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May 25, 2023

4 Direct Mail Tactics to Try This Summer

by 
Guest Author

Takeaway: Summer presents plenty of opportunities for you to reach customers and convert leads. Try these direct mail summer ideas to generate buzz for your brand.

Revenues can rise and fall throughout the year as consumers decide to spend money on season-specific — or holiday-specific — products and services. Some retail businesses experience huge spikes in revenue during the winter holidays as people rush out to buy presents. Other sectors of the economy tend to earn more money during the summer. For example, a lawn care company will make the bulk of its revenue during the spring and summer months.

No matter what type of business you promote, you need to boost revenues as much as possible in every season. This summer, introduce the following direct mail strategies into your campaign.

Update successful direct mail strategies from other seasons

Do you have a direct mail marketing campaign that did extraordinarily well last year or earlier this year? Maybe an ROI calculator shows that a specific piece of mail generated significantly more conversions than others. Try updating that asset to see whether it can do as well during summer.

Updating successful direct mail campaigns might only involve a few changes. Swap a wintertime image for one about summer fun in the sun. Change autumn’s language about falling leaves to messages emphasizing the new season’s warmth.

You might find that you can maintain the campaign’s core message while making a few minor changes. The concept already worked once, so repurpose it for summer to see if you get similar results.

Take advantage of summer sales events

Summer has a bunch of holidays that give you opportunities to advertise sales. Connect your direct mail strategies to any summer holidays that might apply to your business. For instance, your jewelry store could plan a sale around Mother’s Day. Your home supply store could plan a sale around Independence Day, when people typically have long weekends for home improvement projects.

You don’t have to stick to popular summer holidays. In addition to big holidays like Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day, you can promote niche celebrations that interest your target audience. Check out other summer holidays and observances. Then, you can mail your cards programmatically to reach people and get them excited in time.

Send invites to generate FOMO about in-person events

In many areas, summer offers the perfect weather for in-person events. Generate FOMO in people near your brick-and-mortar locations by incorporating “save the date” invitations into your direct mail marketing strategy.

Make sure you include details that will entice people to put your event on their calendars. For example, you might highlight the following:

  • Discounts
  • Limited-edition products
  • Food, drinks, and entertainment
  • Guest celebrities

Emphasize reasons people should feel excited about your event. A lot of people report feeling very busy during the summer. Between vacations, social events, and keeping kids entertained during the summer recess, you face a lot of competition. If you can offer something special — and advertise it well — your event can stand out as something people look forward to.

Keep in mind that you don’t always have to focus on selling products and services. Hosting a block party could improve your brand’s reputation, leading to more revenues in the future. Getting people interested is the most important part when hosting an event.

Not sure how to make your event irresistible for your target audience? Use direct mail marketing list segmentation to tantalize individuals with highly personalized messages.

Analyze last year’s summer campaigns and find room for improvement

You probably have some assets from last year’s direct mail summer ideas. A little tweaking could make them useful for this summer too.

However, you don’t want to send out the exact same mailers from last year. You want to improve them! Analyze how your summer mailers performed last year. Then, you can focus on updating the most successful campaigns.

As you begin sending out mailers this year, continue evaluating them to discover more opportunities for improvement. You’ll want to test and compare results based on the following:

  • Personalization
  • Call-to-action
  • QR code vs. personalized URL
  • Format
  • Size

A little A/B testing can go a long way. Use it to keep optimizing your direct mail strategies throughout the summer and beyond.

Dive deeper into the topic of campaign optimizations with our webinar, Optimizing Direct Mail for Maximum Results.

Optimizing Direct Mail Webinar

Focus on long-term direct mail strategies

Yes, the summer season can and should influence your direct mail tactics. Still, you want to think beyond the immediate and develop a long-term strategy that keeps improving over time. Contact Lob to learn more about how our automation platform can help you connect with customers at just the right time this summer while also building customer loyalty for years to come.

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