Buy it now from Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Apple Books | IndieBound For many products and offers, especially complicated ones, you’ll need to send a full direct mail package or a self-mailer to tell the story, present the facts, answer objections, and allow the consumer to place an order. But not all direct mail campaigns require you to do this in-depth—a postcard works well enough to do the job. Here are some of the advantages of using postcards in direct-mail marketing: Postcards don’t need to be opened. This gives your marketing piece more opportunities to catch prospects’ attention before being tossed. Traditional sales letters or direct mail packages often cost twice as much as postcards, if not more. Writing and designing postcards is easier and less costly. Alternatively, if you hire out the writing and design to a third party, you’ll spend a bit more than doing it yourself but still not nearly as much as you would with a full direct mail package. Keep It Short You don’t have much room on a 3½-by-53/8-inch or 4¼-by-6-inch postcard. Of course, you can write a booklet or report presenting the background information and then offer it free through a postcard. Tell the Prospect What to Do Though it may seem obvious, don’t assume the reader knows what to do with your card.
Postcards can’t hold much copy but when done right, you’ll see your business grow.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The following excerpt is from Robert W. Bly’s book The Direct Mail Revolution: How to Create Profitable Direct Mail Campaigns in a Digital World. Buy it now from Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Apple Books | IndieBound
For many products and offers, especially complicated ones, you’ll need to send a full direct mail package or a self-mailer to tell the story, present the facts, answer objections, and allow the consumer to place an order. But not all direct mail campaigns require you to do this in-depth—a postcard works well enough to do the job.
On a postcard, the space for graphics, copy, and the reply mechanism is much more limited, but they work great under these conditions:
- The product is familiar to the reader or simple and easy to explain.
- The marketing objective is to generate a lead or inquiry rather than to generate orders accompanied by checks and credit card payments.
- The offer features a premium or other free item the prospect can send for, such as a demo disk, CD, catalog, or brochure.
- The primary response mechanism is a phone call via a toll-free number or a URL for a landing page that gives the prospect more detailed information on the product or offer.
Postcards get their message across at a glance. That’s because the copy and graphics are immediately visible with no envelopes to open. Postcards stand out in the mail with a brief, to-the-point message. Even when someone is sorting incoming mail over the trash can, the postcard will get noticed and read—even if it’s on its way to getting tossed.
Advantages of Postcards
Many marketers on a budget prefer using postcards for their direct-mail campaigns. Here are some of the advantages of using postcards in direct-mail marketing:
- Postcards don’t need to be opened. The headline, copy, and graphics are all right there for the viewing unlike other marketing that comes in an envelope and requires prospects to at least open it. This gives your marketing piece more opportunities to catch prospects’ attention before being tossed.
- Postcards are short. This appeals to readers or skimmers with a short attention span because they can get to the point quickly without wading through what they see as a bunch…
COMMENTS