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Postcard & Direct Mail ROI Calculator
Before you mail, run the numbers. See how many responses and jobs a postcard mailing needs to bring in, what it returns on every dollar, and the response rate where it breaks even.
Your mailing
The starting values are placeholders — change each one to match your mailing and your business.
All in: printing, postage and any list cost. Starts at ScoutStream Pro's Basic-plan price per card.
Your estimate: calls, texts or scans per 100 cards.
Responses that turn into a paid job.
Read the break-even first
Response rates are hard to predict before you mail, but the break-even rate isn't — it only needs your cost per card, close rate and job value. If the break-even is low, a mailing doesn't need many replies to pay for itself.
Who you mail matters as much as how many. A card sent to a house that visibly needs your work has a better chance than one sent to every address on a route.
Live results
Above break-even — at these numbers the mailing pays for itself.
Revenue, not profit — your materials and labor still come out of it. Expected values for planning, not a guarantee of results.
Mail only the houses that need your work.
With ScoutStream Pro you tag a house from your phone and it prints and mails your postcard to that home — $1.75 a card on Basic, as low as $0.79 on higher plans.
Start your 7-day free trial →Card required to start the trial; cancel before it ends and you pay nothing.
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How the math works
Cards × response rate = responses. Responses × close rate = jobs.
Jobs × average job value = revenue. Cards × cost per card = total cost.
Revenue ÷ cost = dollars back per $1 mailed. ROI = (revenue − cost) ÷ cost.
Cost per card ÷ (close rate × job value) = the response rate where revenue equals cost.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate direct mail ROI?
Multiply the cards you mail by your response rate to get responses, multiply responses by your close rate to get jobs, and multiply jobs by your average job value to get revenue. Your cost is cards × cost per card. Return on spend is revenue ÷ cost, and ROI is (revenue − cost) ÷ cost. This calculator does all of it as you type.
What response rate should I expect from a postcard?
It varies a lot by trade, list, offer, design and timing, so there is no single honest number. A card sent to a house that clearly needs your work will usually do better than one sent to every address in a zip code. The best figure is your own: track the responses from one mailing, then put that rate in here.
What is a break-even response rate?
It is the response rate at which the jobs you win pay back exactly what the mailing cost. Below it you lose money on the mailing; above it you make money. Because one job is usually worth many times the cost of a postcard, the break-even rate is often low — which is why a mailing can pay off even when most cards get no reply.
How do I track postcard responses?
Give every mailing a way to be counted: a phone number or QR code used only on that card, a short offer code, or simply asking every new caller how they heard about you. Write the count down per mailing so the next one is planned with real numbers instead of guesses.
Is revenue the same as profit here?
No. The calculator compares job revenue with what the mailing cost. Your materials, labor and overhead still come out of that revenue, so a mailing that only just breaks even on revenue is losing money once job costs are counted. Aim well above break-even.
How can I mail only to houses that need my work?
Instead of buying a list, pick the houses yourself. With ScoutStream Pro you tag a property from your phone and it prints and mails your branded postcard to that house, so each card goes to a home you chose. Postcards are $1.75 each on the Basic plan and as low as $0.79 on higher plans, with a 7-day free trial (card required).