Dialogpost: Definition, Bedeutung & Beispiele im Direktmarketing

What Is Dialogpost? — Simply Explained

Dialogpost is Deutsche Post AG's core product for sending addressed advertising mail. It is designed for businesses that want to send larger volumes of promotional mailings cost-effectively to private and business customers. Compared to the standard letter, which costs 0.95 EUR in 2026, Dialogpost offers significantly reduced postage rates — starting at 0.36 EUR per item in the standard format.

The decisive advantage: Dialogpost costs only a fraction of regular letter postage. In return, certain conditions apply: The mailings must be promotional in nature, there are minimum quantities starting at 500 pieces, and delivery takes place without a guaranteed delivery time within 2 to 4 business days. For marketing campaigns that are not time-critical, Dialogpost is thus the most economical option for postal delivery in Germany.

Since its introduction in 2016, Dialogpost has become the standard shipping product for professional direct marketing campaigns. According to the DDV Dialogmarketing-Monitor 2024, approximately 6.9 billion advertising letters are sent via Deutsche Post each year — a substantial portion of which as Dialogpost.

History: From Infopost to Dialogpost

In January 2016, Deutsche Post AG introduced Dialogpost as the successor product to the former Infopost. The rebranding was more than cosmetic: The new product brought changes to pricing, formats, and technical requirements. Deutsche Post positioned Dialogpost specifically as a premium product for promotional communication.

Infopost itself had a long tradition. As early as the 1970s, Deutsche Bundespost offered discounted rates for bulk mailings. Over the decades, the names changed — from "Drucksache" (printed matter) to "Infopost" to today's Dialogpost — but the basic principle remained the same: Those who deliver large volumes of mail and forgo guaranteed delivery times pay less postage.

The most significant change in recent years concerns franking: Since January 1, 2026, all Dialogpost items must be franked with an individual digital matrix code. The traditional franking wave is no longer permitted. Businesses that continue to send without a matrix code pay a surcharge of 5 cents per item.

Dialogpost Prices 2026 in Detail

Dialogpost prices depend on format and weight. Compared to the standard letter, the savings are substantial — especially with larger volumes, where the cost advantages add up across thousands of items.

Deutsche Post distinguishes three main formats. In the Standard format (up to 235 mm length, up to 125 mm width, up to 5 mm thickness), items up to 20 g cost between 0.36 and 0.39 EUR net, items from 21 to 50 g are 0.42 EUR. The Large format (up to 353 mm length, up to 250 mm width, up to 30 mm thickness) starts at 0.54 EUR for items up to 50 g and goes up to 1.11 EUR for items up to 1,000 g.

For businesses with smaller quantities, Deutsche Post offers the Dialogpost Easy rate. This allows deliveries starting from just 500 items, but with a surcharge of 0.18 EUR per piece compared to the regular rate. The regular rate applies from 5,000 items nationwide, with an additional requirement of at least 200 items per routing region (first two digits of the postal code).

All prices are net. The price adjustment on January 1, 2026 brought an average increase of 4.0% for Dialogpost. Despite regular price adjustments, Dialogpost remains the most economical option for bulk mailings with a cost advantage of over 50% compared to the standard letter.

Formats and Technical Requirements

Dialogpost imposes certain technical requirements on senders that go beyond what is necessary for regular letter mailing. These requirements ensure efficient automated processing of items and enable the favorable rates.

Content Requirements

Since January 1, 2020, only items with promotional content are permitted for Dialogpost. Invoices, bank statements, contracts, or other non-promotional business correspondence may not be sent as Dialogpost. Deutsche Post conducts random checks and can retroactively charge the difference to regular letter postage in case of violations.

Franking from 2026

The most significant technical change concerns franking. Since January 1, 2026, matrix code franking (DV-Freimachung) is mandatory for all Dialogpost items. Each individual item requires a unique DataMatrix code that is read by machine. The previous franking via franking wave is no longer permitted.

For businesses that process their mailings through professional lettershop service providers or automated platforms, little changes in practice — the matrix code generation is handled by the service provider. However, those who prepare their mailings themselves must set up the corresponding software and interfaces to Deutsche Post.

Pre-sorting and Delivery

Dialogpost items must be pre-sorted by postal code and packaged into routing region bundles. Delivery takes place at designated Deutsche Post drop-off points. The regular rate requires at least 200 items per routing region, while the Easy rate waives this requirement.

Dialogpost vs. Standard Letter: When Is Each Worth It?

The decision between Dialogpost and the standard letter depends on several factors: quantity, time pressure, and type of content. Both products have their place — and for many businesses, a combination makes sense.

The standard letter with its postage of 0.95 EUR (2026) offers guaranteed delivery on the next or second business day (E+1 to E+2). It is suitable for individual mailings, time-critical correspondence, and non-promotional business mail. Dialogpost, on the other hand, is the economical choice for all regular marketing mailings above a certain minimum quantity.

The rule of thumb is: As soon as a business sends more than 500 advertising letters and does not need to meet a tight delivery deadline, Dialogpost is almost always the better choice. With 5,000 items, Dialogpost saves approximately 2,950 EUR compared to the standard letter — a budget that can be invested in campaign design or higher print runs.

Dialogpost Heavy: Catalogs and Comprehensive Mailings

For particularly heavy items between 1,000 g and 10,000 g (10 kg), Deutsche Post offers the Dialogpost Heavy product. It is aimed at businesses that want to send extensive product catalogs, magazines, brochures, or product samples.

Prices for Dialogpost Heavy start at approximately 1.30 EUR for items from 1 to 2 kg and rise to about 3.50 EUR for items up to 10 kg. The exact terms depend on mailing volume and sorting depth and are negotiated individually with Deutsche Post. Dialogpost Heavy is subject to the same minimum quantities and the same mandatory matrix code franking from 2026 as regular Dialogpost.

Dialogpost and GDPR: Legal Framework

Sending Dialogpost is subject to the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) — however, postal advertising enjoys a privileged position compared to digital advertising channels.

The legal basis for sending promotional mail is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest). This means: No prior consent from the recipient is required for Dialogpost mailings — a significant advantage over email marketing, where the double opt-in procedure is mandatory. The prerequisite is that no overriding interests of the data subject stand in opposition.

However, businesses must fulfill certain information obligations. Each Dialogpost item should include a notice of the recipient's right to object (Art. 21(2) GDPR). Additionally, it must be evident where the address data originates from — whether from the company's own customer database or from an address provider. The Robinson List (advertising exclusion register) of the DDV should be cross-referenced before each mailing to exclude recipients who do not wish to receive advertising.

The Dialogpost Market in Numbers

Postal advertising mailings continue to play a significant role in the German advertising market. Current market data shows that print mailings remain a central advertising channel despite digitalization — precisely because they stand out from the digital information overload.

According to the DDV Dialogmarketing-Monitor 2024, postal advertising mailings rank 4th among the strongest advertising channels in Germany with a revenue volume of 5.9 billion EUR — after print advertising (6.6 bn EUR), TV advertising (6.3 bn EUR), and online display advertising (6.0 bn EUR). Deutsche Post delivers approximately 14 billion letters in total each year, of which about 6.9 billion are advertising letters. With a market share of 85%, Deutsche Post dominates the German letter market.

These figures illustrate: Dialogpost is not a niche product but a mass mailing channel used by businesses of all sizes — from local tradespeople to international mail-order companies.

Dialogpost and AutoLetter: Automated Mailing

The biggest hurdle in sending Dialogpost has traditionally been the complexity of the process: Addresses must be validated, items pre-sorted by postal code, matrix code franking correctly applied, and drop-off coordinated. For businesses without their own lettershop or experience with Deutsche Post's requirements, this represents considerable effort.

AutoLetter simplifies this process by automating the entire workflow — from recipient selection through printing and enveloping to drop-off as Dialogpost with Deutsche Post. Businesses do not need to deal with pre-sorting, matrix code generation, or minimum quantities. The service handles all technical requirements of Dialogpost delivery.

Since AutoLetter processes mailings via Dialogpost, customers benefit from the favorable Dialogpost rates. The exact cost per letter — including printing, enveloping, personalization, and postage — is displayed transparently before sending, so businesses know exactly what each campaign costs upfront. This eliminates the need for separate coordination of print shop, lettershop, and postal delivery. Businesses connect their existing systems (CRM, online shop) via API with AutoLetter, and mailing is triggered automatically as soon as a defined event occurs.