Before publishing a direct mail campaign in Postalytics, you’ll first need to import, or upload, direct mail lists that contain the required contact information. Postalytics uses the direct mail list contact information to generate several things:

Required Fields*

In order for a list to be used in Postalytics, you’ll need to map at least the following fields from your data file or your CRM:

  • First Name and Last Name (40 alpha/numeric character limit combined) OR Company (40 alpha/numeric character limit). You can optionally have both, they will print on separate lines in the “To Address”
  • Address (64 alpha numeric character limit)
  • City (50 character limit)
  • State (Must be 2 letter state code or valid full state name)
  • Zip Code (numeric 5 character or numeric 5+4 character. 12345 or 12345-1234)

Data fields with lengths longer than the above limits, will be truncated (or cut off) at the maximum field length. This will ensure that these fields will print properly in the address area of the mailer.

Why do we require First Name and Last Name or Company? These are the minimum needed to print in the To address area on your mailpiece. You can, of course, have both.

If your data doesn’t separate first and last names (for example – John and Nancy Smith), we recommend mapping the name column to the Company field.

If you’re mailing to residents/businesses in the same building, it is important that you use the Address 2 (64 alpha numeric character limit) field in Postalytics. While not required, we will use it in printing addresses and in our deduplication process.

*Postalytics will mark specific contact records as “Invalid” that don’t have all required fields. 

Invalid Records

If you have records marked as invalid during the import/upload process, you can clean them up by editing the specific contact in the list uploaded to Postalytics and then saving the record.

Duplicate Records

Duplicate records are identified in the following way:

Identical First Name, Last Name, Address, Address 2 (if used in list, as it is optional), City, State, Zip. Any duplicate records found will be removed and a list of the duplicates will be emailed to you.

Optional and Variable Fields

There are many more optional fields that can be mapped, including Address 2, Title, Phone, etc. There are also up to 35 user defined fields that are labeled Var1, Var2, etc. These are called Variable Data fields.

It is important to understand that only fields that are mapped in your lists can be used as personalization variables in your creative.

Other Important Notes

  • Before importing/upload a new list, it’s a good idea to review our help article Contact List Tips to ensure that your list is in the correct format
  • Excel and .CSV data file formats can be uploaded
  • Importing direct mail lists directly from CRMs and Marketing Automation platforms is an option with Postalytics. Contact Us, or see our Integration Support Docs for the latest integration information.
  • Postalytics is currently available to deliver personalized, tracked postcards and letters to U.S. and Canadian addresses.