The Creative's Corner

Postcards are a great way to promote your business’ products and services. When it comes to direct mail, postcards have one unique feature; you don’t have to open them. The recipient will see your message without doing anything. It can simply be lying on their desk, and without even touching it your message is presented in all its glory.

Besides this powerful feature, postcards have other great attributes too, including:

• They’re inexpensive
• Postage costs less for standard size postcards than letters and other direct mail pieces
• They come in various sizes and shapes
• They can have a color or black and white photograph
• Their message can be humorous, serious or convey any other emotion
• They can be printed in small quantities for targeted mailings, or in huge quantities to saturate your market
• They can have a powerful message on the back

Here is a humorous postcard I created several years ago for a website design business I had. I wanted to present a humorous message to lighten the mood as so many people are intimidated and nervous about making a website for their business. By putting half of the message on the front, it builds curiosity that will lead the viewer to turn the card over to see the rest of the message.

There are other options too.

Show a variety of products or services.

Since you can print small quantities of postcards, you can make different ones to target specific parts of your client list.

• Prospective clients who need to see your entire product line
• Clients who buy from you frequently. Send them a postcard with the products they purchase most frequently, to remind them to buy more.
• To announce a new product

Include a message on the front of the card.

Your message on the back of the postcard needs to meet all the requirements of normal advertising copy. This includes:

• Presenting benefits, not features
• Educating your client
• Having a message that makes the client feel an urgent need to use your products or services

You don’t need to send cards out often. Three to six times a year is plenty. You want to remind clients that you exist, without crossing the line of being really annoying. You want to be thought of as a friend, not a pesky salesperson.

Use the incredible flexibility of postcards to create the exact message you want. Be creative when designing your cards, and have fun with them.

Have Fun,
Jeff