Marketing with Postcards

We are asked all the time, what is the best method of marketing with postcards. As a printer of custom postcards we might be the best source for this answer. Printers know exactly who is ordering and reordering these products. Businesses would not be spending good money year after year on a marketing method that does not work.

Keeping the message and the custom design of the postcard simple with clean graphics, simple language and an offer that will interest your target audience is key. Always give a reason for your new clients to pick up the phone or visit your website to find out more about you and your postcard offer. As far as we know the best reason anyone would take time to contact you is if they are offered a valuable discount, free deal or helpful tip. The trick to marketing in this way is similar to website marketing in that you do not get to talk or look at the potential lead. This is best overcome by making certain the reader knows and trusts you, your company and your standing as an “authority” or “leader” in your business.

The use of trusting words, logos and seals and even the correct colors is crucial.

The correct colors alone can make the sale of a product or service by making the reader feel trust, honesty and peace. The colors best for these metrics are blues, greens and browns. The action part or conversion area of your postcard such as the phone number should be in a contrasting color to the overall theme to draw attention to it. This is called a “call to action”.

While we’re certain you know your products and services better than anyone, the general public may not. When making your offer use common words that everyone can easily understand. You don’t look smarter by using big words if it costs you sales leads!

Are you a chamber of commerce member, BBB or other trade organization? These commonly recognized logos elicit trust. By the same token, using the logos of the common and trusted brands in your target market will also help you gain trust. People want to know the brands you carry and make a judgement on your company based on this information as well.

KISS (Keep it Simple Stupid). This age old marketing adage is perhaps even truer today than historically. In this fast paced, information overloaded life we lead, we haven’t time to “figure it out”. If you fail to convert the lead on the first read of your postcard….. Your chances are nearly nil to convert it later! Your intent has to be to deliver an unmistakably easy to understand and hard to pass up opportunity…. then create the impulse to act, immediately.

Rinse & Repeat

It takes time for people to recognize your logo, your design, colors and gain a sense of familiarity to it. This simple, graphically clean design with its large MONEY saving postcard needs to be sent to the your target audience at least 4 times with an interval of no more than 3 weeks apart.

Why? Because the first time they see it, it goes right into the trash or gets put off for later. As a matter of fact in a study done by Boston University’s Department of communication in 2010 showed that more that 20% of people open their mail over a trash can for easy disposal of unwanted mail (we would like to substitute a recycling bin). It is crucial for your targeted audience to see your name and familiar post card more than once.

Brand Recognition takes a great deal of attention to be executed properly. Repetition is the best way to let your target audience “know your business”. Never ever change your logo, common colors, slogan, phone number, website address etc. Changes like this can wash away years of brand building and cost more sales than you would care to know.

We have printed millions of custom postcards over the last 30 years. Successful clients tend to purchase their postcards in large enough volume to not only get the best discount, but split that volume in 4 or 5 successful mailing campaigns.

Categorised in: Marketing

This post was written by Progressive Printing Team

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