I was doom scrolling on LinkedIn the other day (and hating myself for it) when a "HOT TAKE" post jumped into my feed:

"GOOGLE SEARCH is DEAD. Everyone is now using ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity instead."

These types of rage-baiting posts to “juice to algo” are so played out they're barely lukewarm.

But it did make me curious, so I did a lil ChatGPT research:

Google Search grew by over 20% in 2024 and gets 373 TIMES more searches than ChatGPT. We're talking 14 BILLION searches PER DAY on Google versus a paltry 37.5 million for ChatGPT.

14 BILLION! Every. Single. Day. Bro…that's not dying, that's complete domination.

Speaking of channels that are supposedly "dead" but are actually alive and thriving:

I’d like to introduce you to direct mail!

While everyone in eCom is obsessed with Applovin and TikTok ads, this 151-year-old marketing channel is still quietly printing cash.

In today’s issue let’s look at three successful postcard campaigns you should implement right now that helped me bring in $45,807 in revenue with a solid 10x ROAS for one client.

Context Is Key

Before we look at results and I show you how I did it, I want to give some important context:

I ran these campaigns using PostPilot postcards for a bike retailer with a $400 average order value (AOV), very low second purchase rate, and due to MAP pricing restrictions they can’t offer any discounts.

So I was a little skeptical going into this.

Most direct mail success stories I'd seen involved lower AOV products, consumables, or subscription services with high repeat purchase rates. And nearly all relied on discounts, which we couldn't use.

So we had to get very strategic about our audience targeting.

But the results? Way better than anyone expected.

1. Winback (1–2 Years Lapsed + Unsubscribed)

This one was a calculated hail mary. We created a segment of people who hadn’t purchased in 1 to 2 years and had unsubscribed from email. The thinking was, we could not reach them anywhere else, so why not try their mailbox?

Prior to this campaign, we had already noticed a pattern.

A small group of customers came back every year or two to buy a second or third bike.

Parents buying for their kids. Collectors looking for their next one. They did not need a discount. They just needed a reminder.

Takeaways and ideas:

If you’re thinking about testing direct mail, start with Winback or Churn Risk segments. It’s hands-down the best place to begin.

We treated this as a one-time campaign, but once we saw it worked, we turned it into an automation.

For consumable or subscription brands with high repeat purchase rates, this move is a no-brainer. Set it up once and keep catching those second or third purchases you’d otherwise miss.

2. Prospect Checkout Abandon (30–90 Days)

We started with a campaign for prospects who abandoned checkout between 30 and 90 days ago.

We waited 30 - 90 days after they abandoned them on purpose. That gave our abandoned checkout flow time to run its course. Email didn’t close them. SMS didn’t close them. So we wanted to try with direct mail.

The message was simple: up to 50% off select bikes. No complicated copy. Just a clean reminder, sent physically.

Takeaways and ideas:

Most brands give up too early on prospects who abandon checkout. We talked about this in another issue. This postcard is the next step in that same playbook.

If someone has not bought 30 to 90 days after they abandoned checkout, there’s a good chance they’ve stopped engaging with your emails too. A simple postcard is a perfect re-entry point, especially if you lead with a strong offer.

Again, we first tested this as a one-off campaign but quickly converted it into an automation.

3. Unengaged Prospect Email Signup - 60-90 Days

This was a strategic play to try and convert leads who had joined our email list but never bought and were not engaging with emails. So we went after people who had signed up for emails 60-90 days ago but weren’t opening or clicking.

Since this bike store has a very low repeat purchase rate (people don’t buy bikes every three months), the entire strategy was acquiring that first customer.

Takeaways and ideas:

This campaign pulled a strong ROAS, but let’s be honest. The revenue was low. I’m not optimizing for brag-worthy ROAS. I am optimizing for profit.

A 21x ROAS tells me we could have scaled this up, A LOT. That is the same thinking I apply to paid ads. If ROAS are that high, there is usually room to scale.

But that only works if the brand has the budget and margins to go bigger, which this brand does not. If you do, this is worth turning into an automation. Just keep an eye on it as you scale. Early wins are great, but consistency is what matters.

Curious? Try this right now:

Most brands hate thinking about this…

…but right now you have hundreds or thousands, of customers who have unsubscribed from your emails or SMS.

But they are still reachable.

That is what makes direct mail so powerful. You can still show up at their front door.

If this has you thinking, set up this segment right now in Klaviyo to get a sense for how big your win back segment could be.

Even a small test can show you what is possible.

Klaviyo segment:

person cannot receive email marketing

AND placed order equals 1 between 90 and 180 days ago

AND placed order zero times in the last 30 days

Well I hope you folks enjoyed yourselves. I’ll catch you later on down the trail.

Got a topic you want me to cook up a recipe for? Drop me an email or a DM.

- Ben

P.S.

Want help with your eCom email and retention marketing?

Click here to see if we’re a good fit.