Exterior calendars fill in March and empty in November. Crews you worked hard to hire sit idle or leave.
Painting play · Seasonal campaigns
Seasonal painting campaigns that fill the slow months before they arrive.
Painting runs on weather. Exteriors book up in spring and early fall, then the phones go quiet when temperatures drop. Spur schedules a year of mail timed to your climate, with exterior pushes before each window and interior and cabinet offers before winter, so crews stay busy in every season.
Free forever plan · No card · 20 property searches a month
USPSFirst-Class
Megan Albright1418 Stover StFort Collins, CO 80524Scan for a winter interior quote
Megan A. scanned your winter interiors card · 11 min ago
AI-written for this owner · Mailed in 2 days
4 pushesspring exterior, summer decks, fall exterior, winter interior
6–8 wkslead time built into every send
Set onceand the year runs on automations
The problem
Painting is seasonal, and most marketing starts after the season has already turned.
A spring exterior flyer in May reaches owners who already signed with someone else in March.
An exterior offer in December or an interior offer in June wastes postage and trains owners to ignore you.
How it works
From list to mailbox in one workflow.
Five steps to a year of painting mail on autopilot.
app.usespur.com
See it in Spur
A winter interior push in Spur
Sample Fort Collins owners for a January interior and cabinet campaign. Names are partly masked.
Zips 80521 + 80524Owner-occupiedOwned 8+ yrsExclude this year's customersValue $400K+
- Megan A.1418 Stover St2,060 sq ft · owned 11 yrsInterior cardBuilt 1948: lead-safe
- Dan & Ruth O.2700 Moore Ln2,870 sq ft · owned 16 yrsCabinet cardBuilt 1996
- Simone L.613 Peterson St1,780 sq ft · owned 9 yrsInterior cardBuilt 1925: lead-safe
- Eric W.3314 Silverthorne Dr3,240 sq ft · owned 14 yrsCabinet cardBuilt 2001
- Holly & Ben R.1129 Sycamore St2,150 sq ft · owned 19 yrsInterior cardBuilt 1972: lead-safe
AI draft for Megan A. · 1418 Stover St
WINTER IS WHEN OUR INTERIOR CREWS HAVE OPEN DATES.
Hi Megan, exterior season is over in Fort Collins, which makes January and February the easiest time to book interior painting. You get your pick of dates, and we can finish most rooms in a day or two.
We do walls, trim, doors, and kitchen cabinets, with a free color consult and a fixed price. Your home was built in 1948, so we test for lead and use EPA lead-safe practices on all prep work.
Scan the code for a quote. We're booking through the end of February.
Front Range Painting · Insured · (970) 555-0154
Sample data for illustration. Your results depend on your market and filters.
Playbook
How to plan a painting marketing calendar
Painting demand follows the weather. Exterior work needs dry days and temperatures within the paint's label range. Many exterior latex paints list a minimum somewhere between 35 and 50°F for both air and surface, plus time to cure before dew or rain. That creates two exterior windows in most of the country, spring through early summer and late summer through fall, and a long stretch when exterior work stops.
Market each window before it opens. Homeowners take time to get bids and pick colors, so exterior mail should land six to eight weeks before you want crews on site: late winter for spring, midsummer for fall. A card that arrives when the season starts is already late.
Use winter for interiors and cabinets. Owners spend more time indoors, they're preparing for holidays or a spring sale, and you have open dates. A winter card that says so honestly ("our crews have open dates") works better than a deep discount and fills the months that usually cost you crew members.
Summer is for decks, fences, and touch-ups. Owners are outside and notice gray, peeling wood. A deck and fence staining push in early summer fills gaps between exterior jobs and builds a list of homes for next year's exterior campaign.
Match lists to seasons. Exterior pushes go to homes due by age and siding. Interior pushes go to long-time owners. Deck pushes go to larger lots. Exclude anyone you painted this year, and stop mailing anyone who books.
Adjust for your climate. In the Sun Belt, exterior painting runs nearly year-round, but summer heat and afternoon storms create their own slow stretch, so interior pushes may belong in July rather than January. In northern markets, the exterior window can be as short as May through early October. Set your send dates from your own job history: look at when estimates were requested, not when jobs were done.
12×return on a year of Spur Team from three $2,400 winter interior jobs
Filling the slow season pays for the year.
- Spur Team: $49/mo billed annually = $588/yr
- Four seasonal pushes of 400 cards on Team at $0.94 each = about $1,500
- Three $2,400 winter interiors = $7,200, about 12× your subscription
Example math. Season length and job size depend on your climate and market. Run your own numbers →
One tool, not four
Spur vs. the usual seasonal marketing
What you needThe usual waySpur
Mail lands 6–8 weeks before each windowPromotions after the season starts✓ Built in
Different offer for each seasonOne card all year✓ Built in
Lists matched to the seasonEvery door, every time✓ Built in
Set the year onceRemembering to run each campaign✓ Built in
Results by seasonNo idea what filled the calendar✓ Built in
Seasonal Campaigns by the numbers
Why painting follows the calendar
35–50°F
is the typical minimum air and surface temperature on exterior latex paint labels, which ends exterior season in much of the U.S.
~1980
median year built for U.S. homes, so most have rooms and trim on their second or third paint cycle
12×
return on a year of Spur Team from three $2,400 winter interior jobs
FAQ
Seasonal painting marketing questions
How do painting companies get work in winter?
By marketing interiors and cabinets before winter starts. Mail long-time owners in late fall with an honest offer: open dates, a color consult, and a fixed price.
When should painters advertise exterior painting?
Six to eight weeks before your exterior window opens, usually late winter for spring and midsummer for fall. Owners need time to get bids and choose colors.
What's the slow season for painting contractors?
In most of the U.S., late fall through winter, when temperatures fall below what exterior paint labels allow. Interior and cabinet work fills the gap.
Should I offer discounts in the slow season?
A small incentive can help, but open dates and a fast schedule are usually enough. Deep discounts train customers to wait for them.
Can I run seasonal campaigns automatically?
Yes. In Spur you set each push's list, card, and send date once, and the campaigns mail on schedule every year.
Keep exploring
Related plays and guides
Start in minutes. No card required.
Plan the whole painting year in one sitting.
Set your seasonal lists, cards, and send dates once, and let Spur keep crews busy all year. Free to start.
Plan my painting season — freeFree forever plan · No card · 20 property searches a month
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