Reach Customers Who Ignore or Unsubscribed From Your Email
Every store has customers who bought once, then stopped opening emails or unsubscribed. Your Klaviyo campaigns still count them, but they never see them. A postcard reaches the people your inbox no longer can, because nobody unsubscribes from their letterbox, and it uses only an address you already hold.
Last updated: 27 July 2026
Short answer: build a segment of customers who no longer engage with your email (non-openers, or unsubscribed) but have an order history and a delivery address, and mail them one well-made card with your best offer. Each card carries a unique discount code tied to that customer's Shopify order plus a QR code, so any sale it drives is tracked back to the individual, and you run a holdout so the number is real. It reaches people email can't, and it is not cold prospecting: everyone on the list already bought from you.
Key takeaways
- These customers are your largest pool of brand-aware people with zero digital reach; mail is often the only channel left that gets to them.
- The trigger is email engagement, not just time: non-openers and unsubscribers who still have an address on file. It pairs naturally with a time-based win-back.
- You can ladder by days since last order to tune the message, but keep it one unified program with one strong offer, not a monthly barrage.
- Attribution is per recipient: a unique discount code tied to the Shopify order plus a QR code, measured against a holdout.
- It uses only addresses you already hold from past orders, so it is retention, not cold prospecting.
The people your email can't reach anymore
An email unsubscribe is a preference about email. It is often temporary, or a reaction to one annoying send, and it says nothing about whether that person would still buy from you. Sending more email into that gap does nothing, because they are exactly the people not opening it.
A physical card lands in a channel with far less competition, held in a hand rather than scrolled past. If a customer bought from you before and you have their address, you can still reach them, which is why mail to an existing customer list consistently outperforms cold prospect mail.
How to set it up
- Connect Shopify (and Klaviyo). Connect Shopify (and Klaviyo) to TouchDrop. It reads your order and customer data to build the audience and generate the per-recipient discount codes used for attribution.
- Build the unreachable segment. In Klaviyo, combine low email engagement (hasn't opened in a set window, or unsubscribed) with a real order history so everyone has an address on file. A CSV path works if you don't use Klaviyo.
- Make one strong offer. This card is likely the only message these customers get from you all season, so lead with your best offer. Don't reference the unsubscribe; it's just a good offer from a brand they know, in a new place.
- Set a holdout. Randomly withhold a slice of the eligible segment so you can read incremental revenue, not gross.
- Send and review. Compare reactivation and code redemptions against the holdout over the redemption window, then adjust the offer or the engagement window.
Is it OK to post to someone who unsubscribed from email?
An email unsubscribe governs email. In Australia, the Spam Act covers electronic messages, not post, and postal marketing to your own existing customers is treated differently, but you should always honour a customer who asks not to receive mail and keep a suppression list. Our guide to Australian privacy law for direct mail covers the detail; take local advice for the UK.
What results are realistic
Independent benchmarks show direct mail to an existing customer list materially outperforms cold prospect mail: the ANA/DMA Response Rate Report (2018) put house-list response at 9% against 4.9% for prospect lists, close to double.
Plan around 2.5x incremental return as an honest midpoint for well-targeted retention mail; a win-back campaign on the founders' own DTC brand returned 6.2x ROI. Treat that as what a well-built campaign can do, not a guarantee, and always run a holdout so your own number is real.
Timing and delivery
Cards are printed and lodged inside the destination country, via Australia Post in Australia and Royal Mail in the UK, so a card triggered today reaches a local mailbox in days rather than the weeks that international print-and-ship can take. For Australian sends, plan for 3 to 7 business days in transit; in the UK, cards are lodged domestically and arrive within a few working days.
Frequently asked questions
Who does this reach that email doesn't?
Customers who stopped opening your emails, or unsubscribed, but still have an address on file from a past order. Your email list still counts them; your campaigns never reach them.
How is this different from a win-back campaign?
A win-back triggers on time since the last order. This triggers on email disengagement (non-openers or unsubscribers) regardless of how recently they bought. The audiences overlap and many brands run both.
Is it OK to post to a customer who unsubscribed from email?
An email unsubscribe governs email. In Australia the Spam Act covers electronic messages, not post, and postal marketing to your own existing customers is treated differently, but you should always honour anyone who asks to stop receiving mail and keep a suppression list. Take local advice for the UK.
Does this need Klaviyo?
No. Klaviyo makes the low-engagement segment easy to build, but a CSV path plus native Shopify covers stores that do not use Klaviyo.
How is a sale tracked back to the card?
Each postcard carries a unique discount code tied to that customer's Shopify order plus a QR code, so redemptions attribute to the individual. Hold out a random slice so the incremental number is real.
Is this cold prospecting?
No. It only mails people who already bought from you and whose address you already hold. It is not a bought or cold list.
What does it cost?
A per-postcard rate plus a monthly platform plan, priced in AUD with GST and scaling by volume. See the pricing guide at touchdrop.com.au/guide/pricing for current rates.
Related reading
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