What do your clients expect from your postcards?
The best postcards are the ones that go unnoticed in a stack of mail, but when they're noticed, they're remembered. So what exactly do your clients expect from your postcards? A well-timed postcard campaign is one of the best ways to stay top-of-mind with customers. Whether you're advertising specials or trying to build awareness for a new product, it's worth asking yourself: What do your customers want in a postcard?
This is not a rhetorical question. The answer surely varies depending on who your clients are and what their needs are, but some general guidelines apply. Here are a few ways you can learn from the postcard professionals and apply some direct marketing principles to your own campaign.
1. Use images that reflect your product or service.
If you're selling cars, the last thing you want to use on your postcard is a picture of a horse, even if it's a nice, shiny horse. Business-to-business (B2B) marketers tend to take this rule much more seriously than business-to-consumer (B2C) marketers…and B2C marketer usually have it pretty easy when it comes to making images that reflect their products and services. But there are still general rules we can apply here. If you're selling a professional service, the most important thing to communicate is the results of using your service — not the service itself. The best images are those that customers can imagine themselves in.
2. Use clear, direct text to communicate your message and sell your product or service.
The same principle applies here — if you're selling an intangible service, then the focus should be on the benefits received by using that service. If you're selling a tangible product, stick to what's in it for them (e.g., "9 out of 10 dentists recommend…"). This all goes back to good copywriting, and there are plenty of resources online with advice on how to write good copy.
3. Use a "real" return address.
In the same way that you want to avoid sending email from a free webmail account (e.g., gmail), you also want to avoid mailing from free mail services like Yahoo or Hotmail when sending out postcards. It's fine to use these services for email marketing, but they don't possess the level of professionalism that clients will expect in a direct mail campaign — especially one containing an actual piece of physical paper and an envelope with the return address printed on it.
4. Make your postcard an expression of your brand or business identity — but keep it consistent with postcard style standards (AACS).
Again, if you're using images that reflect your brand, it's a good idea to stick with them. This applies mainly to B2C direct mailers, but this isn't just about style. AACS guidelines are actually pretty strict when it comes to the size and layout of postcards: Keep your images in the 3" x 5" space for the main image and the 2" x 4" space for additional text (if any); keep all additional text inside a box reserved for such text; and keep all logos, dates and disclaimers outside the postage area. If you're not comfortable with these guidelines, there are plenty of resources online to help you create a consistent brand experience that reflects your business identity.
5. Promote your postcard in advance.
Whether it's through a Twitter campaign before you send out your postcards or a "pre-dispatch" program at an outside printing company, you should pre-promote your postcards before they go to press to maximize the promotional value of these pieces of paper. Many direct marketers run some form of pre-dispatch program where the print company sends out the printing order only after it receives an acknowledgement from the customer (e.g., "we'll get that order going as soon as we can"). By pre-promoting your postcards you'll be able to achieve a quick response from customers. You can also use pre-funding programs (e.g., specifying a budget for this campaign, but then allowing the customer to contribute more funds as needed) if you want to keep things flexible. There are plenty of resources online for learning how to run promotional campaigns and get those responses, so I'd recommend putting some time into learning the basics of these marketing techniques before you launch any direct mail campaigns.
6. Mail your postcards only when necessary — and save money by using bulk discounts on postage.
Although it's fine to mail out postcards on a regular basis, don't overdo it. Remember, your postcards are going to clients who are already familiar with your brand and know what you're selling — there's no need to send these pieces of paper out every day. The savings you get from bulk discounts on postage will help make up for any losses incurred by not sending out postcards too frequently; just make sure that the discount you receive is worth the combined cost of mailing more frequently.
7. Use an actual stamp, not a pre-printed "Postcard" stamp, on the envelope — and use good old-fashioned stamps with images of U.S. presidents.
You'd be surprised how many people still use pre-printed "Postcard" postage stamps on their envelopes instead of an actual stamp. It's a mistake, and using a real stamp (with images of U.S. presidents, if you can manage it) can mean the difference between your postcard arriving with the rest of the mail or not arriving at all (i.e., landing in the mailbox and going straight to the trash).
8. Send postcards to the right address.
If you're sending out postcards to people who are email addresses that are not easy to find, many direct marketers will save money by sending them to "general mail" as opposed to what's called "opt-in mail" or "pre-approved" mail (i.e., sending these pieces of paper only when they know that someone wants to be added to your database). This is fine if most of your customers use this system, but if you send out a lot of postcards into the general mailbox, you'll probably want to consider making the change.
Conclusion
Direct mail, like email marketing, is a marketing tool that can have tremendous impact on your business. If you use it properly, you could very well increase the profitability and profitability of your business. Just remember to keep these guidelines in mind and to always keep things focused on the benefits that customers will receive by using your products or services:
Ask yourself: "What benefits will my customers receive if they use this product or service?"
Make this the focus of everything you do — even when designing an effective direct mail campaign. Don't get too caught up in thinking about any visual elements that might work really well in a direct mail piece (such as postcard-like imagery) — these things are secondary at best.