Marketing using postcards may seem to be an old-school way of doing things. Besides, why would one even want to do that in the age of technology that we live in right now? Printed emails that highlight your business, products, or even provide gift bonuses are all a part of postcard marketing. If you think about it, what are you more likely to ignore – an email on your phone or a piece of colorful paper in your mailbox? That is the point we are trying to make. You are likely to ignore the email. Why? Because you get dozens of them every day and it is hard to keep up with everything.
Hence, postcard marketing is better when it comes to engagement and the possibility of grabbing attention. 86% of customers go through the document entirely. The one’s remaining go at least halfway. Well, we have given you the facts. Why not go for postcard marketing and discard the idea of a plain old email.
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Table of Contents
Reasons why postcard marketing works
1. A personal appeal
Postcard design creates a different connection on a whole new level between you and your customer. It serves the purpose of making the potential customer feel important. Just a little bit but enough to make an impact. A postcard is aesthetically much more appealing than an email. This reason can single handedly make half of your customers or prospects read till the end. The personalized postcards make them feel great rather than as just another prospect to a marketing campaign. It makes it apparent that the postcard is directed specifically towards them while an email is sent to a massive number of people. This goes a long way in building customer relationships.
2. Unexpectedness
Before the internet took over everything, a lot of things were done manually. The case was the same with marketing. With every company doing postcard campaigns to gather a customer base, you could expect a postcard in your mail almost every day. This had become such commonplace that nobody cared about postcards. Today, it’s the same case with emails. They kind of suck to be honest. Guess what works though? Direct mail marketing. When was the last time you expected direct mail from a company? Not in the near past, we believe. Well, that’s why they work.
3. Colorful cards kindle curiosity
A bland email with monotonous text is boring. Let us take a simple test, shall we? If you were to be given two choices, to read something in an email or to open up a leaflet with bold colors, which one of them would spike your curiosity? The leaflet of course. Background colors play an important role in spiking human curiosity. No wonder we have eyes that can see millions of colors. Hence postcards are an amazing way to grab and hold your customer’s interest and curiosity for good and not let it go. That’s the role of beautiful postcards.
4. Affordability
Postcard marketing is affordable. Why is that? Because print media has become quite affordable thanks to a plethora of changes in print technology. It is cheap and easy to get your hands on a postcard for your business these days. Bonus, you can make them personalized for different customers. Besides, a cheap postcard is not distinguishable from something you spent a lot of money to make and it gets the job done.
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5. Good ROI
Since direct mail postcards are so good at getting you loyal customers, the money you invested in them comes back with good profits. The response rate from direct mail marketing is huge. The demographics show that about 86% of customers go out of their way to read your leaflet entirely. This means that a high number of customers are guaranteed to think about your offers or take your services. You’re one step closer to making them your customer. You can definitely say that the conversion rate of leads into customers is going to be really high.
6. Easy to Create
Making an attractive and appealing postcard shouldn’t be a tough task, even one with personalized information and discount codes. All this does a great job of converting your prospect list into loyal customers.
Bulk production of these postcards can be done at any press. They are cheap and so easy to find that even beginner businessmen could invest a bit to get a few for themselves.
All these elements show you one thing. Postcard marketing campaigns are not just yet-another marketing strategy but are a great and effective action strategy.
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Steps to run a successful postcard campaign
Even though postcard marketing is helpful, it won’t work if you implement it the wrong way. To have a good response rate, we’ll need to ensure that a few things are in place. Here are a few dos and don’ts for you to convert your target audience into potential customers.
Here are the dos and don’ts of running a successful marketing campaign.
| Dos | Don’ts |
| Personalization is key | Do not send the same postcard twice. |
| Employ bold colors in the postcard | Do not make the postcard boring and bland |
| Provide concise and compact information | Do not use long text. They are boring |
| Track and use important days to send your postcard | Do not use complex language or jargons |
| Keep your mailing list updated | Do not send postcards on random dates |
| Use enhanced design elements | Do not continue using the same postcard for long |
| Research the needs of your potential customers | Do not add irrelevant information |
| Pinpoint a problem and present a solution | Do not forget to add your contact info |
| Use effective headlines | Do not make use of random pictures, rather use photographs of what you sell. |
Postcard marketing mistakes
1. The Absence of a goal
Ah…to ask yourself why is an important routine that most people don’t follow. If you only asked yourself about the purpose of the marketing campaign you are about to start, things would become a lot better. Always set a goal before you start a campaign. What is it for? Is the goal to get you new customers? or is it to strengthen ties with old customers? It could be anything. The mistake people make is that they forget to ask this question to themselves. So, the next time you are about to begin a postcard marketing campaign, you know where to start.
2. Losing track of best prospects
Always know which people would be the best to constitute your mailing list. A lot of people generalize their mailing list and add everyone possible into it. This is a common mistake. Rather, try sorting through a large list of prospects and then cut it down to the ones who are the best fit.
This will reduce your investment and increase your returns. It is a simple point to be digested but once applied, it can bring about a noticeable change.
3. Not having a strong call to action
A call to action is the most important part of your postcard. It induces a fervor to make a decision in your customer’s mind. You can always include a strong order in a polite manner to instill an instruction. A simple “call now” message with a bold contact number is an amazing call to action. Besides, you may combine an action message with a decent discount offer or even a discount code to enhance the chances of your customer actually taking an action. You do not really need to give away heavy discounts. A little bit would do the job just fine.
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4. Your Postcard is not your Sales Pitch!
There is not enough space on your postcard to take in your sales pitch. The only job the postcard has is to get the client’s attention and provide them with a call to action. Once they decide to take action and contact you, you can pitch them for all the time you want. Remember, if you can get them interested, you are one step closer to making them customers. Keep your Postcard short, concise, and effective.
5. Boring headlines
The first thing that your prospect sees in your postcard will always be the headline. Including bold and simple headlines that are catchy can go a long way in standing out from the crowd. If you cannot get their interest right at the start, then it is quite clear that the prospect will not read the rest of the postcard. In order to increase the conversion rate, you will need to include a catchy headline. If it does the job of instilling curiosity, you’ve done a great job.Quicklink: Click here to get started with your direct mail campaign for only $0.05 cents each with San Jose Direct Mail.
Postcard marketing tips
Follow the list below to enhance the chances of making your postcard marketing campaign a grand success.
- Always use a clear and readable font
- Never neglect the power of a clear cut headline
- Always use images relevant to your product or images of your product
- Put down welcoming offers for your prospects
- Never forget to include a return address and your contact information.
- Place emphasis on what the prospect receives rather than what you provide
- Always track and record your campaign
- Update your mailing list regularly
- Personalization of postcards is the best thing to do to induce interest in prospects.
These tips will help you run your postcard campaign with maximum returns.
What should you put on a postcard?
A good postcard for a marketing campaign contains
- A bold headline
- A blissful use of colors
- A clear format
- Images
- Personalized text
- A return address and contact info
- Design elements to make it beautiful.
FAQs
Is direct mail marketing still effective?
Yes, it is. In fact, it has become immensely effective in the recent era. With emails becoming commonplace everywhere, postcards are things people don’t expect to receive. What do unexpected things do? They spark curiosity. A curious prospect is already a half-customer. This is why postcard marketing is effective.
What makes a good postcard campaign?
Proper knowledge about prospects is a key to a successful postcard campaign. Besides, to make an effective postcard, you’ll need bold headlines, complementary colors, and proper personalization. All these points when combined make a good postcard campaign.
How many words should be on a postcard?
Enough words to spark interest but fewer the better so that the prospect doesn’t lose interest in the postcard. Always keep in mind that the number of words depends on the size of your postcard. Where can I make my postcards?
San Jose Direct Mail is amazing at making personalized postcards for marketing campaigns. They even give you a free sample. Click here to register now. This is probably the best service out there for postcard marketing.
