Launch your first campaign

This guide below will walk you through how to launch your first campaign from the Lob dashboard. Here is a preview of the 4-step process:

Before you get started

You'll need two things at the ready to create your Campaign: an Audience and Creative.

Send campaigns in the dashboard

First, head over to the Campaigns tab in your dashboard, and click the Create Campaign button at the top right to start building your campaigns.

Step 1: Configure settings

Note: fields marked with * are required; all others are optional features.

  1. *Add campaign name: To begin, give your campaign a unique name and description to reference in the future. Give it a name that is distinguishable and easily identified when you have numerous campaigns in your dashboard.

  2. Add billing group: Certain Lob customers can optionally choose a specific billing group to allocate their campaign to on their invoice. You can learn more about this functionality here.

  3. Select campaign type*: Select what use case will your campaign have: are you sending out a marketing campaign or using this for operational (non-promotional) purposes?

  4. Select mail type & settings*: Select what mail type and size you’ll be sending. Currently, you can choose from high-quality postcards, self-mailers, or letters sealed inside envelopes.

    • Postcards and self-mailers will show available size options

    • Letters will show optional add-ons, such as cards, envelopes, and buckslips

  5. Send options: ASAP or schedule a future date up to 180 days

  6. Postage preferences:

    • Add the return address you’d like to appear on the mailpiece

    • Select the postage and mailing class* that you’d like to apply to your campaign; note this will have pricing implications

    • Select an amount of time for your campaign cancellation window, which is the amount of time you are allowed to quickly edit and QA your mailings after submission, but before they are sent to print production

  7. Add campaign-level tags: Add any custom metadata tags you'd like to apply to your campaign. Tags enable you to easily filter and sort your campaigns for future reporting.

Step 2: Add audience

  1. Upload your target audience*: Select your segment via CSV

  2. Map required address variables*: Lob automatically maps and formats your address to meet USPS requirements, but you can review and adjust the mapping if necessary

  3. Map optional address variables: These fields will be added to your recipient address block if mapped

  4. Add recipient-level metadata tags: Add any custom metadata tags you'd like to apply to your campaign-specific recipients. Tags enable you to easily filter and sort your campaigns for future reporting

Step 3: Choose creative

  1. Upload your creative assets* (Example, front and back of postcard)

    • Make sure you are following the design guidelines specific to your mail format

    • You can utilize PDF or HTML; learn more about Creative formatting here. (If using HTML, the template will first need to be loaded into the dashboard as a Live HTML Template.)

    • If sending a letter campaign, upload your add-on creative assets as well

    • When your creative is uploaded, you will be shown a basic preview; a true creative proof is available in later step

You can add a QR code to your mailpieces after you upload your creative.

  1. Connect your creative to your audience*

  • Select your merge variable strictness: Choose whether you'd like your mailpieces to be sent even if it contains missing values in your merge variable fields

  • Map merge variables in your creative: If using an HTML template to build a dynamic creative, if you've named your csv column headers exactly to match the merge variable names in the HTML template, then Lob should automatically map these. For example, if a merge variable in a template is {{promo_code}} and there is a CSV column header titled “promo_code” then Lob auto-maps this for the user.

Please note auto-mapping is case-sensitive.

  1. Creative proof: The Creative proof includes merge variables, address block, Lob carbon-neutral logo, and indicia, plus return address and QR codes if included. You can View Mail Proof to see (or share) the PDF, or you can Delete Proof and go back.

Step 4: Review campaign

  1. Campaign settings: Review the campaign send details

  2. Audience: Review the target audience list

  3. Creative: Preview a mailpiece to ensure the campaign will render correctly

  4. Cost: An estimated campaign cost based on cost per mailpiece (learn more about estimated campaign cost)

Please review carefully prior to submitting. You can back to previous steps to make changes as needed. (Should you need to exit the UI, your Campaign will be saved as a Draft.)

  1. Place order! Once your campaign is submitted it will be sent to the printer in the submission window selected before being dropped to USPS for delivery.

Tracking the progress of your Campaign

After you place an order you will be directed to a detailed view of your campaign. You can track the progress (see the status) of your campaign here.

You can see an overview of all campaigns on the Campaigns dashboard landing page.

Depending on your subscription edition, you can also view summary information around tracking events, mail speed and distribution, and attribution analytics using Lob's Mail Analytics.

Failed mail pieces

After you place your order and it has fully processed, mail pieces that failed rendering (and will not be sent to print) will be shown under View Failed Mail Pieces. Read more about rendering best practices and rendering errors.

Oops!? Cancel an order (revert to Draft)

Did you place your order and then suddenly realize there was a mistake or last-minute change?

After placing an order, the status of Live Campaigns will be displayed. You can cancel a Campaign in "Ordered" or "Scheduled" if you are within the cancellation window.

  1. From the Live Campaigns view, click the > to see the detail for the Campaign.

  2. Select Cancel Campaign.

  1. You will be asked to confirm; your Campaign will go back into Drafts.

  2. Your Campaign will be canceled; you can return the dashboard or edit the Campaign.

  1. You will also receive an email confirmation.

Read more about cancellation windows here.

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