Seeking help with postcard mailers

I notice my reaction to post cards that I get in the mail. The ones that get my attention before going into the recycling can are the ones that have one and only one focus and one call to action. I still might toss it but I will read it first maybe.

Don't send a postcard only just advertising who you are. Invite people to an event and offer something of value. Free tele-seminar or free lunch time talk - whatever it is tell them they need to rsvp and make your phone number big and your web address big. Nothing else.

A good graphic that's catchy is good as well. Just keep the whole thing simple and use your own copywriting skills to keep it short, clever and to the point. People need to read the whole thing and "get it" in 10 seconds on their way to the recycling pile.

That's my two cents. Yes- it is a lot of money to invest so make sure you get people to have to respond so you can track the percentages. Hope that helps. Good luck and let us know how it works out.

Hi Robert,

Kaya has some great advice, especially the part about the call to action.

Not too long ago, I wrote a two-part series in our free weekly e-tips on marketing with postcards: Part I, on creating objectives and using postcards to sell more to existing customers, and Part II, on creating a process for targeting prospects and designing a successful call to action. Hoping these will be useful to you.

That's great, Robert. Thanks for subscribing! Best of luck to you and I look forward to learning more about you and your business.

Perfect timing for this string, as I am creating postcards for my Himalayan Salt lamps as we speak. Color on both sides makes it pop more, and ensures people will read your card in those 10 seconds to the recycle pile. When time is not a crunch, I am going to have a good copy writer and graphic designer create a series of cards for me to send throughout next year, to have in my office and to post throughout the city. Pretty cards with snappy text are like candy. People will pick them up to just have a beautiful picture around them. The Kadampa Buddhist Center does great cards with beautiful pictures of Buddhas to advertise their meditation classes. I am contemplating hand writing addresses or at least a message on my cards to my special clients with a visually catching pen or color. I think this does make a difference in these sometimes impersonal, stimulus rich times. We all love a special message to just us. That is real mail.

Robert -

Many of my clients use postcards for marketing their businesses - and I have for promoting my last book. Most (including myself) have opted use the 4 x 6 card and not increase postage costs.

You might look into postcard print houses that also offer mailing services - or check into separate mailing houses - for permit use to decrease mailing costs and provide the availability of targeted mailing lists. Several of my clients have targeted mailings in the past by zip code, household income, type of business and other options. I don't know that the handwritten address makes much of a difference - but one of my personal service clients did have their card addressed by the mailing house using a font that had a handwritten look.

One thing my clientele has avoided is packaging their postcards in the "valu-pak" type of mailings. A couple of them made use of the services to initially and had a much greater rate of return with an individual postcard being mailed.

Many years ago I did a targeted direct mail piece. Over a period of a couple months I compiled a mailing list of my own - confirming the contact names to ensure that the piece was getting to the specific buyer of creative services. One of the most useful tools in compiling my list was the Business Journal's annual Book of Lists. I believe you can also purchase mailing lists from the Business Journal. Another great resource would be the monthly lists published in Media Inc. and their directory publications.

A one-shot postcard mailing is not always going to bring you the greatest return (much like one-shot advertising of any kind). In the past, - as a buyer of design, writing, photography and illustration services - the potential resources that caught my attention were the ones that did multiple mailings over a period of several months.

I also had what I referred to as the "Metropolitan Refrigerator of Art" test - if a postcard was especially clever or well-designed I posted it on the side of my filing cabinet or on my office bulletin board. When I needed a specific service those vendors were most often the ones I called.

Good luck!

Jeff Fisher | Jeff Fisher LogoMotives | Tweet! Tweet!

Would the postcards or advertising my mail (post office) work in bay area, especially in San Jose, California? Any comments from people who live in Bay Area?

Thanks, DNguyen

Thanks everyone! I'm due to make another flier, to advertise my $5 yoga special for December. This makes me think I should do it as a postcard & do some direct mailing (with written notes) with them, too! Thanks for the great ideas! (love the 4x6 reminder, Jeff!)

Best to all! EB Ferdig

From a copywriting standpoint, using a 4 x 6 postcard over a 5 x 7 just means that your real estate is more limited and your messages needs to be even more concise, so that every word counts. My advice: spend a lot of time coming up with that perfect, benefit-rich headline, the one that makes your prospects curious enough to want to know more.

Another approach I find that works well is mystery and intrigue. If you are mailing a series of cards anywhere from 4 to 6. Keep each card building off the last. Each one has a simple message that might not make sense on the first mailing. As more cards come in, the reader begins to make the connections and wonders what is going to come next. They actually start to look forward to the next card.

A key to this is making sure they receive the cards in a predictable manner. An example is send your mailing out on a Monday every week for 4 to 6 weeks so they always receive the card on a Wednesday.

Another thing to remember is that the card itself is not enough. Make sure you have phone numbers for the people you are mailing to. At any point in the campaign leave them a message on their voicemail. The message should reinforce the campaign you are sending. After the postcards are done make sure to try to get ahold of someone to schedule an appointment. Leave as many messages as you have to. If they are not interested they will let you know. Often times people begin to feel guilty for not talking to you which can open doors.

A lot of this is timing and hitting someone at the right time, but some if it is also persistence. Another great resource to look at is "Cold Calling for Cowards" by Jerry Hocutt. It gets you in the right state of mind.

My first job out of college was insurance sales. I tried to sell life and disability insurance policies. I was young and invincible and had no business talking to anyone about insurance, but I digress.

I used the the attorneys section of the yellow pages for my cold calling list (how ironic) and and the white pages from the phone book for my "targeted" mass mailings, and I actually made a couple of sales (right before I quit).

With the mailings, I hand addressed each envelope over a few weeks. This is old school but the lists were free and that fit nicely into my commission only sales job budget.

Good luck with your mailing.

Mark Walters | www.walterslawfirm.com.

Hi Robert ~:)

In response to a couple of your questions:

I've found that for the clients I've done mailers for, they've found them to be very effective. They also help you to stay in the eye of the client with a steady presence, most notably if the design pops, as they may keep it around just for this, then think of you when they're in need...or recommend you, or someone else could see it, or all of the above, ooOoh the possibilities are just lovely.

Also, with regards to handwritten or not, I'd say go with an easy to read font that will catch their eye, while tying in to the nature of your business. There are soooo many fonts out there there's absolutely no reason to use the same one that most everyone else uses! Stand out! Also, stay consistent, it's best to have just a few fonts you use in general ... and I can definitely help you with these endeavors and more!

Avi Leanne Taylor

The Marketing Magus : Creating Magic in Seattle for over 13 years 206.715.6161

I think the biggest problem you are going to encounter is that you sell WORDS, and you are trying to sell this with IMAGES.

I think the graphic design is going to be THE issue. If you can make the postcard something that people want to keep hang on the wall, then it is more likely that they will be interested in you.

A typographic art piece might be the thing...

Here are some samples

And this is a video, but is a great implementation of typographic art:

Pulp Fiction in type

If you can make WORDS your IMAGE, then it might help people to understand the value of a copywriter.

Just a few thoughts for ya...

Good advice here, but I think the "10 second" window for readership is more like 1/10th of a second.

Most people sort their mail into two piles (or the recycle can) very quickly: Approximately the time it takes to glance at one side of flip it into the trash.

A postcard, in particular, is presumed junk mail until proven innocent. I assume you can make the words and graphics work, so the real key is your messaging strategy.

A message of value to your target audience is not junk mail. A message of no interest is junk, even if you send it via CandyGram.

So, be sure you're (1) sending your card to a name instead of a title, (2) do the homework to make sure the name you have is the right one in the organization, and (3) say something that person will care about.

Also, send it frequently. It's not enough to send the right message to the right person, you also have to send it at the right time. Mailing it monthly, for example, gives you 11 extra opportunities to put it on the decision-maker's desk the day after their current writer quit to sell Amway.

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we have many samples

We've used postcards as a marketing tool for a couple of years now. Our highest return on investment is with the simplest of cards... 4" by 6" stock from Office Max printed on our own HP inkjet. An appealing offer, an expiration date, our phone number and website. The key is, these are sent to existing customers, people who already know and like us. These are challenging times for everyone, and we give them ample reason to use us again. One person can design, print, and bulk mail 1000 cards over a two day period for less than $500 in material. Our gross revenue from each campaign has ranged from $8000 to $20,000, and appears to be on the increase, as customers become accustomed to the frequency of our contact. Again, the key to the ROI is that we're sending these to our existing customer base.

We're also using an Idearc (Verizon) postcard campaign to great effect. These are slick, well-designed cards, packaged with 20 or so others. For about $1800, Idearc sends out 15,000 cards per quarter, to new homeowners. Our return rate isn't as high on this campaign, but still brings in $4000 to $8000 per quarter.

I wish you the best of luck in whatever you do,

Steve

I suggest that you don't send a postcard only just advertising who you are. Invite people to an event and offer something of value. Whatever it is tell them they need to rsvp and make your phone number big and your web address big too. A catchy graphic design is good too.

Najala Greene http://marketmailing.com/

Robert,

It looks like you've gotten some great ideas from all the posts. I couldn't agree more with the suggestions made. Making your postcard BIG is probably the most visible differentiation you can do for your target list to pick your postcard over all the others. Try a bright color as well. The call to action is my favorite and the best suggestion of all. You have to have a hook message for your prospects. Think about your services and answer the following question to get to the hook, "why should a client choose me?" For example, I recently did a mailing for my marketing consulting firm and at the very top of the mailer before the date, I wrote, "Everyday a comapny loses money do to ineffective marketing." How much more profit can your company generate through an effective marketing strategy? $1M, $3M, $5M, More?" I've gotten a good response. Just a thought. Best of luck to you.

I have enjoyed reading all the posts with lots of great suggestions and ideas.

Knowing your target audience is essential to guide the size of card, type of design, and your message and call to action. With audience in mind, craft your piece to carry your message in a way that speaks to their concerns. Now you have relevance and a reprieve from the recycle bin.

Modern Postcard prints and mails postcards in small (and large) quantities and has great features on their web site to determine costs.

Robert, please tell us: what have you tried and how has it worked?

Best wishes with your marketing campaign!

Barbara

I held off using postcards for a long time. I thought it was a out-dated medium, but I've just completed the first leg of a campaign and have had more success with it that anything wlse I've done. I'll echo some of the other comments. You need a call to action, keep it simple and focused, have an event if possible and don't just do a one time shot. As with all advertising, repetition is key.

Robert... You received .7% response. I've heard that anything over .5% is good. Even though no work was gained from it, consider doing another and then follow-up with phone calls to your list.

Keep track of your on-going campaign cost and consider what is the value of just 1 or 2 new clients? I don't know your numbers but (relatively speaking) if a client is worth $1,000 per year gross, is it worth $200 for your cost of acquisition?

I think you've had some great advice in this thread. I look forward to your future reports of your on-going progress. ...Howard

Good point Howard, it all comes down to ROI. It's up to you to try and maximize the return. Follow-up with phone calls and don't expect the first mailer to do the trick. Repetition is key. I know with my own mailings, it is frustrating to see the number that come back undeliverable and then the very low percentage of people that respond, but for me it only takes one new customer from a mailing of 2,000 to make it a financial success, that's 0.05%.

@Richard... and for Robert...

You are so correct. It really does come down to ROI. During the 1960's when I owned fast-food drive-in restaurants, I used to keep journals (scrapbooks) evaluating ROI's for different promotional campaigns.

I was surprised to learn that I could place smaller, less expensive ads with a larger discount incentive than larger print ads that I felt delivered more visibility, thus reducing my actual cost per new customer coming into the restaurants.

And my ultimate goal was served better because, I was given the opportunity to show my quality and service to more new customers at a lower cost of introduction.

So to me, conversion rates and cost per conversion (or ROI) are the most important factors to consider in any marketing campaign.

...Howard