📺 Stream EntrepreneurTV for Free 📺

Increase Your Direct Mail Campaign Results Using Holidays Set up a campaign around a holiday and give your customers a reason to come into your store, visit your website and buy from you.

By Craig Simpson

entrepreneur daily

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

gpointstudio

When putting together a direct mail campaign, you want an angle that will make you stand out from your competition. You want to send out unique sales pieces that will grab your customers' attention and hold it. You want something that interests them. One great way to connect with people is to give them something they can relate to. Creating timely campaigns around holidays can do just that.

Use Holidays to Your Advantage

There are a lot of holidays I'm not incredibly fond of.

Take Valentine's Day. Does any man really enjoy Valentine's Day? Did you know that men account for 73 percent of Valentine's Day flower sales? Hummm – that's a little suspicious to me. I think men give flowers because it's an easy gift. Sure, they are pretty and they smell good, but to be 100% honest, they are a REALLY EASY gift that takes no effort. Men don't want to take the time to figure out what their lady really wants, like earrings, new shoes, a purse – something that requires you to go into a store and spend some time looking around at stuff you don't really understand.

Yes, I'm a bit of a Grinch (I know, wrong holiday), when it comes to Valentine's Day. I'm not much for Punxsutawney Phil the Groundhog either. After a long a dreary winter in Oregon, I'm always ready for spring and Punxsutawney Phil seems to ruin it ever year. The odds of Phil NOT seeing his shadow are slim! Out of 114 attempts, he has seen his shadow 99 times (86.84%).

Then, of course, there's President's Day – a perfectly good day when the mail is not delivered. No Direct Mail Marketer should be happy about that!

Even though I don't love all holidays, they do provide a great opportunity to focus on expanding your business. Groundhog Day, Valentine's Day, and President's Day, all present you with opportunities to contact your customers and offer them something special. You don't have to just focus on the popular holidays; you can also use fun ones like Paul Bunyan Day on June 28.

Monthly holidays are one of the best ways to stay in contact with your customers because they give you an excuse to run some kind of related promotion.

Craig Simpson

Author and Owner of Simpson Direct, Inc.

Craig Simpson has managed thousands of direct mail campaigns and grossed hundreds of millions in revenue for his clients over the past 15 years. Simpson is the owner of Simpson Direct Inc., a Grants Pass, Oregon-based direct marketing firm, and a respected speaker/presenter on the topic of direct mail. He is the co-author with Dan S. Kennedy of The Direct Mail Solution. He blogs at http://www.simpson-direct.com/blog/.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Side Hustle

These Coworkers-Turned-Friends Started a Side Hustle on Amazon — Now It's a 'Full Hustle' Earning Over $20 Million a Year: 'Jump in With Both Feet'

Achal Patel and Russell Gong met at a large consulting firm and "bonded over a shared vision to create a mission-led company."

Business News

Samsung's New Ad Pokes Fun at Apple's Controversial 'Crush' Ad

Creative universes overlap in a new ad from Samsung.

Business News

Dell Is Labeling Hybrid Employees With 'Red Flags' Based on How Often They're in the Office

Dell will consider the frequency of employee badge swipes when it determines how hybrid employees are reviewed, rewarded, and compensated.

Productivity

Want to Be More Productive? Here's How Google Executives Structure Their Schedules

These five tactics from inside Google will help you focus and protect your time.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.