If you want to connect with customers, few methods are as reliable as direct mail campaigns – and bulk mailing services allow you to achieve this quickly, cost-effectively and at scale. These options can be used for all types of items, from simple mailshots to leaflets, brochures, catalogues and magazines.
At The Mailing People, we make bulk mail simple. Our mass mailing service covers everything you need to run a high-volume campaign, including personalisation, print, fulfilment and postage, all in one place.
Bulk mail at a glance
1,000+
items to start receiving postage discounts
353MM X 250MM X 25MM
Maximum Large Letter dimensions
750G
Maximum Large Letter weight
3-4 DAY
turnaround to produce and dispatch bulk mail
How bulk mailing works, step by step
Our mass mailing service sees every bulk campaign follow a clear managed path, from the day we receive your data to the moment it’s released to post. Many of the bulk mailing service savings and efficiencies we offer come from how your mailing is prepared at scale.
To help you better understand how to send letters in bulk, here’s how our typical process works:
Secure data ingestion
You upload your recipient data through our secure portal and supply your artwork. We are an ISO 27001 certified business, so you can be confident that your data is treated confidentially and handled to a recognised information security standard.
Data processing
Your data can be checked and cleansed to improve accuracy, which keeps wasted print and postage to a minimum. It is then formatted and sorted for both personalisation and postage, structuring the mailing so it qualifies for the best available discounts.
Personalisation and print:
Fulfilment and enclosing
We finish and assemble your mailing to the agreed specification, then enclose or wrap it on automated lines that handle everything from A6 to A4 and process up to 10,000 envelopes an hour.
Postage
Because we prepare and sort your mailing to meet carrier requirements such as MailMark®, you’ll often qualify for discounted postage rates. We can advise on which discounts you’re eligible for and take steps to meet all necessary requirements. Finally, we then release your campaign to post on the agreed date.
Bulk mail postage and discounts
Postage often accounts for at least half the total cost of any direct mail campaign, so securing every available discount makes a real difference. Depending on what you want to send out, you may qualify for reduced bulk mail postage rates such as business mail, advertising mail or publishing mail. Where your sorted mail is eligible, using machine-readable barcodes that meet Royal Mail’s automated standards can unlock further MailMark savings.
These discounts depend on volume. To qualify for sorted bulk mail rates you need a minimum of 1,000 Large Letter items or 4,000 Standard Letter items. Pricing becomes most cost-effective once you pass 4,000. There’s no upper limit, so larger mailings can save even more. For Large Letters, each item must also fall within the qualifying limits of 353mm x 250mm x 25mm and weigh no more than 750g. For Standard Letter mailings, the limits are 240mm x 165mm x 5mm and 100g.
To take advantage, your data must be clean, accurate and correctly formatted, then sorted to meet carrier requirements. We handle this preparation for you, advising on the most cost-effective format and applying every discount you qualify for across all the main delivery providers.
Standard Letter
240 x 165 x 5mm
Up to 100g. Sorted rates from 4,000 items.
Large Letter
353 x 250 x 25mm
Up to 750g. Sorted rates from 1,000 items.
Find out how The Mailing People can help you obtain the best postage cost for your next bulk mailing campaign.
Get a quote for your bulk mailing
Find out how The Mailing People can help you obtain the best postage cost for your next bulk mailing campaign.
Fulfilment and enclosing options
Once your items are printed, they need to be collated, sealed and made ready for posting. As a comprehensive, end-to-end mailing house, we offer a full range of high-volume fulfilment methods to suit different formats, volumes and budgets and can advise on the most efficient, cost-effective method for you. Mail fulfilment options to consider for high-volume bulk mail include:
01
Automated folding and finishing
High-speed lines fold, score, staple, glue, tab and drill printed items in large runs, keeping quality consistent and per-item costs low.
02
Envelope enclosing
Our automated Buhrs machines insert single or multiple pieces into DL, C5 or C4 envelopes at a rate of up to 10,000 an hour, handling mailings from A6 to A4. That adds up to 160,000 envelopes a day.
03
Polywrapping or paper wrapping
A clear film or paper outer seals magazines, catalogues and multi-piece mailings, protecting the contents in transit and letting several items travel together.
04
Personalised fulfilment
On high-volume litho runs, spot sealing can be used to make materials suitable for digital overprinting. This combines the economies of scale for runs of more than 10,000 items with the personalisation capabilities of digital print. Wrapped mailings can also include personalised carrier sheets, printed in full colour front and back.
Bulk mail personalisation at scale
Sending thousands of letters doesn’t mean abandoning the personal touch. Even on the biggest campaigns, variable data printing lets you tailor each item to the person receiving it, so even if you post bulk mail items by the thousand, they still read as though written for one individual.
The scope goes well beyond a name at the top. Almost any element can change from one item to the next, including the address, greeting, imagery, body copy and specific offers, all driven by the data on your list. A single run can therefore speak differently to each segment of your audience, produced together in one pass.
This stays cost-effective as volumes climb. Even runs of more than 10,000 items can be tailored to each recipient without a jump in unit cost, while outer envelopes can be printed in full colour to make a personal impression before the mail is opened.
Data cleansing for bulk mail
When you mail in bulk, errors, duplicates and out-of-date addresses are inevitable, but they are avoidable. ONS figures show millions of people move home across England and Wales every year, so any list left unchecked steadily fills with addresses that no longer reach anyone. Because every duplicate or undeliverable item is still printed, fulfilled and posted, these expenses impact your campaign budget for no benefit.
We can check your mailing list against recognised quality criteria to remove duplicates, gone-aways, invalid postcodes, deceased records and Mailing Preference Service registrations before your mailing is produced. We can even enrich your bulk mailing list by adding in traceable contacts that have moved. For charities, alumni groups and organisations keen to retain contact with donors and clients, this is especially important.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Each item can be no larger than 353mm long, 250mm wide and 25mm thick, which is the upper limit of the Large Letter format. Anything beyond that moves into parcel rates and no longer qualifies for bulk letter discounts.
Yes, but it depends on the format you’re aiming for. A Standard Letter can weigh up to 100g, while a Large Letter can weigh up to 750g. Weight works alongside size in setting the rate, so a piece that tips over 100g moves from Standard Letter into the Large Letter band, even if its dimensions would still qualify as a letter.
No. There’s no minimum size for bulk postage discounts, so compact formats such as postcards still qualify. If you’re looking to send bulk letters below the Standard Letter maximum dimensions, they are simply priced within that format. A smaller piece won’t drop into a cheaper band, but it remains one of the most economical ways to mail at volume.
The size, weight and format of the direct mail pack all play key parts in determining the most cost-effective method for bulk mailing. Typically, keeping a mailing piece under 240mm x 165mm (including the outer envelope, polythene, paper wrap etc) and under 100g in weight will provide the most cost-effective solution for bulk mailing.
Most sizes will qualify for bulk mail discounts but are subject to minimum quantity thresholds. Typically, bulk mail discounts will start from quantities of 1,000, and become most cost effective for volumes greater than 4,000.
There’s no maximum. You can send bulk mail at any quantity and still qualify for discounts. Larger mailings tend to work out cheaper per item as fixed costs spread across more pieces.
There’s no minimum quantity to run a direct mail campaign, but bulk postage discounts only apply once certain volume thresholds are met. As a guide, sorted bulk mail rates need at least 1,000 Large Letter items or 4,000 Standard Letter items. The exact minimum varies with the postage service and format used. We can advise on the best option for your volume.
Once we’ve received your stock and data, a bulk mailing usually takes around three to four working days to produce and dispatch, depending on the quantity. Larger or more complex jobs may need longer, so we’ll confirm timings when you book.
It depends on the postage service you choose. Economy is delivered within four to six working days, Second Class typically aims for delivery within two to three working days, though the new universal agreement caveats that this post is delivered only every other weekday. First Class timelines are typically within one to two days, though it aims for next-day delivery. These run from when your mail enters the network, so allow production turnaround too.
ADDRESS
The Mailing People
Fitzherbert Road
Farlington
Portsmouth
Hampshire
PO6 1RU
