Marketing postcard frequency: how often is too often?

Send too many postcards and people tune you out. Send too few and they forget you exist before they are ready to buy. The best programs land in the middle with a steady cadence that builds familiarity without feeling relentless.

This overview focuses on practical ranges that work across industries, what can shift your ideal cadence, and how to test into the right schedule for your audience.

Ideal postcard cadence at a glance

Most direct mail programs perform well when they mail the same audience every three to six weeks. That rhythm keeps you visible without overwhelming people and gives you multiple chances to catch them at the right moment.

Use these as starting points:

Monthly touches for acquisition

For cold prospects or new markets, a postcard about once a month is usually enough to build awareness without feeling pushy. Think of each “touch” as one point in a longer conversation rather than a one-off blast.

Biweekly touches for hot leads

For people who have visited your site, requested information, or otherwise raised their hand, a slightly higher cadence (every two to three weeks) helps you stay in front of them while interest is high, especially when your offer is time sensitive.

Quarterly touches for retention

Existing customers already know you. Quarterly mailings keep you on their radar, give you moments to drive loyalty or referrals, and let you invest more in personalization or format instead of sheer volume.

Why repetition works (and when it stops)

Direct mail works cumulatively: each postcard builds on the last. Multiple touches usually outperform single sends because:

• People trust brands they see more than once
  
  
• You cannot predict the exact day they will be in-market
  
  
• Different postcards can highlight different benefits or offers
  
  

But there is a ceiling. Watch for:

• Response rates that drop steadily with each new send
  
  
• More “please stop mailing me” calls or complaints
  
  
• Cost per acquisition climbing while everything else stays the same
  
  

The fix is not always mailing less overall. Often it is better segmentation so you mail your best-fit audiences more often and reduce or stop mailings to low-intent segments.

Factors that change your schedule

The three to six week guideline is a baseline. Adjust it based on:

• Industry: Fast-cycle B2C (retail, home services) can support more frequent touches than long-cycle B2B services.
  
  
• Lifecycle stage: Prospects need more frequent education and reminders; recent customers usually need a brief pause; lapsed customers benefit from win-back messaging.
  
  
• Purchase frequency: If customers naturally buy every few months, time postcards to arrive shortly before that typical renewal or repurchase window.
  
  

Seasonality also matters. Many brands increase cadence ahead of predictable peaks (tax season, summer, holidays) and pull back during slower periods.

Simple testing framework for cadence

You do not have to guess your way to the right frequency. A lightweight testing plan is enough to find a better answer.

1. Choose a single KPI

Pick one primary metric to judge frequency tests. A KPI (key performance indicator) might be cost per acquisition, response rate, repeat purchase rate, or revenue from existing customers. Optimize for that one number so you are not chasing conflicting signals.

2. Split your list by frequency

Create comparable segments and give each one a different schedule: for example, monthly vs. every six weeks vs. quarterly. Keep creative, offer, and list quality identical so frequency is the only thing that changes.

3. Track delivery, response, and cost

Use delivery data to confirm when postcards are actually hitting the mailbox, then compare performance and cost by segment. Sometimes the “winner” is not the highest response rate, but the cadence that delivers the best ROI after you account for printing and postage.

4. Roll out and keep iterating

Once you have a clear winner, roll that cadence out more broadly and keep testing around the edges: slightly higher or lower frequency for certain segments, seasonal adjustments, and different cadences for prospects vs. customers.

Syncing postcards with email, SMS, and ads

Cadence decisions get even stronger when you coordinate across channels:

• Pre-mail email: A short teaser email before postcards land primes people to watch for them.
  
  
• Post-delivery SMS: A brief text a couple of days after delivery gives people a fast, mobile way to respond.
  
  
• Retargeting ads: Trigger digital ads after USPS confirms delivery so your offer shows up online while the postcard is still in-hand.
  
  

You do not have to change your postcard cadence to use these tactics; they sit on top of your schedule and reinforce it.

Keeping creative fresh at higher frequencies

If you mail frequently, make sure each touch feels worth someone’s attention:

• Rotate offers: Alternate discounts, value-adds, bundles, and loyalty incentives instead of repeating the same promo.
  
  
• Refresh imagery: Keep brand elements consistent, but vary photos, seasonal visuals, and testimonials so postcards do not blur together.
  
  
• Personalize copy: Use data to adjust headlines, body copy, and calls to action for prospects, new customers, and long-time loyalists.
  
  

The more relevant and varied your creative, the more runway you have to mail without causing fatigue.

Put your cadence on autopilot with Lob

Finding the right cadence is one challenge. Executing it reliably at scale is another. Manual coordination across lists, printers, and schedules makes it hard to hit timing windows consistently.

Lob automates the entire workflow so you can set your cadence once and let the platform handle the details. Trigger postcards based on behavior, schedule recurring campaigns, and tune frequency by segment without rebuilding every send. Book a demo to see how leading brands use Lob to send millions of well-timed postcards without the operational overhead.