We have only two more months until 2019, and if you’re like us, you’re planning ahead. As you look to refuel your direct marketing approach for 2019, here are five quick tips to aid in the planning.

It’s that time of year again: 2015 planning and budget allocation. Tempted to run in the opposite direction of all the requests coming your way? We hear it all too often: more trade shows to exhibit at, more publications to advertise in, more sponsorships to support, more market segments to go after, more products to promote, more, more, more! If your marketing budget isn’t growing at the pace of new opportunities, it’s time to refocus. Just because there are more opportunities doesn’t mean they’re the right opportunities.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, folks, but 2014 is over in five weeks. And crammed into those five short weeks are 4 major holidays plus a half-dozen significant others. You might as well face the fact that, in terms of goals and accomplishments for this calendar year, what’s done is done and what isn’t done ain’t happ’nin’. Instead of beating yourself up, though, use these next five weeks — weeks during which we all know no one is at peak performance — to get a leg up on 2015.