DISTRIBUTION · 6 MIN READ

Hand-to-door canvassing vs. direct mail: cost, reach, and conversion

Direct mail puts paper in a box by the street. Canvassing puts your message right on the customer's front door. For local service companies, the economics and psychology of door distribution deliver unique advantages.

Cost Breakdown: Postage vs. Labor

When you mail postcards through USPS, postage represents 60% to 75% of your total campaign expense. Even with EDDM's discounted rate of $0.216 per piece, mailing 5,000 postcards costs over $1,080 in postage alone, before printing costs.

With door hangers, postage is zero. A two-person canvassing crew or in-house technician can place 300 to 500 door hangers in a dense residential subdivision in 2 to 3 hours. When calculated on a cost-per-contact basis, contractor teams deploying door hangers around active jobs achieve a dramatically lower customer acquisition cost.

The 'Cloverleaf' 5-Around Contractor Strategy

The most profitable way for roofers, painters, plumbers, and tree service companies to use door hangers is the 5-Around Rule (also called the Cloverleaf):

Whenever your service truck is parked at a customer's house completing a job, your crew places a door hanger on:

• The 2 homes directly to the left.
• The 2 homes directly to the right.
• The 3 homes directly across the street.

The copy speaks directly to the visual proof: "We're working on your neighbor's roof at 1412 Oak Street today. While our equipment is on your block, we're offering neighboring homes $250 off any gutter or roof maintenance." Neighbors see your branded trucks, see your workers, and recognize your door hanger as proof of trusted local work.

GPS Tracking and Proof of Distribution

The historical risk with third-party canvassing was accountability—how do you know the flyers didn't end up in a dumpster? Modern canvassing solves this completely through GPS tracking apps (such as Spotio or Map My Walk).

Every walking path is logged with timestamps, speed verification, and pin drops at each visited address. You receive an exportable map showing exactly which streets and homes received your door hanger.