On this page
Door hangers and yard signs work best right next to a job you just did, because the neighbors can see the result. Hang them on doors only, never in mailboxes, since federal postal rules reserve mailboxes for mail with postage paid. Put yard signs up only with the homeowner's permission and within local sign rules, and give each piece a way to track the calls it brings in.
Key takeaways
- The best place for a door hanger is the five or ten houses around a finished job.
- Never put a hanger, flyer or card in a mailbox; 18 U.S.C. § 1725 covers unstamped matter left in a mailbox to avoid postage.
- Get the homeowner's permission for a yard sign in writing, and check town and HOA sign rules.
- Use a QR code, a tracking number or a short code so you can count the calls each piece brings.
- To reach mailboxes legally, pay postage through a service such as USPS Every Door Direct Mail.
Print can still work for local service companies, for one plain reason: the neighbors of a finished job can walk outside and see your work. A door hanger or a yard sign turns that view into a phone call. The ideas below are ordered roughly from the rules you must follow, to the placement that matters most, to the details that let you tell whether any of it paid off. None of them require an agency or a big print run.
1. Hang it on the door, never in the mailbox
Start with the rule that trips people up. Federal law, 18 U.S.C. § 1725, makes it an offense to knowingly and willfully put mailable matter such as circulars, with no postage paid, into a letter box on a mail route with intent to avoid postage, and each offense can be fined. The Postal Service's Domestic Mail Manual (section 508.3.1.3) says customer mail receptacles may be used only for matter bearing postage, apart from two narrow exceptions for newspapers. That covers hangers, flyers and business cards. This is general information, not legal advice. Tell every person who walks a route for you: doorknob, door handle or tucked in the storm door frame, and nowhere near the box.
2. The five-around drop after every job
When a job is done, hang on the five to ten houses closest to it, the same day if possible. Those neighbors just watched your truck in the driveway, and many of them have the same house age, the same siding, the same trees. Print a line on the hanger like "We just finished a driveway on your street" without naming the customer or the address. The crew can do this in fifteen minutes before leaving, so add it to the job checklist instead of treating it as a separate marketing day.
3. A real before-and-after photo on the hanger
A photo of an actual job from your area beats any clip art. Pick one with a clear contrast: the green-streaked siding next to the clean section, the overgrown bed next to the edged one. Use your own photos only, and ask the customer before using a photo where their house could be recognized. Keep the photo large and the words few. The picture does the selling; the text only needs the service, the phone number and the next step.
4. One service per hanger
A hanger listing twelve services says nothing loudly. Print a version for the service you are actually doing on that street. If the crew is washing houses, the hanger is about house washing. If they are doing fall cleanups, it is about fall cleanups. Short runs of two or three versions cost a little more per piece but match what the neighbor just saw, which is the whole point of dropping near a job.
5. The route-day hanger with a reply option
Exterior trades can schedule nearby jobs for the same day and save drive time. Print a hanger that says your crew will be on the street on a set day and offers to add the house. Give two easy ways to reply: a text to your business number and a short web form. A route-day discount in small print is fine if you will honor it. Count the replies per street so you know which neighborhoods respond.
6. A QR code that goes to its own page
Send the QR code to a page made for that hanger, not your home page. The page should repeat the offer, show the same photo and have a short quote form. Add tracking tags to the QR code's link so your analytics can separate hanger visits from everything else, as our guide to tracking lead sources explains. Test the code with two different phones before you print a thousand of them.
7. A tracking phone number or a short code
Plenty of people who keep a hanger will call instead of scanning. Put a dedicated forwarding number on the print run so calls from it are logged as door hanger leads, or print a short code ("mention code ELM") that your office records. A business phone system can issue an extra number that rings your main line. Keep that number for years; some hangers end up on refrigerators and get called next spring.
8. Respect no-soliciting signs and local rules
Skip any house with a no-soliciting or no-flyers sign. It is a poor first impression at best, and some towns enforce those signs or require a permit for door-to-door distribution. Rules vary by city and township, so call the clerk's office before a big drop and ask whether distribution needs a permit. This is general information, not legal advice. Also skip houses where yesterday's hangers are still on the door, since there may be nobody home to read yours.
9. Build it to stay put
A hanger that blows into the street is litter with your name on it. Order heavier card stock with a proper die-cut hole and a slit that grips the knob. On windy days, tuck it into the storm door handle instead. Avoid placing anything on a car, a fence gate or a lawn. If a crew member sees a hanger on the ground nearby, they pick it up. Neighbors remember the company that left trash on their block.
10. The "we were here" card for your own customers
Recurring services like lawn care, pest control, pool service and pet waste removal often happen while the customer is at work. Leave a small hanger on their door after each visit saying what was done and when the next visit is. It cuts down on "did you come today?" calls, it shows the work happened, and it is visible to everyone who walks past. Include a line for a short note from the tech.
11. Ask permission for the yard sign, in writing
A yard sign goes on someone else's property, so ask first. Add a checkbox to your quote or work order: "OK to place a company sign in the yard during the job and for up to 14 days after." Many customers say yes when asked plainly, and you avoid an angry call. Ask the customer whether their HOA has sign rules, since some associations limit or ban contractor signs.
12. Know your town's sign rules
Many cities and townships have a sign ordinance that covers temporary signs: size, how many days they can stay up, and where they may stand. Signs in the public right-of-way, such as the strip between sidewalk and street, at intersections or on utility poles, are commonly removed by the town. Read the ordinance for each town you work in, or call the zoning office, and keep a one-line note per town in your CRM so the crew knows.
13. Make the sign readable from a moving car
A yard sign gets a few seconds of attention from someone driving past. Use three things only: what you do, your company name and a phone number or short web address, in large, high-contrast type. "Gutter Cleaning" in big letters beats a logo and a slogan. Print both sides so it reads in both directions of traffic. Skip the list of services and the social media icons.
14. Put the pickup date in the schedule
A faded sign left in a yard for a month makes the company look careless and annoys the customer who said yes. When the job is scheduled, add a sign pickup task for the agreed date, assigned to whoever will be in the area. Count signs out and back in. Signs that never come back are a cost you will see when you reorder.
15. Match the sign to the length of the job
Painting, roofing, fencing and remodeling jobs last several days, which gives a sign real time to work. A "Project in progress by" rider tells passing neighbors this is happening now and they can walk over and look. For quick jobs like window cleaning or a one-hour repair, the sign matters most for the days after, so leave it for the agreed period. See how painting companies use visible jobs on our painting industry page.
16. Thank the customer who hosts the sign
Offering a small credit on the next service for keeping a sign up for two weeks is a fair trade and easy to track. Say the terms on the work order so nobody is surprised. Keep this separate from reviews. In its Business Profile help, Google calls incentives like free or discounted services in exchange for posting a review "strictly prohibited", so the thank-you is for the sign, never for stars. Apply the credit automatically on the next invoice once the sign is back in the truck.
17. Use paid mail when you want mailboxes
If you want your piece inside the mailbox, pay postage. With USPS Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM), a contractor picks neighborhoods in the online map tool and the pieces are addressed to "Postal Customer", so there is no address list to buy. The USPS page listed EDDM Retail marketing flats at $0.26 a piece when we read it in October 2026, plus your printing, and a Retail drop has to be between 200 and 5,000 pieces a day for each ZIP Code. Use it for whole neighborhoods around a cluster of recent jobs, and keep hangers for the houses right next door.
18. Count what each street sends back
Log each drop: the date, the street, how many hangers and which version. Then match calls, texts and form fills from the tracking number, code or QR page to that log. After a season you will know which neighborhoods answer and which ignore you, and which services sell from a hanger. A CRM that keeps the lead source on the job makes this a five-minute monthly report. Our custom CRM tags every lead with where it came from.
Where to start
Start with three. Make the five-around drop (item 2) part of every job checklist, since it costs almost nothing and reaches the people most likely to call. Put a tracking number or code on the print run (item 7) so you know whether it is working. Add the yard sign permission checkbox to your work order (item 11) and check the sign rules for your busiest town. Then add the rest once you can see which streets respond. For more ways to get neighbors talking, read our referral program guide.
Frequently asked questions
Is it illegal to put a flyer in someone's mailbox?
Postal rules forbid it. The statute at 18 U.S.C. § 1725 covers knowingly and willfully leaving unstamped mailable matter in a mailbox on a mail route to avoid postage, and the USPS Domestic Mail Manual reserves mail receptacles for postage-paid matter. Use the door instead, or pay postage.
Do I need a permit to hand out door hangers?
It depends on the town. Some cities regulate door-to-door distribution or solicitation, so ask your city or township clerk before a large drop.
How long can I leave a yard sign up?
As long as the homeowner agrees and your town's temporary sign rules allow. Write the pickup date on the work order and schedule it.
How many door hangers should I drop around a job?
Start with the five to ten nearest houses. Track the calls by street, then widen the radius where people respond.
Sources
General information for service-business owners, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules vary by state; check with a qualified professional for your situation.