2025 USPS Promotions & Incentives: First-Class Mail Advertising
An interesting change to a previously-limited program, First-Class Mail Advertising is set to make its debut in mid-2025. What looks like an expansion of the Personalized Color Transpromo Promotion held in years past, First-Class Mail Advertising looks to be an exciting and more inclusive shift, allowing an expanded base of mailers to partake.
But what does the promotion look like and how can you make the most of the program? We look to discuss just that over the course of this blog.
Guidebook: 2025 First-Class Mail Advertising Promotion | PostalPro (usps.com)
Background: USPS Promotions & Incentives
Every year, the United State Postal Service announces savings opportunities alongside their Market-Dominant Price increases. Designed to encourage mailers to make use of interesting programs, embrace innovation, or to otherwise change up their mailings, these are always a hot topic in the postal world.
As we discussed in our 2025 Promotions & Incentives preview article, next year will offer mailers a variety of opportunities to get rewarded for taking a different approach to mail. And with five potential discounts throughout the year, there’s always some kind of small change you could make that results in savings.
Following our “brief” looks at the Tactile, Sensory, & Interactive Promotion, Integrated Technology, and Reply Mail IMbA, we’re looking at First-Class Mail Advertising, expected to bring exciting additions to First-Class Mail.
The Basics: First-Class Mail Advertising
Discount: 3 Percent
Registration Period: July 15, 2025 – December 31, 2025
Active Period: September 1, 2025 – December 31, 2025
Available Class: First-Class Mail letters, cards, and flats.
Whether it’s a standalone advertisement sent First-Class or a marketing message added to a current document, the First-Class Mail Advertising Promotion looks to provide mailers with more opportunity to drive results using mailpieces they were likely sending anyway.
Running from September 1 until the end of 2025, this allows for the use of either standalone advertisements or the addition of marketing messages to a piece.
How Does This Differ from Personalized Color Transpromo?
If you’ve sat through a Promotions & Incentives presentation by the USPS or a service provider over the past few years, you probably heard about Personalized Color Transpromo. It’s been running without a ton of change for the past half decade.
And you’ve probably thought to yourself, “That’s cool. It’s too bad that the discount only counts for bills and statements.” Well, you’re in luck. First-Class Mail Advertising will replace Personalized Color Transpromo in 2025—and if you send a lot of mail First-Class, you should be excited.
Because First-Class Mail Advertising includes you, and as long as you follow the rules, that sweet three percent (five percent if you make use of add-ons) discount is yours. No longer is the promotion limited to monthly bills or statements. It still includes them. But next year, it’ll include a lot more. And over the next thousand or so words, we’re going to break it down.
Eligibility & Approaches: How to Save 3 Percent or More on First-Class Mail in 2025
So, now that you’re amply excited that the USPS has expanded the discount to include all First-Class Mail, what goes into this promotion? What do you need to include, what can you include, and what’s verboten?
Two Ways to Qualify—On the Piece or On Its Own
So, what does it take to qualify for the First-Class Mail Advertising Promotion? Likely, a few small tweaks to your mail. According to the USPS, there are two main changes that could result in a three percent savings: Adding a marketing message to a current First-Class mailing or sending a standalone advertisement using First-Class Mail (there’s good reason for this in some circumstances).
Add Advertising to a Piece
Looking to make use of some blank space on a bill or statement? Advertise something. If you’re already sending something First-Class, a slight redesign to incorporate an ad could be the easy way to save a few percent during the promotional period. And as we’ll discuss below, it’s likely you’ll find something that meets the criteria.
Standalone Advertisements
Or, there could be occasional logic in sending a true First-Class Mail Advertisement. Whether that’s as simple as requiring a tight timeline or if you’re looking to meet your Mail Growth Incentive baseline, using standalone advertisements could play an important role in your annual mail strategy. In fact, if you mostly or exclusively send First-Class Mail and intend to make use of the USPS Mail Growth Incentive in 2025, a First-Class postcard campaign could absolutely help you meet or exceed volume requirements.
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Approved Messages
According to the USPS Guidebook on First Class Mail Advertising, the following messages would be acceptable—though this doesn’t represent a comprehensive list:
Personalized Discounts & Limited Time Offers
Promote savings opportunities and create a sense of urgency. From the use of exclusive coupons or personalized codes to using the tighter in-home windows and better visibility of First-Class Mail to create limited time offers, here are just some of the potential phrases recommended in the Guidebook:
"Here's a gift for you, [Customer's Name] - save 15% on your next order!"
"We missed you! Come back and save 20% on your next purchase."
"Save 10% on your next purchase with this exclusive coupon!"
"Unlock a special 20% discount with your personalized code!"
"Enjoy $15 off when you spend $75 or more!"
"Act now! This offer expires in 7 days."
"Last chance to save - offer ends this Friday!"
"Hurry! Limited quantities available at this price."
Looking to learn more about personalization? Learn how we helped this digital health company personalize mail and achieve a 17 percent response rate without getting overwhelmed by templates.
Customer Loyalty, Rewards, Membership Offers
Connect with your best customers—and give back to those who actively embrace your brand. From adding a personalized discount or bonus for customers to promoting the next level of rewards tier in a bill or statement, here are just some of the messages USPS recommends:
“Earn double rewards points on all purchases this month."
"As a valued customer, enjoy an exclusive offer just for you."
"Thank you for being a loyal customer - here's a special discount!"
Event Invitations
Drive meaningful engagements, increase event attendance, and get a discount for doing so. From product launch parties to rewards-member exclusive pre-sales, here are some of the ways to run an event invitation in First Class Mail Advertising:
"Join us for our exclusive VIP event next week!"
"You're invited! Attend our product launch party."
"RSVP now for our upcoming workshop - limited seats available."
Product Launches
Another area to consider a First-Class Mail Advertisement is using it to promote a new product line or service. Maybe it’s a new product altogether. Maybe it’s the first time a product is available in a specific location.
Or maybe it combines all the abovementioned categories—a special, timely, rewards-member-only product drop announcement (you know, for whatever is following the Stanley cup craze). Here are just a few Guidebook-recommended phrases:
"Be the first to try our latest product - now available!"
"Introducing our new line of [product category]."
"Discover what's new in [product category] - shop now!"
One thing to note—be careful to ensure that your ad looks and feels like an ad. This seems like an area where you could fall into the “informative message” category of ineligible messaging.
Ineligible Advertisements & Messaging
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, there’s a good chance it’s a duck.
Same goes for your First-Class Mail Advertising advertisement.
It has to look like an ad and act like an ad to be considered an ad.
And with that in mind, your ad will need to be approved to ensure it makes an offer—and wouldn’t fail the eligibility criteria. Expect to submit a sample mailpiece to the Promotions Office for review—and keep one on hand in the event you’re selected for a random audit.
Informational Messaging
An insert or message highlighting a change of hours is a no-go. A statement about going paperless is a definite no-go—even if it would technically be an ad (more on that later).
If it doesn’t meet the ad criteria, it won’t get the discount.
Small or Inconsequential Advertisements
To qualify for the First-Class Mail Advertising Promotion, standalone ads have to have a bit of heft to them. What does this mean? Sliding a buckslip, notecard, sticker or other inconsequential item in a piece and calling it a standalone advertisement isn’t going to cut it.
Mail Diversion Messaging Is Always a No-No
A message on all Promotions & Incentives, from Reply Mail IMbA to Integrated Technology: If you want the discount, you can’t include messaging that aims to cut out the Postal Service. Referred to as “Mail Diversion” messaging, there’s a big red section in every guidebook that says the following:
“Mail diversion” messages included on the mailpiece will make the mailing ineligible for the promotion discount, regardless of whether or not the mailing includes qualifying treatment, technique, or technology for the promotion.”
Translation? Recommend online bill pay, lose discount.
Bonus: Get More with Add-Ons
Like most of the other promotions, mailers have the opportunity to get up to two percent more in discounts when combining a promotion with specific add-ons: Sustainability and Informed Delivery.
Available only when combined with other promotions listed above (except for the Reply Mail IMbA promotion), mailers can get an extra, stackable, 1 percent discount per add-on.
What does this mean? If you are able to demonstrate that the paper you use is sustainably sourced, you get an extra percent discount added. If you do this and leverage best practices in Informed Delivery, you get a second percent off. So instead of three percent per piece, you get five.
Get More from Your Mailing: Sepire Can Help
Every promotion has a ton of moving parts, nuances, and pitfalls. And it pays to work with a company who can help. There’s a good reason we brought in one of the best in the world not only to help clients understand how the postal system works, but to fight on their behalf.
It’s just part of the larger way we work at Sepire. So, whether you’re looking to plan around the Integrated Technology Promotion (or one of the many others in the coming year), need a company that can scale to meet your needs, or simply just want to talk mail, we’d love to hear from you—drop us a line to learn more.