How can you stay in your customers' minds? It's easy with a few postcards. Mail postcards to prospects and customers every few weeks, and they'll think of you first when they need something. They'll pick up the phone and call you when they're ready to buy.
Postcards are hard-working marketing tools because…
- Postcards are cheap to produce. One sheet, no folding, stuffing, inserting.
- Need fast delivery? Postcards are cheap to mail first class.
- Mailing house costs can be completely offset by postage savings. Tired of doing it yourself? Take your postcards to a mailing house. Costs are low since postcards are so easy to handle.
- Postcards have high readership. Almost everyone reads postcards. By the time they grab the postcard to toss out, they've already read your headline. Hope it was a great one!
- They're diverse. Postcards can be as personal as a one-to-one communication — so you can be "jest settin' on your front porch, talkin' to one person" — or as formal as a bound book with an embossed gold leaf cover.
- Print on demand now makes it possible for real personalization. Personalize name and address, also photos of house or car, map of neighborhood, township or area.
- Postcards can come back to haunt you. Double and triple postcards are great as a response vehicle, offering a concealed spot for a credit card number.
- Postcards handle illustrations well. Line art, airbrush, four color, even crayon — whatever you have, it can look great on a postcard. Better paper stock enhances the "it didn't come out as good as we thought it would" designs.
- They're inexpensive to print — no need to go four color. A nice thing about postcards is that one- or two-color ones work just fine, and they're cheaper to print. Make sure your copy writing sparkles, though.
- Four-color postcards are cheap to have printed. The cost can be as low as $295 for 5,000 cards.
- They're easy to handle. If you’re doing the mailing yourself it’s easy: no stuffing, no folding. Not much messing around - just print, address, and mail.
4 hard and fast "don'ts" for postcards:
1. Don't use cheap paper.
2. Don't go for glossy paper unless you are printing in four colors or have heavy ink coverage — the post office sorting equipment will mark the surface. I recommend a crisp, bright white, 80-pound linen stock.
3. Don't go for the smallest size card. The minimum size card (4" x 6-1/4") doesn't scream out for attention like a 5-1/2" x 8-1/2" card does.
4. Don't try to make a sale. It's a short format, so just try to generate a phone call. When people call, then you can make the sale.
6 steps to creating successful postcards:
1. Use a big, bold headline to entice scanning readers.
2. Use bold subheads written and designed to entice and interest the reader further.
3. The first line of each paragraph must be written smart and sharp to keep the reader reading.
4. Using your logo? Keep it small. You may like it, but it doesn't make the phone ring.
5. Print "Save this card!" somewhere near the top, and people will.
6. Point every line at generating a phone call — it's the postcard's only objective: make people call. Show a large phone number.
5 postcard objectives
1. Generate an inquiry by having people call.
2. Generate an order by having people call.
3. Come into your store, or call.
4. Have people call for more information.
5. Have people call for your free booklet.
Tell the reader exactly what you want him to do: call. Be specific.
It's OK to send a card more than once. Successful cards can be sent forever as long as they continue to bring results. You get sick of looking at your postcards long before your customers get tired of receiving them.
Mail frequently. Direct mail is a game of numbers — mail as many cards to as many people as you can.
