Many business owners already know that postcard marketing offers an excellent way to get a person’s attention. They’re also a great way to:
- Promote special offers
- Generate sales leads
- Keep in touch with current customers
- Determine the effectiveness of messages and offers
- Introduce a new product or service
- Boost a website’s traffic
Almost 100% of postcards get read, and there’s a simple explanation for this:
Mails in envelopes need to be opened to get read. People usually look at the envelope before deciding whether to open it or not. If the envelope containing the letter does not grab their attention, the chances are that they won’t open them.
An envelope is not just a mailing vessel. Its appearance determines how your recipients, suppliers, and other business partners perceive your business. If you want more appealing envelopes, we would advise you to get custom printed envelopes for offices.
Postcards, on the other hand, do not need to be opened. The message on it will be seen even by a speeding recipient.
Currently, postcards are among the most affordable forms of direct mail. They are easy to create and offer a higher response rate. These and other factors make businesses see postcards as an incredibly powerful marketing tool.
However, to get the most out of it, you need to avoid some common mistakes that business owners make when using postcards. These include:
1. Targeting the Wrong Prospects
Having better-targeted prospects is among the most, if not the most, important determinants of an impactful marketing campaign. In-house lists are ideal, particularly if they have a proven history of responding to offers that interest them.
Don’t have an in-house list yet? Don’t worry. You can create your own or rent one from a list broker at a fee.
2. Sending Non-Personable Postcards
Postcards need to look professional and at the same time, have a friendly message that prompts a positive reaction from recipients. Postcards with a brief personal message are known to lead to incredibly more replies compared to those that read like a formal ad.
3. Being Too Salesy
Postcards are not meant to be a sales pitch. They don’t have adequate space for all the information required to close sales. Instead, use the postcard to grab the recipient’s attention before pitching to them.
4. Not Being Consistent
You need to develop a postcard marketing campaign, not a one-time mailing. Consistent postcard mailings are incredibly more effective than a single mailing.
When a person sees your business name over and over again, it develops familiarity and credibility. Although you might need to contact a customer several times before closing, the increase in revenue you’ll experience eventually will exceed the postcard printing and mailing costs.
5. Failure to Include Contact Information
While it might seem obvious to include contact information such as telephone number, email as well as the return address, most people forget to provide this information on business postcards. Don’t forget to include your business name as well.
6. Paying Little Attention to the Headline and Images
A short, attention-grabbing and compelling headline will bring more response than a postcard with a non-attractive headline, or even none. Choose a headline that can trigger and move your audience.
Your image should be easy to comprehend, brightly-colored and attractive.
7. Overspending On Printing
You don’t have to spend a lot of money on postcard printing. You need a few pennies to buy ink and print a card. Professional printers will charge you less per card for larger mailings, which may even be cheaper than self-printing.
8. Using a Complicated Message
Your postcard message should be simple. You only have a few seconds to grab the attention of your prospects, so don’t waste your chances with a complicated list of everything you provide or jargon.
Your phrases need to be short and straightforward to grab the attention of the readers. Avoid promoting more than one item per card. Convey only the vital information and include a call-to-action.
9. Failure to Proofread
Any spelling, typographical, or punctuation errors reflect poorly on the postcard sender, especially if it is from a company. Even the most competent writer proofread their work more than once before forwarding it for print.
Whether you’re writing the postcard yourself or hiring someone to write it for you, it must be proofread. An excellent way to do this is to read it aloud. If possible, ask someone else to review it for you so they can highlight what you might have missed.
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