Planning Direct Mail Postcard Marketing

When you want an effective yet inexpensive way to market your products or services to the local community, postcard marketing can help you reach your goals. With postcards, you can spread your message to individuals, families, or businesses who may be receptive to your organization’s mission. Postcards can be a means to an end themselves, or they can be used as an important step in lead generation. Direct mail postcard marketing is a very flexible form of advertising that can suit a wide range of purposes.

Creating Your Mailing List

Before designing, printing, and mailing your postcards, you’ll need to find out where to send them. Creating a mailing list can be accomplished through information you already have in house or by buying a list from a marketing company. For example, if you’ve been running a travel agency for years, you know which groups of people use your services the most, and you can target those demographics for the best results. Startups may want to purchase a list if they’re not sure who in the area might be most receptive to their message.

Text, Graphics, and Layout

Postcards don’t offer a lot of space, so you have to make the most of every square inch when planning your direct mail postcard. One popular approach to design is to put a picture on one side to attract the recipients' attention while having text on the other side that provides valuable information. The key to all postcards is to have an enticing call to action. Whether that means a call to your office, a click on your website, or a visit to your store, you want that call to action to be loud and clear.

Mailing and Printing

If you plan to mail and print your postcards quickly and with the highest quality results, you’ll want to work with a full service direct mailing company. By working with professionals, you’ll save time, prevent clutter in your office, and take advantage of the knowledge of industry experts who know how to get results. Like any other marketing effort, you’ll want to evaluate the results of your postcards and make any necessary changes to optimize results. Planning will likely be an ongoing process.

Create Your Own Direct Mail Postcard Campaign

If you think that postcards are just cute little messages for grandmothers to send their grandchildren during trips across the country, it’s time to learn about the benefits a direct mail postcard campaign can have for your small business or organization. Postcards are a powerful and affordable way to market your products, services, or people, and they can be used in conjunction with websites and social media to grow your presence in the community.

The Perfect Message

Postcards don’t give you the room you might need to get into the nitty-gritty details of your organization, but you can communicate your vision effectively by approaching your design in a clear and concise manner. In a world where music singles and YouTube clips rule, quick and digestible bits of information are the key to success. Before creating a design, think about the strongest attributes of your brand and how you can communicate those qualities in as few words as possible.

Postcards can contain almost any piece of information you might want to send to existing or potential customers. The more personalized you make each message, the more open your recipients will be to your message. Your postcard can include:

• Coupons
• Event information
• Special offers
• New products and service launches
• Appointment reminders

There really is no limit to what you can put on your postcards, so we encourage our clients to think outside of the box when planning their direct mail postcard campaigns. Giving your target audience something of value, like a free birthday item or complimentary consultation, will encourage them to follow your call to action.

The Affordable Mailing Campaign

Postcards require the least amount of postage of any type of mailer, giving you the opportunity to create an effective marketing campaign without making a big investment. While not as cheap as email, the information on your postcards are almost guaranteed to be viewed by every recipient, unlike the messages that end up in so many spam folders. Many organizations use postcards as an entry point with a new client. If a recipient shows interest, they can request brochures, newsletters, or more detailed campaign literature.

If you think postcards can help your marketing efforts and you’re not sure where to start, Caldwell can provide all the support and guidance you need. Call us today to begin work on your upcoming direct mail postcard campaign.