we'll let you know when another card is open.

When two businesses overlap or are closely related, The Neighborhood Pros decides whether both can run on the same card. An electrician and a handyman can usually share a card. If the handyman's ad says 'also does electrical and plumbing,' we'd raise that as a conflict with the electrician on that card.

Yes, if each spot has a different offer, for example a Featured spot for your business and a small spot with a coupon. Extra spots can't be used to keep a competitor off the card.

That's fine. Your account only asks you to approve your proof and, if you want, change where your QR code sends people. If you can read an email and click a button, you can use it.

Email us. If we haven't started design yet, we refund in full. If we've designed the proof but it hasn't printed, we refund minus a small design fee. If we've printed, the slot is used up, but we'll credit you on the next card if you want to reschedule.

Yes. Request one on our sample page, or email hello@theneighborhoodpros.com with your mailing address, and we'll mail you a printed sample.

Online ads mostly reach people who are already searching. A postcard reaches the households in an area whether or not they're searching right now. They do different jobs, so some businesses use both.

Yes. We can start from your approved design for the next card, and you update the offer details.

We mail the card as long as a minimum number of spots are filled. An empty spot gets a placeholder ad so the card still looks complete.

Ask us about printing a postcard just for your business.

Direct mail takes patience. A first card may not bring the response you hoped for, because people don't know your business yet. Results depend on your offer, your audience, and how many readers become customers.