Hey, it's Chase and Jimmy here.

Inbox overflowing. Texts piling up. Ads getting skipped.

Your customers are drowning in digital noise, which means your best campaigns can get buried before they even have a chance.

So what do you do when email, SMS, and retargeting start hitting a wall?

You take it offline.

Direct mail is making a comeback, not because it’s new, but because it feels different. It lands in your customer’s hands, sticks around on the counter, and (when done right) delivers 3–5x ROI on retention and acquisition.

In today’s breakdown, we’ll walk through 6 direct mail tactics you can use to drive sales, win back customers, and make sure your brand doesn’t get lost in the scroll.

Also inside:

✔️ Email & SMS getting sunset? Don’t get left in the dark.
✔️ Stop losing 30% of your conversions.
✔️ Quick Clips: The latest in eCom news this week

👉 Let’s dive in.

🛑 Email & SMS getting sunset? Don’t get left in the dark.

Yotpo’s stepping back from Email & SMS - and if you're a brand using those tools, you’ve got decisions to make.

Omnisend’s making it easy.

Join their free migration webinar to get a complete walkthrough on how to move your retention stack to Omnisend, without losing momentum (or your mind).

💡 What’s inside:

• Step-by-step guide to switching from Yotpo to Omnisend

• What to expect during the transition (spoiler: it’s smoother than you think)

• Live Q&A to get your questions answered on the spot

Whether you’re already exploring options or just starting to panic, this is your sign to get ahead of it.

Print to Profit: 6 Direct Mail Tactics to Boost Sales and Retention

We have news: direct mail is making a comeback.

It’s not that digital is dead (not even close). But your customers are drowning in emails and swiping past SMS alerts all day.

So, what do you do when your online tactics aren’t working like they used to?

You go offline.

Here’s why snail mail (still) matters and how to use it to your advantage.

What Is Direct Mail, Anyway?

It’s printed marketing (e.g. postcards, catalogs, or flyers) sent straight to your customer’s mailbox. 

Sounds old school, right?

Exactly. That’s the point.

Direct mail is making a comeback for one big reason: digital fatigue.

People are drowning in email and bombarded by push notifications.

But good ol’ fashioned mail? That gets attention. It feels personal. It doesn’t disappear into a tab or spam folder. It hangs out on the kitchen counter for days.

And the numbers back it up:

• 3–5x ROI on retention-focused direct mail

• 2–5x ROI on acquisition campaigns

• Often double the reactivation rate compared to email alone

It works. You just need to do it right.

6 Direct Mail Tactics That Actually Work

Now let’s get to the good stuff – how to send mail that gets results.

Here are 6 proven tips to keep in mind.

1. Timing is everything

Direct mail takes a few days to arrive.

So if you’re mailing for a big event, like a holiday sale or product launch, you’ll want to send it 10–14 days before the sale begins.

That way, it lands while your customer is still in the decision-making window, not after they’ve already shopped somewhere else.

For example, if you run a fragrance brand, you could send VIP customers a printed postcard 2 weeks before your holiday collection drops.

Include a teaser image of the new scents, a QR code for early access, and a personalized “thank you” note to build excitement.

Pro tip: Build direct mail into your campaign timeline. Treat it as a pre-launch touchpoint, not a follow-up.

2. Make it feel personal

If your postcard says “Dear Customer,” you’ve already lost them.

Direct mail shines when it feels personal and intentional. Not robotic. Not templated. Just...human.

Here’s how to do it:

• Use first names (or even locations: “Hey Alex in Denver”)

• Reference past purchases (“Still loving your matcha set?”)

• Recommend something relevant (“You might like our new rose tea blend”)

• Add a handwritten-style note or signature from your team or founder

For example, if you sell coffee, you could send returning customers a postcard that says, “Out of beans? Time for a top-up.” Include a product photo of the exact roast they last bought, with a quick reorder QR code.

3. Don’t send it to everyone

Snail mail costs more than email or SMS, so use it strategically.

Focus on the segments that are most likely to come back with the right nudge, such as:

• One-time buyers who haven’t returned in 30–60 days

• High-AOV customers who haven’t ordered in a while

• Shoppers who abandoned their carts with expensive items

• Email subscribers who haven’t opened in months

Or, let’s say you sell reusable water bottles. If someone bought once but hasn’t returned in 45 days, send them a postcard showing a matching tumbler or cleaning brush.

Throw in a small discount for added motivation!

4. Fill in the gaps between email and SMS

Direct mail shouldn’t compete with your emails and texts; it should complement them.

Think of it as your “offline retargeting” tool that steps in when digital channels hit a wall.

If someone’s opening your emails? Great, leave them be. But if they’ve ghosted your last few messages, it might be time to show up in their mailbox instead.

Say you run a meal kit business and someone skips two reminders. You could send a friendly card that says, “Still hungry? Your next dinners are waiting! Just scan to grab ’em.”

Pro tip: Add a “direct mail step” in your automated winback or refill flows. If a customer doesn’t respond digitally after X days, they get mailed instead.

5. Don’t DIY your direct mail

Designing, printing, cutting, stamping, mailing... it’s a lot.

Unless you’re secretly running a print shop on the side, direct mail is way easier (and way more effective) when you let the pros handle it.

Platforms like PostPilot, Lob, or Poplar can do the whole thing for you:

• Pull the right audience from your Shopify or CRM

• Help design a postcard that actually looks good

• Handle printing, postage, and delivery

• Track scans, clicks, and conversions

You just set the rules, pick the creative (or get help making it), and hit go. No glue sticks or label printers required.

6. Use it for acquisition (not just winbacks)

Direct mail isn’t just for reactivating past buyers. It can help you get new ones, too – especially when digital ads get pricey or your email list goes cold.

You can send mailers to:

• New email subscribers who haven’t bought yet

• Giveaway entrants or event leads

• High-intent shoppers who visited your site but bounced

• Lookalike audiences based on your best customers

Let’s say you sell shaving gear. You could send a $10 off discount card to new subscribers who browsed your starter kits but didn’t check out. Bonus points if you include a QR code!

Final Thoughts

When done right, direct mail is one of the smartest tools in your marketing stack.

Here’s what to remember:

✅ Send early. Plan mailers to land before your sale or launch.
✅ Make it personal. Use names, past buys, and relevant offers.
✅ Target smart. Focus on buyers who are most likely to convert.
✅ Back up digital. Use postcards when email or SMS go cold.
✅ Get help. Let the pros handle design, print, and delivery.
✅ Think beyond winbacks. Use mail to acquire new customers, too.

Snail mail might move slower. But when it’s strategic, it sells faster than you’d expect.

🚨 Stop losing 30% of your conversions.

Want to know the real reason your ad campaigns don’t work?

It’s not your creative. It’s not your audience. It’s your data.

Ad blockers, iOS restrictions, and cross-device shopping break pixels, meaning Meta, Google, TikTok, and even Klaviyo never see the full picture. When algorithms optimize on incomplete data, campaigns underperform and revenue slips away.

TrackBee solves it by:

• Capturing every conversion with server-side tracking, even when pixels fail

• Stitching sessions into persistent shopper profiles across devices and browsers

• Sending enriched customer profiles back to ad platforms so algorithms actually know who converts

Better data in. Better results out.

🗞️ Quick Clips:

• Retailers bet big on AI, despite concerns: A new Monday.com survey shows 60% of retail leaders expect AI to handle most customer interactions within five years. Despite fears around output quality, privacy, and implementation costs, brands like Under Armour and Advance Auto are already deep into AI-powered ops.

• Rage-bait ads = risky business: Controversy might get clicks, but without a risk plan, celebrity-led campaigns can backfire fast. A new industry checklist urges brands to stress-test messaging and evaluate “rage vs reward” before going viral for the wrong reasons.

• Amazon shuts down Prime Invitee Program: Starting Oct. 1, Prime members can no longer share free shipping with friends outside their home. Amazon is steering users toward Amazon Family, but now everyone has to live under one roof.

Annnnd that’s a wrap for this edition! 

Thanks for hanging with Chase and me. Always a pleasure to have you here.

If you found this newsletter helpful (or even just a little fun), don’t keep it to yourself! Share ecomemailmarketer.com with your favorite DTC marketer. Let’s get them on board so they don’t miss next week’s drops.

Remember: Do shit you love.

🤘 Jimmy Kim & Chase Dimond

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