Modern Day Postcard Marketing
Postcards are one of the most effective marketing tools you can use to generate website traffic or sales leads. Postcards are not new - and they may not be very exciting. But they really work ...especially if you follow these 6 proven postcard marketing tactics.
1. Know What You Want
Decide what you want your postcards to accomplish. Most marketers
use postcards to attract new customers. But you can also use them
for other purposes such as generating repeat sales or cultivating
customer loyalty.
Also, decide what you want the recipients of your postcards to do.
For example, do you want them to visit your website, pick up the
phone to call you, come into your store ...or something else?
2. Use the Best Mailing List
If you want postcards to generate repeat sales, you already have
the mailing list - your customers. But if you want postcards to
attract new customers, you need to get a mailing list. Fortunately,
there are high-quality mailing lists available that can deliver your
sales message directly to your best prospects.
For example, get a list of prospects who previously requested
information about (or bought) products similar to those you sell
...or a list of subscribers to publications read by prospects in
your targeted market. You can get these and other high-quality lists
from most mailing list brokers.
3. Design Your Postcard to Look Like a Friendly Message
People like friendly messages. They don't like advertising. Take
advantage of this by designing your postcard to look at first glance
like a message from a friend instead of like an ad in a magazine. It
produces a pleasant emotional reaction from readers and increases
the number of replies you get.
For example, use the same typestyle and layout you would use for a
personal note to a friend. Include a date at the top and a sender's
name at the bottom. Avoid borders, graphics and other design
features often used in advertising.
4. Include an Incentive to Respond Quickly
Provide a reason for those who read your postcard to take action
- now. Don't let them put your postcard aside for later action.
They'll get involved in other activities and forget all about it.
For example, offer the reader a discounted price, a special bonus or
some other benefit if they reply by a deadline.
5. Use Real Stamps
Use real postage stamps on your postcards. It produces more replies than imprinting the postage. You can send postcards by First Class Mail in the US for only 24 cents if you make them at least 3 1/2 by 5 inches but no larger than 4 1/4 by 6 inches.
6. Time the Delivery of Your Postcards
Mail your postcards so they are likely to arrive on Tuesday or
Wednesday. The volume of mail delivered on those days is usually
light and your postcards will not have to compete with a lot of
other mail delivered at the same time.
Controlling the delivery day of your postcards is easy if you use
First Class Mail. Just allow 2 to 3 days for delivery - depending on
how far they have to go. That's the normal delivery time for First
Class Mail in the US.
Postcards have been around for a long time ...but they have become a
highly-effective modern-day marketing tool. Follow these 6 proven
postcard marketing tactics and you will generate a flood of traffic
to your website, a steady flow of sales leads or any other sales
activity you want.
Copyright 2006 Bob Leduc
http://BobLeduc.com
About The Author
Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find new
customers and increase sales. He just released a New Edition of his
manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards
...and launched *BizTips from Bob*, a newsletter to help small
businesses grow and prosper. You'll find his low-cost marketing
methods at: http://BobLeduc.com or
call: 702-658-1707 After 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV
