Long Live the Postcard

There are those out there who want you to believe we’re useless, that postcards are dead. Are you kidding me?! No matter how many times it’s written, reported, or blogged about, it’s simply not true. We are not dead. In fact, today’s marketers (MarketingProfs, for instance) predict that print marketing will continue to thrive in 2014 and beyond.

According to a Pitney Bowes survey, 76% of small businesses say their ideal marketing strategy encompasses a combination of both print and digital communication. We postcards continue to be one of the most effective tools for business growth, especially when mixed with other marketing channels.

Take a short trip with me to the mailbox. I want to give you a quick tour of how postcards work and a few pointers along the way.

First, postcards love to be covered in vibrant, in-your-face colors. When we get pulled out of that cramped little box and the light hits us just right, those colors really pop! We only have about 3 seconds to capture the recipient’s attention, so it’s important to make a good first impression.

Stand out from the rest—use colors and imagery that pop.

After that, we typically get stacked with the other mail until someone decides to take another look. That’s when an eye-catching headline does its job. If we can grab their attention and pull them in with those first few words, we have a better shot at getting our target to take the next step.

Use big headlines and place them so they get noticed up front.

Now comes the tricky part. A postcard’s whole reason for being, our entire existence, revolves around one, ultimate goal—to get the recipient to take some action. It might be to visit a website, make a purchase, make a phone call, or connect to a social media page. All content and messaging should lead up to this. We can use coupons, offers, giveaways, key codes, polls, etc. as incentives. Sometimes the “action” we want is just to get the recipient to let us hang around for a while for branding or name recognition. A good way to get us a prime spot on the fridge is to use a calendar, informative tips, a recipe, or some other keeper content.

All elements on the postcard are there for one purpose—the call to action.

Are you using postcards to help grow your business? Let us work for you! We can help boost responses when you add us to your marketing mix.