Direct mail spending sits at $38.5 billion, taking up the largest portion of local advertising spending in the US. It’s a valuable channel that leads to $2,095 of sales per person and convinces at least 39% of consumers to try a new brand.
Businesses still need to send out personalized letters and packages to their potential customers in today’s digital world. The best way to do this is to have a personalized location to receive and send mail from, but choosing the right one can be difficult.
Two of the best options are a private mailbox and a PO box. Read on to learn about the pros and cons of each to help you choose between them.
PO Box Pros and Cons
A post office box or PO box is one of over 21 million personal boxes within the 31,000 post offices in the United States.
One of the major pros of PO box rental is the extra security it provides. All your mail will be stored until you collect it, and you’ll also have a secure address.
There are several cons to consider as well. Providers may have limited working hours, and they won’t accept any mail that needs to be signed for, contact you about your mail arriving, or offer extra services such as mail forwarding. Your PO box address is secure but easily identifiable as a PO, and this may make your business seem less credible than if it had a physical address.
Private Mailbox Pros and Cons
There are several advantages of mailbox rental.
You won’t have to publish your home address if you run a business from home. Use your business address instead to show up in Google searches and avoid the hassle of changing it if you move. You can also use the address of your private mailbox to comply with the CAN-SPAM Act without giving away your home address when sending marketing emails.
There are other privacy benefits for home-run businesses is that you won’t have to get packages delivered to your home where they can attract thieves. They’ll go to your private mailbox instead where you can pick them up later without anyone knowing what you’re receiving and how valuable it is.
A PO box is only offered by USPS, meaning that they’re the only courier you can use. While a UPS private mailbox is an option, most private mailboxes will accept other major couriers such as Fed-Ex or DHL E-commerce.
A private mailbox gives your business a legal street address. This increases business credibility and is required for certain business-related forms.
Private mailbox rental companies also offer more services than you’ll get with a PO Box. They’ll sign for your deliveries, send a message when your mail arrives, offer mail forwarding, and more. They also have longer operating hours to offer these services.
One of the only cons of private mailbox rental is that you need to go to a physical location to manage your letters and packages.
Where to Learn More
A PO box is a safe and secure place to store your mail and packages. The problem is that providers have limited working hours and don’t offer extra services you may need.
A private mailbox is a physical location that you need to travel to, but this also means it has a physical address you can use for marketing and legal documents. Companies who offer it also iinclude other services such as signing and notifying you about deliveries.
Read our other content for more tips on how your business can master direct mail marketing.
