Letter campaigns with QR codes
Create mail-merge letters for leads or customers, print a collective PDF for window envelopes and track scans of the individual QR codes
→ Open letter campaigns in SimpliServ
Letter campaigns reach leads or customers by post. SimpliServ fills a letter template for every recipient, prints an individual QR code into each letter and merges all letters into one collective PDF. When a recipient scans their QR code, SimpliServ counts the scan, records it on the lead and redirects to the page you chose.
The module needs letter_campaigns.view; creating requires letter_campaigns.create, editing letter_campaigns.update, deleting letter_campaigns.delete and generating the letters letter_campaigns.send. The module is hidden in the navigation by default and can be enabled per role in the navigation settings.
Campaign list
The overview shows every campaign with Name, Status, Letters, Scanned and Completed. While the letters are being generated, the letters column shows the progress; afterwards it shows the number of letters produced. The row actions open or delete a campaign – deleting is blocked while it is being generated.
Deleting a campaign removes the collective PDF and all scan data. Printed QR codes then lead to an error page. Only delete a campaign once its letters are no longer in circulation.
Prepare the letter template
Letters are generated from a document template with the Letter scenario. SimpliServ seeds a default template in every business: logo at the top right, return line and address block in the window of a DL envelope (window on the left), date and contact details on the right, subject, salutation, body text, QR block with a short instruction, closing and sender block.
Adjust the template under Settings → Documents → Templates. Besides the business data, the letter offers the placeholders of the letter namespace, for example:
| Placeholder | Content |
|---|---|
{{letter.salutation}} | Salutation, personal when a contact person is known, otherwise the campaign's fallback text |
{{letter.address_block}} | Postal address for the envelope window, multi-line |
{{letter.company}}, {{letter.first_name}}, {{letter.last_name}} | Company and contact person |
{{letter.url}} | Short link for the QR code, used as the source of the QR block in the designer |
{{letter.url_display}} | Short link without https:// for typing by hand |
{{letter.date}} | Date the letters were generated |
{{letter.industry}}, {{letter.address.city}} | Industry and city for individual wording |
The window position follows DIN 5008 form B (window 20 mm from the left and 45 mm from the top edge). For other envelopes, adjust the “letter-head” HTML block in the template.
Create a campaign
Open a new campaign
Open Letter campaigns and click New campaign.
Enter the basics
Give the campaign an Internal name, choose between leads and customers under Audience from and pick the Letter template.
Set the target URL
Under Target URL of the QR code enter the page the QR code should lead to. Insert placeholder inserts placeholders; SimpliServ immediately shows an Example of the final address or a hint when the URL is invalid.
Salutation and duplex
Set the Salutation without a contact person used when a recipient has no contact person on file. Keep Blank page after odd page counts enabled when you print on both sides.
Save
Click Save. The audience and print cards appear after the first save.
Target URL and placeholders
The target URL applies to the whole campaign and is filled per recipient. http:// and https:// are allowed; placeholders may only appear after the domain. Values are URL-encoded automatically, |raw keeps them unchanged and |slug turns them into a URL-safe form.
| Placeholder | Example |
|---|---|
{{code}} | Short code of the letter, ten characters |
{{token}} | Full short-link token a landing page can use to look up the recipient |
{{slug}} | Company name as a URL-safe form, such as radhaus-huber |
{{company}}, {{first_name}}, {{last_name}} | Company and contact person |
{{zip}}, {{city}}, {{country_code}}, {{industry}} | Address and industry |
{{campaign_id}}, {{recipient_id}}, {{customer_id}}, {{lead_id}} | IDs for your own reporting |
Example: https://my-site.com/offer?c={{code}}&from={{slug}} leads the recipient “Radhaus Huber” to https://my-site.com/offer?c=k3J9xQ2mWz&from=radhaus-huber.
The scan is counted before the redirect happens, so the landing page needs no tracking pixel. To greet the recipient personally on the landing page, query the public endpoint GET /api/v1/public-letters/{token} with the token; it returns company, name and greeting, but never the address.
The target URL stays editable after printing. If your landing page moves, only the URL changes; the printed QR codes remain valid.
Define the audience
After saving, the Audience card shows your lead or customer list. Filter by stage, source, industry or other columns; the current selection is saved as the campaign's audience automatically. The Not contacted yet switch excludes everyone who already received a letter in another campaign.
The Overview card shows under Recipients the recipients with a complete postal address and, below, how many would be skipped for a missing street, postal code or city. Each customer gets at most one letter, even when several leads point to them.
The audience can only be changed in the Draft status. Afterwards the recipient list is frozen so reprints produce the same letters.
Preview and test print
The actions in the Print card are locked while there are unsaved changes.
- Preview renders the letter for the first recipient of the audience as a PDF.
- Test print with guides additionally draws the address window, the info block and the fold marks at 105 mm and 210 mm. Print this page once at original size, fold it and hold it against your envelope before printing the whole campaign.
Generate and print the letters
Start generating
Click Generate letters and confirm the displayed count. SimpliServ freezes the recipients, assigns every letter a fixed QR code and generates the PDFs in the background. The page refreshes automatically; the status moves through Generating and Merging PDF to Ready.
Download the collective PDF
Download collective PDF downloads one PDF with all letters, sorted by country and postal code. With blank pages enabled, every letter starts on a front side.
Print and envelope
Print duplex on the long edge, A4, scale 100 % and without “fit to page”. Fold the letters twice (fold marks) and put them into DL window envelopes with the window on the left.
Open single letters in the Recipients card via Open letter, for example for a reprint. Retry failed letters with Retry failed letters. Regenerate regenerates all letters with the current template; the QR codes stay the same and letters already sent remain valid.
Evaluate scans
Once the campaign is ready, the metrics at the top show Letters, Scanned and Scan rate. The Recipients card lists every recipient with address, status, Scanned at and Scans; filter by scanned or not scanned to follow up.
The first scan of a letter also appears as an entry in the activity of the related lead. Further scans of the same letter only increase the counter. Automatic link previews by messengers and search engines are not counted.
Campaign status
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft | Settings and audience can be changed. |
| Generating | The letters are being generated; the campaign cannot be deleted. |
| Merging PDF | The collective PDF is being merged. |
| Ready | The collective PDF is ready for download; name and target URL stay editable. |
| Failed | No letter could be generated or the merge failed; the error is shown in the overview. |
Related topics
- Leads — create, import and move leads through stages.
- Contacts — maintain postal addresses so no recipient is skipped.
- Send newsletter campaigns — reach the same audience by email.
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