Beyond SMS & Email: 2 Proven DTC Channels for More Wine Sales in 2025 New Direct Mail Strategies & Affordable Mobile Apps Deliver Quick Wins As we barrel into OND — the most critical sales quarter for wine brands — many DTC marketing teams are staring down a sobering reality: sales are slumping, inboxes are saturated, and SMS campaigns are losing steam.  The two primary direct marketing channels most wineries rely on — email (used by 85% of brands) and SMS (used by 15%) — are showing serious signs of fatigue. Promotional emails are increasingly buried in spam folders, and just last week, some of the industry’s leading SMS providers urged wineries to limit their use of SMS this holiday season due to deliverability concerns. So what now? If you’re a wine marketer looking for incremental sales this year without taking big risks, it’s time to revisit two proven channels that have quietly regained their edge: direct mail and affordabl

While winery eCommerce has been around for a while, many wineries did not fully embrace this direct-to-consumer (DTC) channel until they were forced to during the pandemic. Some wineries have adapted quickly, leveraging modern technology and eCommerce platforms to thrive, while others have struggled to keep up with the fast-paced world of digital marketing and SEO. Thanks to the rise of eCommerce giants like Amazon, consumers expect seamless, fast, and personalized experiences. Wineries face the added challenge of shipping regulations, compliance, and managing perishable goods like wine, but SEO (Search Engine Optimization) can help them stand out and thrive in this competitive market. In the United States, the eCommerce share of wine sales grew from only 0.3% in 2018 to nearly 3% in 2022. The eCommerce channel promises to be lucrative, too. The top five wine and liquor online stores in the U.S. together generated more than one billion dollars in eCommerce net sales in 2022. For long-t

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW  As we passed the end of January, were you prepared for the changes happening in the email marketing realm, courtesy of the giants Google and Yahoo? These email overlords have a set of new deliverability standards that you MUST have adhered to as of February 1st, or risk being silenced. If you’re using or delivering to Gmail, Google Workspace, Yahoo, Yahoo Business Email, or AOL, you’re on the list. Google and Yahoo command a whopping 2 billion active users collectively, and thirty percent of the world’s daily email traffic flows through Gmail. So pretty much everyone’s invited to this party, and not attending could land you in spam folders, so pay attention. But worry not, you have WGM nerds in your corner. We have broken down the requirements for you to forward to your internal tech chick/dude. (Or if you are lacking one, we can handle it for you.) Read on for the 411. The new guidelines: 1. EMAIL MARKETERS MUST AUTHENTICATE THEIR E

The wine industry is still recovering from the 2020-2021 COVID pandemic. A November Geisenheim University survey for the ProWein Business Report found that two-thirds of global wine industry representatives it surveyed identified supply chain disruption as the biggest threat to their businesses after cost increases. 92% reported that they had experienced availability issues with glass bottles, significantly more than for any other products. Sand Castle Winery, which lies along the Delaware River in beautiful Bucks County, Pennsylvania, is one winery that decided to pivot away from its specialty cobalt blue glass bottles to shrink sleeves that simulated the blue on a more readily available clear glass bottle for three compelling reasons: To control the supply chain. To ensure uniformity across bottle orders so the visual footprint on the shelf would not change. To gain significant cost savings. “Like every business in the country, COVID made us face a decision about how to go forw

Creating and executing an effective growth strategy is where a lot of successful Makers hit a stumbling block. Their wine and spirits products are selling well, there’s demand and room for expansion, but what do the next steps look like? LibDib’s Director of Maker Experience, Tanya Riesbeck, has the answers. Step one is simple: “Get out from behind the still, get out of the cellar and BE the Seller,” she says. “We know that buyers want authenticity and more than ever, people want to support small and local wine and spirits producers who pour so much into their craft.”  It’s sound advice--just as much as it’s fun wordplay. Putting a face to the name of the brand is helpful: it shows passion and pride and adds a grassroots sensibility.  Look at the recent success of Ryan Reynolds’ Aviation Gin. Of course, it certainly helps that he is the famous movie star Ryan Reynolds… but the point still stands. It wa