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By The Printing for Less Team

The start of the holiday marketing season isn’t Thanksgiving—it’s right about now. If you want to make a real impact, it’s time for you and your team to plan and act as early as possible. The months between Halloween and the New Year present a golden window to spark customer engagement and boost sales. But the time for action starts today.

Holiday direct mail, when done right, brings the surprise and delight of a physical connection in a crowded and fatigued digital world. To grab attention (and market share), you’ll need creativity, data, and the right timing.

These tips will help marketing managers, retail teams, and small businesses craft unforgettable direct mail campaigns that make the holidays—and your results—shine.

Popular Types of Holiday Direct Mail

During the festive season, people are more receptive to physical mail. It’s the perfect moment to send greetings, promotions, and special offers. Done well, direct mail drives online and in-store visits, deepens brand loyalty, and delivers impressive ROI.

Holiday Catalogs
Showcase your bestsellers and new arrivals with a well-designed catalog. Holiday catalogs become part of the home landscape, staying visible throughout the season and keeping your brand top-of-mind.

Personalized Greeting Cards
Create authentic connections with customized holiday cards. A handwritten note or signature signals genuine appreciation, inspiring loyalty and positive sentiment.

Gift Guides
Help customers shop with curated gift guides. Segment by audience, price point, or interest, and include a mix of popular and unique products for maximum appeal.

Postcards
Simple, versatile, and cost-effective. Use postcards to announce flash sales, share promo codes, or spread holiday cheer—they’re quick to create and deliver.

Special Offers, Coupons, Letters
Send exclusive coupons and time-limited bundles inside festive letters. Personalization and urgency can lead to immediate action.

Make Your Holiday Mailers Stand Out
The holidays invite boldness and innovation. Here are ways to make your direct mail impossible to ignore:

Interactive Elements
Pop-up designs, pull-tabs, or scratch-offs add playful engagement and boost brand recall.

Deep Personalization
Use your data to go further than a name—tailor offers and messaging based on preferences or past purchases to make customers feel truly seen.

Festive Design
Use high-impact visuals, seasonal colors, and premium printing to capture holiday spirit and elevate brand perception.

Clear Call-to-Action (CTA)
Every mail piece needs a CTA: Visit your store, redeem a code, sign up. Make the next step irresistible.

Sustainable Choices
Eco-friendly materials show your environmental commitment. Highlight this in your messaging—many consumers choose brands that care about the planet.

Integrating Digital: Amplify Your Reach

Modern campaigns combine the tangible impact of direct mail with the reach of digital channels. Integrate QR codes or personalized URLs in holiday mailers to drive recipients online. Support your offers with email, social, and digital ads for a unified omnichannel experience.

Best Practices for Holiday Direct Mail Success

Start Early
Begin campaign planning now to allow time for design, printing, and shipping—avoid the holiday rush.

Test and Refine
Run A/B tests on layouts, messages, and offers for continuous improvement.

Track Your Results
Use unique codes, QR links, and analytics to measure success and guide future mailers.

Follow Up
Stay engaged after the season—send a thank you, new offer, or survey in January to keep relationships going.

Implement even a few of these strategies, and your holiday direct mail campaign will not only capture the joy of the season—it’ll drive lasting sales and connections. Let direct mail be your secret weapon for a standout 2025 holiday!

We’ll cover proven tactics, budget-friendly ideas, and real-world examples to help you align your print and digital efforts for greater impact.

You’ll walk away with:

• Smart ways to add direct mail to your holiday campaigns.
• Tips for timing, messaging, budgeting, and measurement.
• Inspiration from brands that are doing innovative things.

Whether you’re new to direct mail or a seasoned pro, this session will help you deliver holiday campaigns that connect—and convert.

Bonus: All attendees will receive a downloadable 2025 “Direct Mail Holiday Prep Checklist.”    

By The P F L and Printing for Less Teams

Imagine if Paul Revere—America’s original midnight messenger—had another way to raise the alarm back in the early days of the country. Rather than racing from town to town on horseback with a lantern, he and the boys could have blanketed the colonies with a single, well-designed postcard sent, via “Every Gate Direct Mail” (EGDM), to all the homes in Middlesex County. No missed cottages. No confusion. Just one clear, urgent message in the pigeonhole: “The British are coming!”

Silly, of course. The USPS wasn’t even established until a few months after Paul’s ride, in July of 1775, at the Second Continental Congress. But, today, there are quite a few tools available to reach the right people, at the right time, with the right message. Prompt and timely communications are as important today as ever.

That’s where modern direct mail comes in—and solutions like the real USPS’s Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM). Whether you’re warning of an impending mosquito invasion or announcing an Independence Day sale, direct mail ensures that your message lands where it matters most: In your audience’s hands.

Let Your Message ‘Bang’ Like Fireworks

Just as fireworks command attention and create memorable moments, powerful direct mail pieces break through can make its own kind of messaging noise. Think of your direct mail campaign as your brand’s moment to shine—creating something tangible, memorable, and impossible to ignore. When your audience receives a physical piece that stands out, it creates that “wow” moment that digital communications often miss. Here’s how to make your direct mail campaigns explode (in a good way):

• Design for Impact: Use bold colors and enticing imagery that instantly capture attention. A well-designed mail piece stops recipients in their tracks, much like a brilliant fireworks display against the night sky.
• Personal Touches: Direct mail allows for personalization that digital often can’t match—add a recipient’s name, tailor offers to their interests, or include custom maps or images relevant to their location.
• Compelling Calls to Action: The most effective direct mail, like the most impressive fireworks finales, leaves the audience knowing exactly what to do next—whether that’s visiting a store, calling a number, or scanning a QR code.  

Modern Marketers: The Power of EDDM

With the ability to target entire neighborhoods or ZIP codes, EDDM empowers businesses—large and small—to reach local audiences efficiently and affordably. It wasn’t around to help Paul Revers, but it’s the modern answer to getting important messages out to the masses, delivering stellar results.

• Hyperlocal Targeting: Reach every household in your chosen area—no horses required. Perfect for businesses with a geographic focus, such as restaurants, retail stores, or service providers.
• Cost-Effective Delivery: EDDM eliminates the need for a mailing list, making it one of the most affordable ways to reach a broad local audience without sacrificing impact.
• High Visibility: Unlike crowded email inboxes where messages disappear with a swipe, a physical mail piece stands out, demands attention, and often remains visible for days or weeks.

Tips for Direct Mail Campaigns That Pop

• Timing Matters: Plan your campaign delivery carefully—consider both seasonal relevance and your customers’ buying cycles to ensure your message arrives at the optimal moment.
• Integrate Channels: Combine direct mail with digital marketing for maximum reach and impact. For example, send a teaser email, follow with a dimensional mailer, then reinforce with targeted social media.
• Measure Everything: Use unique promo codes, personalized URLs, or QR codes to track response rates and calculate ROI. For more on tracking direct mail effectiveness, check out our recent digital event replay, “Show Me the Money: How to Track the ROI of Your Direct Mail Campaigns.”

Declare Your Independence From Digital

As with the declaration that sparked a nation, powerful direct mail campaigns make bold statements that demand attention. In a world where digital messages fade as quickly as they appear, physical mail endures—creating lasting impressions and driving measurable results. Want more inspiration? Explore our Resource Center for creative campaign ideas, personalization strategies, and real-world success stories from businesses that have harnessed the power of direct mail to get the word around and drive results.

Join Francisco Quinonez, Sr. Regional Marketing Specialist, at Wealth Enhancement Group, and Jennifer Bellin, CMO at Printing for Less, for an engaging discussion about how direct mail can foster stronger, more meaningful connections with your audience.

In this session, Quinonez will share real-world success stories and proven strategies for creating effective direct mail campaigns. Touching on precise audience targeting to seamless omnichannel integration, the discussion will help you learn how to enhance your marketing approach and build lasting customer relationships through personalized direct mail experiences. 

In our world where every marketing dollar counts, proving ROI isn’t optional—it’s expected. Join us for a high-impact session that breaks down exactly how to turn your direct mail efforts into measurable, scalable business growth. 

We’ll show you how to build a solid strategy rooted in data, define success with clear KPIs, and confidently make the case for continued (or increased) investment in direct mail. You’ll walk away with practical advice that will make it easy to track performance and tie every campaign back to business outcomes. 

Whether you’re navigating tighter budgets or looking to amplify results, this virtual event can be your roadmap to maximizing impact with direct mail.   

Key Takeaways: 

• A proven framework for measuring and scaling direct mail ROI. 
• How to align direct mail programs with revenue-driving metrics. 
• Tools to evaluate existing campaigns and build business cases for new ones. 
• Real-world examples that demonstrate performance and growth potential.   

By The P F L and Printing for Less Teams

In a recent virtual event, P F L CMO, Jennifer Bellin, welcomed Steve Zahara. project manager of marketing analytics and reporting at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM). Zahara has deep expertise in healthcare marketing analytics, and he has been with BCB for six years. For more than three of those years, he has partnered with P F L for his direct mail programs. During this event, he shared his experiences, insights and examples from his successful direct mail marketing program. Here is an edited transcript of the discussion.

Jennifer Bellin (JB): Welcome, Steve. Could you start by telling us a little more about yourself and your current role?

Steve Zahara (SZ): Absolutely. I’ve been with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan for six years, and in my current role for just over two years. I focus on marketing analytics, reporting, and tracking, particularly for our Medicare campaigns targeting individuals aged 65 and older. Before this, I worked in various marketing roles, including consulting in the automotive industry and for a print vendor here in Michigan.

JB: That’s an impressive background! For those who may not be familiar, can you tell us a bit more about BCBSM and your target audience?

SZ: Sure. BCBSM is a health insurance provider, and our primary focus is the Medicare market. Medicare is the U.S. government’s health insurance program for people aged 65 and older, as well as those aging into Medicare at 64. This demographic is our main focus for direct mail campaigns.

JB: I imagine this audience might appreciate receiving physical mail rather than digital communication.

SZ: They absolutely do. Direct mail has always been one of our top-performing channels because this audience values physical materials. They often hold onto mail longer than do younger demographics—sometimes for over a year! It creates an emotional connection that digital channels can’t replicate.

JB: How did you get started with direct mail at BCBSM?

SZ: Direct mail has been part of BCBSM’s strategy for years because of its effectiveness with our older audience. When I joined, it was already a well-established channel. Over time, though, we’ve refined it to include more personalized and targeted communications, which have only increased its impact.

JB: What are your top priorities for direct mail this year?

SZ: This year, we’re focused on reducing waste, increasing personalization in our welcome and onboarding communications, and integrating direct mail with digital channels where possible. Personalization is key to engaging our audience effectively and improving retention rates.

JB: What does your internal process look like for creating direct mail campaigns? I imagine compliance plays a big role.

SZ: It does! Our process is quite detailed because of the regulations in the Medicare space. We start by analyzing past campaigns and testing results to refine messaging. Once we draft creative ideas, they go through several layers of internal review—corporate editors, legal teams—to ensure proper disclaimers—and compliance teams. After internal approvals, materials are submitted to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for final approval. This ensures everything complies with government regulations before going to print.

JB: Interesting. So, how does direct mail fit into your broader omnichannel strategy?

SZ: Direct mail is one of several forms of communication we use alongside a wide variety of channels: e-mail, SMS, paid social media, search ads, display ads, radio, and print inserts. It complements these channels by reaching individuals who may not engage digitally or who prefer physical communication.

JB: How are you leveraging technology to enhance your direct mail programs?

SZ: We use Salesforce tools such as Service Cloud and Marketing Cloud to manage campaigns and map customer journeys. Through API integrations with Printing for Less, we automate print fulfillment based on customer preferences—whether they prefer email or physical mail. This ensures seamless delivery across touchpoints.

JB: Can you share some examples of your direct mail campaigns?

SZ: Sure! We’ve developed several innovative direct mail campaigns to engage our Medicare audience effectively. They are designed to address different stages of the customer lifecycle, from transitioning insurance plans to onboarding new members. Here are a few examples.

First, when individuals transition from group insurance to individual plans, BCBSM uses direct mail to guide them through the process. These campaigns feature personalized forms where recipients can indicate their anticipated retirement timeline—whether within six months, six to twelve months, or even further out. This data allows us to tailor follow-up communications based on the recipient’s specific needs and timeline. The mailers include multiple calls-to-action to encourage engagement. For instance, QR codes, vanity URLs, and unique phone numbers are strategically placed on the materials to track responses and measure campaign effectiveness. This approach ensures a seamless transition for individuals while providing us with actionable insights.

Then, ahead of the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP), we run awareness campaigns to prepare individuals for this critical window when they can switch plans. Postcards are sent out with QR codes linked to educational resources, such as plan comparison tools or informational booklets. Through testing, we discovered that adding explanatory text alongside QR codes significantly boosted conversion rates compared to with using QR codes alone. By combining clear messaging with easy access to resources, these campaigns effectively drive engagement and readiness for AEP.

Finally, for new members, we developed a comprehensive onboarding experience through direct mail. Welcome kits provide detailed information about their benefits and actions they should take next, such as downloading the member app or registering for the online portal. Follow-up mailers are sent at strategic intervals—typically within 70 to 90 days of enrollment—to encourage continued engagement. Studies show that engaging members early in their journey increases retention rates significantly. The materials often include QR codes that lead directly to digital tools or resources, ensuring a smooth and informed onboarding process.

JB: That’s great stuff. These campaigns certainly demonstrate how BCBSM leverages personalization, strategic timing, and multi-channel integration to maximize the impact of your direct mail efforts while addressing the unique needs of their Medicare audience. Given all that, how do you measure the success of your direct mail campaigns?

SZ: We track performance using Salesforce dashboards that consolidate data from unique phone numbers, QR codes, vanity URLs, and other metrics. This helps us evaluate conversion rates and optimize future campaigns based on what works best.

JB: Perfect. Finally, what advice would you give someone starting their own direct mail program?

SZ: Start small—don’t overwhelm yourself with complex campaigns right away. Clearly define your goals—are you driving calls or web traffic? Finally, plan how you’ll measure success using tools like unique phone numbers or UTM parameters to track engagement effectively.

JB: Thanks, Steve, for sharing your insights today! It’s been really interesting and informative.

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Key Takeaways

• Direct mail remains highly effective for older demographics.
• Personalization and testing are critical for success.
• Integration with digital channels enhances overall impact.
• Clear goals and tracking mechanisms are essential.
• Start small and scale as you refine your approach.