Send Smart, Not Late: Check Our Christmas Mailing Deadlines Today 🎄

2026 Success Cheat Sheet

Direct Mail 03 December 2025

2026 Success Cheat Sheet

Make 2026 campaigns easier, clearer, and more automated... THIS is the planning shortcut everyone needs right now.

Why Now Is the Best Time to Plan Your 2026 Marketing
(Yes… even in December)

December is chaotic... Your inbox is full. Everyone’s racing toward the finish line.
But hidden inside all that noise is a massively overlooked opportunity: this is your best opportunity to get ahead on planning 2026 marketing activity.

While most teams are tying up loose ends or slowing down, the smart ones are using this quieter headspace to set themselves up for a sharper, cleaner Q1 (and a more consistent, profitable 2026).

Why plan now?

1. Q1 is too late.

Once everyone is back, campaigns start piling up FAST. Approvals, briefings, budgeting… It all takes longer than it should.
If you’re planning in January, you’re already behind.

2. Inbox chaos makes Direct Mail your secret advantage.

Email competition is at its peak - but Direct Mail is still cutting through with 80–90% open rates and days of visibility in the home, across all occupants.
And because platforms like HubSpot, Klaviyo, Dotdigital, Shopify, Force24 and Zapier integrate directly with ZAP~POST, you can trigger postcards and letters automatically, just like an email (only with greater impact).

3. Your 2026 campaigns deserve structure, not scrambling.

We’ve seen it repeatedly: when brands plan early, they send better campaigns, more consistently, with less stress and more measurable returns.

That’s exactly why we created our 2026 Success Cheat Sheet - it's a practical sheet built to help you map out next year confidently & efficiently.

Cheat Sheet

2026 Marketing Success with Direct Mail

2026 Dates

JANUARY

Kick off annual campaigns in Jan to maintain the momentum of your strongest segments. Use any lulls to audit 2025 campaigns and set your themes for 2026.

1 Jan — New Year's Day
19 Jan — Blue Monday

FEBRUARY

Use this (quieter?!) month to launch small test campaigns, strengthen your automations, revise messaging, and tend to underperforming segments.

14 Feb — Valentine’s Day

MARCH

Get ahead of the curve. By late Q1, have your summer campaigns mapped out and optimise your messaging (creative, standout) + print (lead times).

15 Mar — Mother’s Day

APRIL

Be prepared for bank holidays and plan campaigns with seasonal relevance (e.g. new products, good weather promos etc.) Avoid major launches on public holidays OR use them to your advantage!

3 Apr — Good Friday
6 Apr — Easter Monday

MAY

May Day and Spring bank holiday give natural pauses. Also good for spring re-engagement, seasonal promos etc.

4 May — Early May Bank Holiday
25 May — Spring Bank Holiday

JUNE

Focus on mid-year reviews. Benchmark performance, test new formats, reallocate budgets, plan ahead for Q3 launches (summer, back-to-school etc).

21 June — Father’s Day

JULY

A window for experimentation: run lower-risk pilots on new channels, test creative variations, fresh ad formats.

AUGUST

Last big holiday before autumn! Use early August for "back-to-business" positioning.

31 Aug — Summer Bank Holiday

SEPTEMBER

Begin to tease Q4 campaigns. Build templates, draft messaging, line up creative assets and mailing schedules. Now's a great time to retarget lapsed audiences again.

OCTOBER

Use this month to stress-test offers, strengthen Q4 seasonal campaigns, do forecasting, and preschedule your busiest periods (Black Friday, Christmas).

31 Oct — Halloween