When I joined this lender – specialising in funding small to medium-sized e-commerce businesses in the UK – I had one core objective: drive more leads and sales. As the first marketing hire, I handled both strategy and execution, meaning I had the freedom (and responsibility) to experiment with different acquisition channels. One of them was direct mail.

So, after getting the green light from the team, I set to design a compelling, conversion-driven letter. I idea stemmed from something I heard repeatedly while listening to customer calls: “We’re like your credit card. Use it when you need it.” That became the foundation of the campaign’s messaging. 

To keep the cost down for this initial test, I integrated a credit card visual directly into the letter, rather than including a separate card or additional print material. The rest of the content was crafted with input from the sales and product teams, ensuring we hit the right pain points while keeping things clear, concise, and compliant (yes, even the legal bits).