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On this page
  • Before you get started
  • Send campaigns in the dashboard
  • Step 1: Configure settings
  • Step 2: Add audience
  • Step 3: Choose creative
  • Step 4: Proof & Review
  • Campaign status
  • Cancel a campaign
  • Campaign Analytics
  • Failed mail pieces

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  1. Print & Mail
  2. Send mail!

Launch your first campaign

...with our Campaigns builder in the Lob dashboard

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Last updated 7 days ago

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This guide below will walk you through how to launch a campaign from the Lob dashboard, using our Campaigns tool. Here is a preview of the 4-step process:

Before you get started

You'll need three things at the ready to create your Campaign:

Send campaigns in the dashboard

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. 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

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

  4. Postage preferences:

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

Step 2: Add audience

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

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

Step 3: Choose creative

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

    • 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

  1. Connect your creative to your audience*

  • 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.

Step 4: Proof & Review

  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.

  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

Please review carefully before you Place Order. You can back up 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.

You will receive confirmation, then be directed to the detail or status page for the Campaign.

Campaign status

After you place an order you will be directed to that campaign's status or details page. You can also access this at any time by clicking on any individual (Live) Campaign from the Campaigns dashboard.

Here you can Cancel a One-time campaign (if applicable), or Pause/Resume an Automated campaign.

In the kabob menu, you can find the campaign ID, export undeliverables ("Export Failures") and export mailpiece data.

Cancel a campaign

  1. After placing an order, you will be directed to that campaign's detail page. Alternatively, from the (Live) Campaigns view, click on any campaign to navigate to the campaign's detail page.

  2. If applicable, click the Cancel Campaign button.

  3. You will be asked to confirm; your Campaign will go back into Draft state.

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

  5. You will also receive an email confirmation.

Campaign Analytics

After you place an order you will be directed to a detailed view of your campaign. You can return here at any time by clicking into any individual campaign from the Campaigns section in the dashboard.

Our campaign analytics are designed to help you ensure that every campaign you run is more informed than the last.

Campaign summary: Get the birds-eye view of each campaign with stats including total orders, estimated cost, delivered and undeliverable mailers.

Tracking events for all mail pieces in the campaign provide full visibility as your mailpiece move through the mailstream.

QR code engagement: Understand how recipients interact with your Lob-generated QR codes, including frequency and timing of scans.

Delivery speed: Track how quickly your mail moves from being sent to marked as processed for delivery, pinpointing efficiency and flagging any delays. Reserved for Enterprise users only.

Delivery distribution: Analyze where your mail is going and how fast it gets there with a breakdown of mail pieces by state, helping you optimize your future send strategies. Reserved for Enterprise users only.

Failed mail pieces

(including send and delivery strategies)

(.csv format)

(front & back), as static PDFs or as HTML templates for dynamic creatives. (HTML templates will need to be loaded into the dashboard prior to use in Campaigns).

First, head over to the in your dashboard, and click the Create Campaign button at the top right. Select One-time to start building your campaign. Any campaign you build in the Live environment will be saved into your Drafts until you place an order.

If you would like to set up and send individual mailpieces based on triggers from your customer data, learn more about here.

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 .

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

Select the * that you’d like to apply to your campaign; note this will have pricing implications

Select an amount of time for your campaign , 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

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

Upload your target audience*: Select your segment via

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

Make sure you are following the specific to your mail format

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

You can to your mailpieces after you upload your creative.

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

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

Did you place your order and then suddenly realize there was a mistake or last-minute change? You can cancel a Campaign if you are within the .

In the section of the dashboard you will find data for all mail you have sent with Lob across any number of campaigns within a time period. But you can click into any Live campaign to see laser-focused insights that are campaign-specific.

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

📬
Campaign strategy
Audience file
Design assets
Campaigns tab
Lob integrations
here
postage and mailing class
tags
CSV
tags
design guidelines
Mail Analytics
Creative formatting
HTML Template
rendering errors
Estimated Campaign Cost
PDF
HTML
rendering best practices
use case
cancellation window
missing values in your merge variable fields
cancellation window
add a QR code