Types of postage in the UK: A guide for direct mail campaigns

Direct mail remains one of the most effective avenues for reaching out to customers and generating return on investment (ROI) in your marketing. Benefits of the channel include high visibility, effective targeting and the ability to create a strong connection with recipients.

Like any form of marketing, direct mail comes with various costs, of which postage is among the most significant. But by making this a priority in the planning stage, you can select the most appropriate option for the campaign and take advantage of any discounts that may be available, ensuring your campaigns are as cost-effective as possible.

For businesses that are new to mail and postage services, this can seem confusing. It’s not always about simply choosing the cheapest option. There are several factors to take into account, including:

Campaign budget
Delivery timing requirements
Mailing efficiency

If you’re unsure how to proceed, you’re not alone. The Mailing People are here to help. In this guide, we’ll explain the different types of postage that are open to you, why you need to consider postage costs from the very earliest stage of every campaign and how you can secure discounts for bulk mail postage.

Types of postage used in UK direct mail

Choosing the right type of mail and postage service is one of the most important decisions you’ll make when planning a direct mail campaign, as it directly affects both your costs and delivery timescales.

Broadly speaking, there are two categories to consider. Standard mail covers First and Second Class postage, which is straightforward but typically more expensive at scale. Bulk postage services such as Royal Mail Business Mail and Advertising Mail offer significant discounts for larger volumes. Additional savings can also be unlocked through options like Mailmark® barcoding and pre-sorting your mail before it enters the postal network.

Here’s what to know about each option and when to consider it.

First Class postage

First Class is the fastest standard postal option in the UK, with Royal Mail aiming to deliver items by the next working day. It’s the most expensive choice per item, but for certain campaigns it can be worth the investment. Benefits of this option include:

Ideal for time-sensitive mailings where a specific landing date matters.
Best suited to urgent communications or important correspondence.
Useful when delivery timing is critical to campaign performance.

Second Class postage

Second Class is a more affordable alternative to First Class. Following reforms in 2025, Royal Mail now aims to deliver items in this category within three working days. While slower, it can still be a practical option for certain types of direct mail. This postage option offers:

Lower cost per item compared to First Class.
Suitable for mailings where speed is less critical.
Works well for newsletters, membership updates or routine communications.
A good option when budget is a higher priority than delivery speed.

Business Mail

For larger mailings, standard First and Second Class mail and postage services can quickly become expensive. As campaigns grow in volume, it’s often more prudent to explore dedicated bulk mailing services that offer better value. Royal Mail Business Mail is one such option, as it’s designed for sending transactional and operational correspondence at scale. It covers items like invoices, statements, appointment reminders and customer service updates. Some of the key features and benefits of Business Mail include:

Discounted rates compared to standard postage for high-volume mailings.
Minimum volume of 1,000 letters typically required, or 4,000 for highest volume discounts.
Flexible delivery speed options.
Suitable for non-promotional correspondence sent at scale.

Advertising Mail

While Business Mail is designed for operational correspondence, Advertising Mail is specifically for promotional content. It offers even lower postage rates, making it the more cost-effective option for direct mail campaigns focused on generating a response. Considerations for Advertising Mail are:

Cheaper per item than Business Mail.
Must be promotional in nature, such as offers, catalogues, charity appeals or marketing announcements.
Minimum volume of 1,000 Large letter items typically required, or 4,000 Standard size letter items for highest volume discounts.
Ideal when the goal is to drive sales, enquiries or engagement at scale.

Large letters are typically A4 size with dimensions of 35.3cm long, 25cm wide, 2.5cm thick, and a maximum weight of 750g. Standard letter sizes must not exceed 24cm in length, 16.5cm in width, 5mm in thickness, and a maximum weight of 100gm, an dar typically A5 or smaller.

Mailmark^®

Mailmark® is a barcoding system offered by Royal Mail that can be applied to both Business Mail and Advertising Mail. Each item receives a unique 2D barcode containing delivery information, which allows Royal Mail to process it more efficiently through automated sorting.

If you’re sending repeat mailings to the same list, or are running a very large campaign, Mailmark® can offer significant savings – easily running into thousands of pounds for large-scale mailers.

Because of this, It has become the norm for bulk mail campaigns and can be used on letters, large letters and parcels that meet Royal Mail’s formatting requirements. These demand that mail be suitable for machine processing and have addresses that are at least 90% accurate. In return, mailers benefit from lower postage rates. Features of Mailmark® include:

Further discounts on top of standard Business Mail and Advertising Mail rates.
Enables batch reporting on mail delivery.
Requires compatible software and accreditation. Best suited to high-volume campaigns where even small per-item savings add up.

It’s important to note that just because you receive Mailmark® discounts, this does not automatically give you access to Mailmark® campaign reporting metrics. Users must be registered on the Royal Mail website with their email address registered to a Mailmark® participant ID in order to access the metrics, which are updated daily and generally available the following day from noon.

Pre-sorting (Mailsort)

Although the original Mailsort scheme was discontinued by Royal Mail in 2012 and has been largely replaced by Mailmark®, the term is still widely used in the industry when referring to pre-sorting services. This involves organising mail into geographic groupings based on postcode before passing it on to Royal Mail, reducing the processing work required at their end. The savings gained from pre-sorting can be significant, with benefits including:

Can cut up to 30% from franking rates and even more off the price of a stamp.
Available alongside Business Mail and Advertising Mail services.
Typically handled by a mailing house on your behalf.
Most effective for high-volume campaigns where per-item savings have a major impact on overall budget.

Why postage is an important part of direct mail campaign planning

Postage is not simply a cost to be added at the end of a campaign. The choices you make early on will shape your overall budget, delivery speed, response timing and campaign logistics.

Selecting the wrong option can mean paying more than necessary or missing an important delivery window. Different campaigns call for different approaches. For example:

A time-sensitive product launch may justify First Class postage to ensure items arrive as close as possible to your target date.
A large-scale promotional campaign targeting thousands of recipients will benefit from Advertising Mail rates and Mailsort discounts.
A routine customer update such as a newsletter can use Second Class postage to keep costs low without compromising effectiveness.

Aiming for a specific postage type can also influence the format, weight and size of your items – and vice-versa. For example, if you have a custom full coverage envelope design in mind for your mailing, you may need to make changes to add ‘clear zones’ to your envelopes. This ensures that optical character recognition (OCR) systems used as part of machine sorting can recognise your addresses and barcodes, and therefore enable you to benefit from Mailmark® discounts.

Getting the right balance between cost and timing can be tricky, particularly for bulk mailings that involve sorting requirements and formatting standards. This is where working with an experienced mailing house like The Mailing People is invaluable, as we can advise on the most suitable option for your goals and handle the technical setup on your behalf.

How to choose the right postage option

Selecting the right mail and postage service comes down to balancing several key factors, including what you’re sending, how quickly it needs to arrive and how many items are in the mailing.

For smaller mailings or time-critical correspondence, standard First or Second Class postage may be the most practical choice. As volumes increase, bulk postage services like Business Mail and Advertising Mail become more cost-effective, particularly when combined with pre-sorting discounts like Mailmark®. The content of your mailing also matters, as promotional items qualify for the cheaper Advertising Mail rates, while transactional correspondence such as account statements must go through Business Mail.

The table below offers a starting point for some of the most common types of direct mail campaigns.

Campaign type	Suggested postage	Why it works
Product launch with fixed deadline	First Class	Ensures the fastest possible delivery.
Promotional offers or catalogues	Advertising Mail	Lowest per-item cost for high-volume marketing.
Invoices or account updates	Business Mail	Discounted bulk rates for transactional mail.
Newsletters or membership updates	Second Class	Affordable option where speed is less critical.
Large-scale campaigns	Advertising Mail	Combines discounts with delivery reporting.
Charity appeals or fundraising	Advertising Mail	Qualifies for promotional rates to maximise donation ROI.
Welcome packs for new customers	Business Mail	Reliable bulk delivery for personalised onboarding material.
Event invitations or ticket mailings	First Class	Time-sensitive items that need to arrive well ahead of the date.

Further processing discounts gained from pre-sorting or Mailmark® services can be applied to any postage tariffs, provided the campaign meets the qualification criteria.

How a mailing house helps optimise postage

Understanding the various UK postage options doesn’t have to be complex. A mailing house makes this easy by handling the technical work that unlocks bulk mail discounts. This includes cleaning and preparing address data, sorting mail into the required geographical groupings and ensuring items meet formatting and content standards for services like Advertising Mail and Mailmark®.

A good provider will recommend the most efficient postage option based on your campaign’s volume, timing and budget, but the best partners go beyond helping with postage. At The Mailing People, we provide fully integrated services including printing, personalisation, fulfilment and postage management under one roof.

This means every element of your campaign is taken care of, reducing the risk of errors and helping you keep postage costs firmly under control from start to finish.

What to know more about making postage as cost-effective as possible? Get in touch today.

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