by Robert Boduch

Postcards can be valuable marketing tools for any business. Here are a few ideas that will help you get the most from your own postcard marketing campaign.

The magic of these eye-catchers is that they deliver short, concise messages in the minimum amount of time - perfect for the “time-poor” society we live in today. They get the important information across rapidly, with a quick and easy flip of the wrist.

You can take your idea from concept to distribution within just days. Since they can be produced in any quantity to suit any budget, postcards are great for businesses of all sizes. You could save a bundle on your marketing expenses by utilizing these simple two-sided pieces, instead of other more costly tools.

Currently — at least in the U.S. — postage costs are considerably lower for postcards vs. first-class mail. Unfortunately, this advantage is not available to marketers in other countries such as Canada. Full rates apply. Even still… these attention-grabbers offer tremendous marketing opportunities to entrepreneurs and small business owners — at any rate.

Postcards are most effective and profitable when used to:

generate new leads
follow-up with prospects as part of a campaign
make an announcement to your existing mailing list
thank customers for their patronage and invite them back with a special offer
draw traffic to your web site

The key to success is to deliver instant impact. You’ve got to make your piece command immediate attention in your prospect’s crowded mailbox. Catch the eye… pique curiosity… and unload your magnetic marketing message as quickly as possible.

Every card has two sides — a front and back. Use the front side as leverage with maximum appeal to compel your prospect to flip the card over and get the full impact of your complete message.

Use the back of the card to unveil all the key benefits of your product or service… provide an strong offer to trigger action… and list prominently your contact information. You’ve got to make it lightening quick and unquestionably easy to respond. Eliminate any obstacles that might be in the way to getting the results you want.

As with any type of advertising, be sure to include a powerful headline. Your headline is key. It’s the most important part of your postcard and should be featured prominently on the front side.

When you’re sure you’ve got a headline that works, try enhancing it visually to make it figuratively jump off the card. One method is to use reverse-type (white text on a dark-colored background). Always use a larger font size, preferably in a bold typeface. Make it clear and unmistakable… so prospects are sure to understand the message.

Consider employing graphic options such as cartoons only if they assist you in getting your message across. Use topnotch color photographs (like popular tourist postcards) when you can clearly tie the visual to the message in your headline.

The text of your postcard should be benefit-laden. Communicate to your prospect in clear, vivid detail all the advantages that s/he will enjoy by taking advantage of your offer TODAY. Stress the unique benefits unavailable elsewhere. Include a few testimonials — even if you have to shoehorn them in. Actually, this can be extremely effective as the eye is naturally drawn to anything on the page that is a little out of the ordinary.

Testimonials act as proof of your claims and help build your credibility as a reliable supplier. They also help overcome the fear many people have in trusting a vendor they haven’t done business with before.

One absolutely essential ingredient of successful postcards is the offer. It must be promising and compelling. Give the reader an incentive to act now. Be clear and specific. Make responding a simple, one-step process.

If your postcard is sent as a “thank-you” to new customers after their first purchase, entice them back with a 17% discount on the next. This approach transforms your postcard into a valuable coupon that’s worth something in terms of redeemable value. Since recipients have already bought from you, most would be happy to do it again at a substantial discount.
The mission of your postcard is to inspire a positive response. Always keep that objective clear in your mind as you plan your strategy.

To maximize results, craft a targeted message and make it easy for recipients to take action. This means providing clearly legible contact information — whether it’s a telephone number, fax, mailing address, or web site. Keep in mind that everyone has a preferred method — people like to respond in different ways.

Providing various response options eliminates another cause of inaction. The more of these objections you address, the more likely it is your postcard campaign will be a rousing success!

by Concept Marketing Group, Inc.

Have you noticed that sometimes you receive a postcard from a company every month or every quarter for a year? You ask yourself, “Why are they doing this? I don’t need this now.” Here is an example of how repetitive mailings are very effective.

Our example is that of a mosquito abatement company sending postcards to households in Florida, every two-three months starting in January. January is not a month when you would expect swarms of mosquitoes, even in Florida. There is no benefit to your target audience in January. But if your goal is to get name recognition during the winter months so that you have customers starting in the early and throughout the summer months, this strategy is very effective for postcard campaigns.

You receive the first postcard in January. Your initial reaction might be, “I don’t need mosquito abatement in January. Mosquitoes aren’t a problem until May or June. What’s wrong with these people?” Because of you took the time to skim the card, you make a mental note of these crazy people trying to sell you mosquito abatement in the dead of winter. In the trash goes the postcard.

In March, you receive another card from the same company. You have the same reaction. But now you have seen the same company name twice and you remember it from January.

In May, you receive another postcard from the same company and you remember it from the January and March mailings. You remember seeing on TV earlier in the week this might be the worse season for mosquitoes in the past 20 years. Now you think you might benefit from this company so this time you put the postcard where you can easily find it in case you have to call them or maybe you toss it. Either way, you can now recall from memory the name of “… the crazy mosquito abatement service company that sends me postcards during the mosquito dormant months”.

Two weeks later, you are in your yard trying to enjoy a cook out. You notice the mosquitoes were plentiful and you have the bites to prove it. You need help getting rid of these pests if you want to enjoy your yard over the summer. Now you can benefit from the “crazy company” that sent you postcards during the winter and you call them to get to your house in a hurry.

The card you received the first two times was almost as annoying as those mosquito bites. By the time you needed their services, you could remember the name of the company. Even though the postcard did not result in an immediate response, it gave the company brand and name recognition. You remembered the name and the card made an impression on you because you received it in January.

As human beings, we learn by repetition. The more we do something or read about something, the more likely we are to remember it. The same holds true for the postcards.

It only takes a second to skim the postcard and decide whether or not to toss it in the trash can. But if you receive it more than once, it is likely you will be able to remember the name of the company from memory. If you think you might benefit from the company’s offer, you might save the postcard for future use. Either way, the mosquito abatement postcard campaign was effective. They probably received zero responses in January but by May, their phones were ringing off the hook.

Real Estate Postcards produce even better results for marketers in the 21st century than they did in the past …especially when you use them to generate website traffic and sales leads.

Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales. He just released a New Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards .

By David Frey

Direct mail is perhaps, one of the most powerful marketing mediums in use today. Few other marketing tools can deliver your message with exact precision at such a low cost. The amount of mail in your mailbox everyday attests to the effectiveness of this medium (If it didn’t work, your mailbox would be empty!).

Here are eight reasons why I believe direct mail is still king of the marketing mediums:

Reason # 1: It works when you’re not: Like the old saying goes, “In rain, sleet, or snow” the mail arrives. Whether you’re sleeping, vacationing, working, or walking, your direct mail is working for you. It gives your best sales presentation over and over again without you having to be present.

Reason # 2: It leverages your efforts: Do you want to know how to waste your time? Give your best sales presentation to one person at a time. If you do this, you’ll only sell one widget at a time. Send out thousands of letters and your best sales pitch is being presented to thousands of people simultaneously. That’s called “leverage!”

Reason # 3: Allows you to target with precision: Instead of “spraying and praying” your message to people who may or may not be interested or even qualified to take advantage of your offer, direct mail allows you to pinpoint the people who fit your psychographic, demographic, and geographic profile.

Reason # 4: You get an immediate response: Once you send out your direct mail piece it doesn’t take long to get a response. Within one to two weeks you’ll receive about 80 percent to 90 percent of all those who are going to respond. If your campaign works, you’ll know about it quickly. If it’s a bomb, you’ll that quickly as well.

Reason # 5: It’s easy to track your return on investment: If you’re a small business owner you can’t afford to waste a single penny on wasteful marketing. With direct mail marketing you can code your mail pieces to determine the exact number of responses you received from each campaign.

And as I said before, the results of your direct mail campaign come back fast, so once you know what worked and what didn’t, you can immediately start to “tweak” your mail piece to increase your response and hold your marketing dollars accountable.

Reason # 6: It’s relatively inexpensive: With just $.34 (at the time of this writing) you can send out a direct mail piece that includes your full marketing message. It is amazing what you can get into a small business size envelope and keep under the $.34 limit. Photos, newspaper articles, letters, special reports, and more can be put in these envelopes for under $.34. This means you can reach 100 target prospects for only $34. Comparatively speaking, that’s a bargain!

Reason # 7: It gets one-on-one attention: One of the best things about direct mail is that it gets one-on-one attention from your target prospect. Unlike billboards or radio and television commercials that get your attention while two to three other things also have your attention. Direct mail is opened one piece at a time and read one piece at a time. It gives you the best chance of catching your prospect’s attention and keeping it for a period of time.

Reason # 8: It’s something you can touch and feel—it hangs around: Direct mail is something that you can hold in your hand. It’s not made of electrons that can be deleted with the twitch of a finger. It’s not a radio frequency signal that is here and then gone a moment later. It is physical. It is something that can hang around for a period of time. It has “lingering” marketing effects.

All these reasons I’ve mentioned make direct mail a very powerful marketing medium that, if done right, can have a very high return on your marketing dollar.

David Frey, President of Marketing Best Practices Inc., a Houston-based small business marketing consulting firm.

by Brandon Cornett

Your postcard-marketing program can benefit from a good checklist. Checklists keep us focused on the task at hand and help us remember all of the finer points. Doctors use them. Mechanics use them. And yes, postcard marketers use them — at least those who take postcard marketing seriously.

As your postcard marketing program evolves, so too will your checklist. Before long, you’ll have a list of things that have worked well for you (as well as those that haven’t). And that’s a valuable checklist to have!