How to Integrate Seasonal Trends Into Your Direct Mail Calendar

You can make your direct mail marketing campaign more successful by planning it around the times of year when people naturally spend or think about specific needs. The key is to plan your calendar, pick the right themes, and send messages that fit each season.

According to the U.S Postal Service, 77% of businesses say direct mail drives website visits, and 64% say it leads to purchases. These numbers show how powerful mail can be when it reaches people at the right moment.

Timing your mail around seasonal trends helps you reach your customers when they're ready to act.

What Do Seasonal Trends Mean?

Seasonal trends refer to predictable, recurring patterns in consumer behavior. They can be shaped by the following:

• Holidays like Christmas and Halloween
• Seasons or the weather
• Life cycles and events
• Budget cycles

During direct mail marketing, it's good to understand predictable shifts that affect when and how people respond to mailers.

How Do Seasonal Trends Affect Trend Forecasting?

Trend forecasting involves anticipating what customers will do next. You need to figure out what they're more likely to buy during a specific period and why.

Seasonal marketing trends help you forecast by providing a map of recurring behavior. If you know that, say, the holiday season often produces a higher response rate for your mailers, you can adjust your goals and expectations.

Forecasting trends based on seasonal data will also help you know the messaging that's more likely to engage your audience. If your forecasting tools tell you that your audience responds to 'fresh start' messages in January, you can lean into that when creating direct mail.

By using seasonal trends to predict how your customers will behave, you can be proactive. You'll be able to apply creative themes and maximize the impact of direct mail marketing.

Integrating Seasonal Trends Into Your Direct Mail Calendar

Planning your direct mail calendar around seasonal trends helps you stay one step ahead. Instead of sending mail whenever you have time or money, you can be more strategic.

Map Out the Year by Seasons and Themes

To take advantage of seasonal trends, start by identifying what your business connects to each period. You can use an example like this one based on what you offer:

• January to March: New year shopping, spring prep, health checkups
• April to June: Home repair and improvement, lawn care, allergy season
• July to September: Back-to-school, cooling systems, outdoor work
• October to December: Holiday gifts, end-of-year deals, home upgrades

After labeling each period, assign a theme or marketing angle. For example, you can decide to advertise medical checkups at the beginning of the year as a healthcare provider. If you offer home repair services, you can advertise winter-proofing a few months before the end of the year.

During calendar planning, you should also try to schedule some of your mailers before your competitors. If they flood mailboxes in November, try to push some of your volume to early October or late September.

Use Historical Data and Surveys

Your past campaigns can help you enhance seasonal mailer results. Look at the data collected by your marketing optimization tools to determine when you had the highest open rates or conversions.

Then use the information to tailor your seasonal calendar. You can also talk to your customers by calling them or conducting online surveys to determine when they often make certain purchases.

Allocate Budget by Season

Don't slice your seasonal mail marketing budget into 12 equal portions. Instead, do it depending on where your strongest response windows are. If your best conversions historically came in late spring and fall, allocate more mail volume and premium formats there.

Choose Formats Strategically

Some direct mail designs work best during busy seasons when people are more likely to pay attention. At Taradel, we make it easy to test different formats so you can find what works best for your audience.

During your stronger seasons, you can try more eye-catching pieces. You should then save simple postcards or self-mailers for slower months. Doing so will help you get the most from your budget without losing engagement.

Track and Improve

After each campaign, look at what worked and what didn't. Keep track of things like:

• How many people opened or responded
• The number of calls or sales you got
• Your cost per lead or sale
• Your overall return on investment (ROI)

Then compare the results from each season. If your holiday mailer got an 8% conversion rate but your spring one got 5%, you'll know which season brings in more customers.

With Taradel's reporting tools, you can easily track your seasonal mail marketing results and plan smarter campaigns for next year.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do I Find the Right Audience to Mail to?

You can build a list using your current customers. However, tools like Taradel will simplify your work and help you target people using aspects like:

• Their location
• Interest
• Age
• Purchase history

The more focused your list, the better your results will be.

Do I Need a Designer to Create My Mail Piece?

Not always. There are easy online templates and design tools that let you create professional-looking mailers without experience.

Taradel, for instance, has ready-to-edit templates to help you get started quickly. You can develop a professional-looking direct mail that will impress your audience without hiring a designer.

When Is the Best Time to Send Direct Mail?

It depends on your business. Retailers often do well during holidays when people are shopping in bulk. Home services, on the other hand, usually get more business in spring or summer.

Look at when your customers are most active. You can then plan to send out direct mail a few weeks before that period.

Turn Seasonal Trends Into Growth

Integrating seasonal trends into your direct mail calendar will help you take advantage of natural shifts in demand. Beat mailbox competition and boost your ROI by planning your calendar early and using data from other campaigns. Additionally, choose captivating formats to stand out.

Taradel helps you use predictable trends to generate steady business growth. We offer targeted audience selection using Mapfire, allowing you to reach the right people. You can tailor your campaigns to specific demographics, like location, and track results using Taradel's reporting tools.

Start sending seasonal mail that generates results today.