Great question. I hope the information below helps and puts your mind at ease. For starters, the most common reason why First-Class mailed postcards get returned is what the U.S. Postal Service refers to as "Addressee not at address – unknown, moved, or deceased." First-Class Mail® comes with free forwarding and return service (one of the perks of this class of mail), so the undeliverable pieces are then returned to sender. Standard postage does not have this feature, therefore, your undelivered postcards will not be returned to you.
Pictures add an immense value to any direct mail postcard or website. Human beings are very much visually orientated, and we understand better when we have a picture to relate to the message being presented. It's that whole, "picture worth a thousand words" thing. They really are.
Postcards are inexpensive, easy to create and mail, and typically generate a high response rate. All of these factors put together make postcards a powerful marketing tool for small businesses today. To get the most out of your postcard campaigns, it is important to mail to your list more than one time. Here’s why.
These smudges and rub or scuff marks have been referred to as “postcard (or mail) survivability.” Meaning, how well does the postcard survive while traveling through the high-speed rollers and sorting systems of the United States Postal Service (USPS)?
Here is some valuable insight I have learned over the years from our real estate postcard marketers that is relevant for any small business. Realtors like to use postcard marketing for two reasons. The first is to drive inquiries and leads (short-term). The second is drive more business and referrals (long-term).
Before you tackle this question there is one higher-level question you might want to consider. That is, are you sending your postcard marketing to the right mailing list or audience?
I have seen a lot of postcards come through our operation that have poor quality or low resolution photos on either the front or the back (or sometimes both!). The quality of your photos can make or break the effectiveness of your postcard marketing. Don’t settle for poor quality photos and images, because it is easy to fix this problem. Let me share with you several resources, tools and techniques I use when helping our customers with photo quality questions.
I love paper! LOVE it! LOVE IT I SAY! The color, the brightness, the textures, the piles and piles of swatch books and samples that cover my desk, I love it all! I love my paper sales rep, my paper spec rep, my paper distributer, my printer, my envelope converter, the paper specialty store, my paper delivery guy, I love anyone who can share tiny morsels of paper knowledge that will help me be a better designer. Even with my unbridled infatuation with it, understanding the technical aspects of paper and deciding what paper to choose can be a bit daunting. Keep the daunting process of paper selection simple by asking yourself two questions: What type of printed marketing piece am I producing and what is my budget?
My marketing team is not perfect, but we sure try hard. Over the years we have sent countless direct mail business postcards to both prospects and customers. For the ones that have worked well I have noticed a pattern (or set of principles) for what works well and what does not. I have outlined seven of the basic principles that we tend to follow when we are designing our own direct mail postcard campaigns.
Let me begin by stating that my purpose in writing this post is not to convince you why you should use demographic targeting in your direct mail campaigns—its effectiveness is a firmly established and well-documented fact—but how you should use it. For the following example, we’re going to assume you’re a B-to-C company.
