Want to reach out to clients and customers at holiday time? A holiday email without an offer can land you on the naughty list.

I sent a holiday email to clients and vendors of my small business via Constant Contact over the last three years. Mind you, I sent only one email per year to my list of longtime colleagues and people that I had met in person or via email. In 2017 and 2018, the email delivery rate was great with few bounces, some kind responses, virtually no unsubscribes and the holiday greeting helped to keep my services top of mind in planning for the new year.

In 2019, that scenario changed dramatically. Though the 2019 holiday email open rate was still good, bounces and unsubscribes spiked. This led to some reflection. Email has swiftly been embraced as a cost efficient marketing tool. But recipients have reached overwhelm with companies showing up in their inbox EVERY SINGLE DAY.

My simple holiday greeting was now viewed as inbox clutter, an annoyance, not providing value and creating work, i.e. replying, deleting or unsubscribing. My carefully crafted email arrived among a deluge of holiday emails, causing recipients to hit the unsubscribe link faster than you can say “Jiminy Cricket!”

In 2019, email providers such as Google stepped up their user protection. Group emails were swiftly diverted to the Promotions and Spam folders or bounced back to the sender as undeliverable.

This year, I opted to mail a holiday greeting postcard for my business that was carefully worded so it would be suitable to receive in December through January, due to high mail delivery volumes.

• At this unique time, I decided to direct my marketing dollars to support a local printing vendor and the U.S. Postal Service.

• Delivery to a physical address is guaranteed. If a recipient has moved, the card will be forwarded or returned to sender.

• Businesses have cut marketing budgets due to Covid challenges and reduced their investment in direct mail. This poises my holiday postcard for prime placement.

• The election season is over and direct mail volume is down. My postcard will stand out from the many end-of-year fundraising appeals.

• Individuals impacted by the pandemic are spending more time on social media and rekindling relationships on FaceTime and Zoom calls. Sending out holiday cards may not be a priority this year.

• A personal note can be added to each card. The recipient may take a moment to read it. They can toss it or save the card.

• Designing a postcard is an opportunity to showcase my graphic design and direct mail skills while reconnecting with friends and colleagues.

Wishing you an uncluttered inbox and happy holiday season.