Using Direct Mail for Uniquely Personalized Marketing

Direct mail campaigns work.

(We should write a little more than that.)

Turns out, 42% of consumers (across all age groups) visit a brand’s website immediately after receiving direct mail. Plus, ~75% of people prefer direct mail for brand comms and find it enjoyable to receive. 

When was the last time anyone described an email as “enjoyable” to receive? No hate on email, of course, but… How many (thousands of) unread emails from brands are in your inbox right now? 

Over 10,000?

It’s not just about keeping campaigns out of the unread graveyard, though. Direct mail campaigns win the bid for consumers’ attention but also rival the capabilities of digital channels

We’re talking next-level personalized marketing, especially since you’re getting your offers (literally) into customers’ (and potential customers’) hands.

Creating a successful personalized marketing strategy with direct mail

Sure, customers are open-minded about checking out direct mail from their favorite brands. But you need to do more than just grab their attention. 

Once the warm and fuzzy feeling of getting something in the mail wears off, your campaign has to stand on its own two feet. Let’s discuss how to make a personalized direct mail strategy to ensure your campaign meets your conversion goals:

Identify your target audiences

We’ve all heard it from every marketing bro on DTC Twitter: personalization is necessary. Over 70% of customers expect a personalized experience.

Strategically segmenting your customer list makes sure your offers, messages, promotions, or calls-to-action land with the customer—wherever they are in their purchase journey. 

Here are 7 ways to segment your customer list to create direct mail campaigns:

1. Number of Orders: Loyal customers with multiple purchases under their belts should be prime candidates. Unlike cold leads or casual customers, much of the groundwork is laid with repeat shoppers—they’re far more likely to purchase from your store again. All that’s needed is a gentle nudge.

2. Time Since Last Purchase: A rule of biz: the more recent the purchase, the more likely the repurchase. Capture that post-order fulfillment high for a maximum impact. And for those inactive customers, an “We’ve missed you” campaign with a special offer can reignite their loyalty and drive sales. 

3. Amount Spent: If you aren’t already, start tracking total spending per customer. Keeping high spenders engaged and excited about your business is a safe bet for a high ROI on your marketing efforts. Nudge these customers into the next spending bracket or encourage participation in a key shopping event by offering exclusive incentives. 

4. Last Product Purchased: “Hey, we noticed you liked X product, why not try Y?” Personalized offers are a surefire attention-grab and are proven to resonate with shoppers (decision fatigue is real, and we’re all susceptible to a well-curated suggestion). Use what you know about your customers to present offers that inspire. 

5. Loyalty Program Members: Keep your VIPs engaged and feeling appreciated. If you have a loyalty program, direct mail can be a great way to offer your communications a personalized and exclusive feel, especially when paired with a VIP-only offer.

6. Location: Do you have physical locations? Partnerships with retail stores? In-person events? Convert your online customers into real-life fans by using zip codes to capture those near your target location.

7. Buying Stage: Do you sell products with a longer consideration phase (i.e., more expensive, high-ticket products)? It’s natural for prospects to take their time deciding. In this case, it’s time for retargeting. Someone may have subbed to your list a week ago, but they might need a nudge. Direct mail can help with that.

Design campaigns that sell

The TLDR + a super important design note

The real hack to launching killer direct mail is flipping your most successful email creatives into postcard form.

And then expand from there. 

Onward:

The right design can make the difference between your mail being tossed aside or driving a response that turns into revenue. 

To build brand awareness and establish relationships with customers using direct mail marketing, your branding has to be recognizable and consistent (especially if your customers are only used to interacting with you through email). A standardized logo, colors, font and voice for your company are a prerequisite to postcard design.

Think you’re all set? Here’s what you want to consider next: 

1. Start with your CTA

Above all, your postcard campaign must be actionable. Once you grab your customer’s attention, what do you want them to do next? 

Follow you on social media? Check out a specific product or service? Sign up for a 

special offer?

Your call to action should be prominent, specific, and, most importantly, singular. Same thing as any email or text.

Here’s a great example from Dr. Squatch. The CTA is clear as day—20% off your order of $30+. There are two ways for shoppers to redeem the offer: with the QR code scan or a promotional code to apply at checkout.

2. Use Your Best Assets

An eye-catching design and creative message make a huge difference in capitalizing on that attention successfully. 

Here’s what you need to consider:

• When considering visuals, make sure your logo is your first priority—easy brand recognition is essential to that first impression.
• Invest in high-quality photography and ensure your images are the right size to turn out crisp in print.
• Use all the real estate you can (p.s. double-sided printing is a thing), but allow space for all the elements to breathe.

Remember that a postcard is a physical object; the “packaging” of your design can also contribute to the overall experience for your customers. 

Analyze your results

So, was investing in a direct mail campaign worth it?

We think you’ll say yes, but there are also performance insights to back that up. Performance tracking provides actionable insights to help you pivot your messaging, targeting, and design post-launch.

There are a few good ways to track what happens to your direct mail after it’s handed over to the USPS. Here are three: 

Discount codes

Create a discount code that is exclusive to the mail campaign. When customers use this unique code on their order, you’ll know they got your card. Plus, with PostPilot and Shopify, discount code tracking is part of the package.

Custom URLs and LPs

Do you know what is notoriously great at tracking? Your website. Include a link to a custom LP in your mail campaign, and use the page visitors to track campaign performance.

Track via a platform and lookback window

For this option, you’ll need some serious data. You’ll also need to access your first-party purchase data via API, and build a model based on a 60-day timeframe. As part of our programmatic direct mail platform, PostPilot offers real-time data attribution using these data points:

• Approximately when a customer receives a piece of mail.
• Exactly when a customer who has received mail makes a purchase.
• A 60-day attribution window (attributing a purchase to the mail if it occurs within 60 days).

5 personalized direct mail campaigns that deliver results

From re-engaging one-time buyers to sending VIPs handwritten notes, these five targeted, creative approaches to direct mail drove serious ROI. 

1. Re-engaging one-time buyers

Suncare brand toty saw the potential of postcard marketing in driving second purchases from one-time buyers. 

Starting with a simple 4x6 postcard, they segmented customers based on their last order date (LOD), testing three time frames:

• LOD of 60–120 days
• LOD of 120–240 days
• LOD of 240–365 days

The results were impressive, leading to the implementation of six new automations. 

Now, postcards are sent dynamically at 30–90-day intervals. This hands-off, programmatic approach has helped keep customers engaged and increased the chances of driving additional purchases. 

As a result, toty’s second-purchase campaigns consistently delivered a 4x+ ROI.

2. Sending Direct Mail to Lookalike Audiences

For brands tired of relying on Meta for prospecting, AcquisitionAI offers a game-changing solution. 

This new Postpilot feature uses a proprietary dataset with billions of data points to target high-propensity lookalike audiences with incredible precision. AcquisitionAI eliminates the traditional hassles of direct mail prospecting—no more weeks of waiting or manual processing. 

In other words, brands can build lookalike audiences in minutes, send campaigns within days, and track real-time performance through a user-friendly dashboard. Plus, unlike Meta, AcquisitionAI automatically filters out your existing customers, ensuring you only reach new prospects.

And it works. 

A 9-figure women’s apparel brand used AcquisitionAI for their first acquisition campaign with PostPilot, and the AcquisitionAI-powered campaign drove a 124% higher conversion rate than the industry standard data provider. 

3. Creating handwritten notes for VIP shoppers

When &Collar wanted to send personalized, handwritten notes to their VIP customers, PostPilot’s handwriting robots made it happen. 

These notes are filled with a Defiant Drink Dump (DDD) and a personal note. That’s it. No discount code, no pitch. And with PostPilot, even the handwritten cards couldn’t be simpler.

The no-discount, no-CTA thank-you cards still drove customers onsite. With a sincere, genuine message and no sales pitches, &Collar drove a 15x+ ROI, generating over $200k in revenue. 

4. Sending customers a surprise birthday letter

Personalized marketing can go beyond purchases, as Portland Leather Goods (PLG) has shown with its automated birthday campaigns. For this campaign, PLG sent a birthday card with bonus points to its Yotpo loyalty program members.

The TLDR: PLG set up an automated flow in the PostPilot app, sending postcards to members in time for their birthday week.

The personalized postcards, including a QR code and the promise of added loyalty points, were a hit, driving 7 figures in revenue at a 15x+ ROI in less than six months, proving that celebrating customers can be as powerful as selling to them.

5. Tapping into seasonal trends

Seasonal campaigns are another great opportunity for direct mail success. Bones Coffee was looking for a way to promote their new line of fall flavors, featuring branding from Disney’s “Haunted Mansion” as part of a collaboration.

Bones Coffee used PostPilot to send out two postcards—one promoting their collaboration with Disney’s "Haunted Mansion" and another featuring their fall flavors. 

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In a postcard, customers can really get a close look at Bones’ new packaging,  featuring their bold, colorful artwork, which looked even better on glossy paper stock (that one’s for our printing nerds). 

From the $3,600 it spent on the “Haunted Mansion” campaign, Bones generated more than $77,000 in sales—a ridiculous return. Less than two months after Bones sent its first postcard, it was able to attribute more than 1,600 orders to its PostPilot campaigns.

Get personal with direct mail

Direct mail isn’t just alive—it’s thriving. 

By combining personalization, strategic targeting, and creative design, direct mail campaigns consistently deliver ROI that digital platforms can’t always match. 

Slash through the noise and engage your audience in a way that sticks. 

Check us out.