Have you ever got a postcard in your morning’s post and not read it? Me neither. There’s something compelling about that small, stiff piece of card that says “Read me.” So why not consider putting that factor to work for you in your marketing campaigns?
Postcards have a number of advantages over traditional mailpacks. They’re cheaper, there’s no need for an envelope, they have instant visual appeal, they only need one hand to read, they have a “fun factor,” and they look less daunting. As a series, you can also use them to communicate a complex idea in stages, drip-feeding information to your target without overtaxing them.
The idea From a computer services company I once wrote an eight-card series for this client, promoting a new IT maintenance contract. The idea was to stimulate awareness among corporate IT managers and build their database.
We announced on the fi rst card that there would be a quiz on the fi nal one with a prize of a day’s tank driving. The hook was that the questions would relate to the information provided on the fi rst seven cards—a big incentive to look out for them and keep reading. They achieved maximum exposure for minimum outlay and gained lots of new names for their database, too.
Because you don’t need an envelope, you can also throw away the rule book about acceptable sizes. Yes, you can have an A5 or an A6 postcard. But why not try a half-page A4 vertical format? Or a 100mm
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square? Or a circle? There are cost considerations, as always, but talking to your printer (or designer) will help you balance creativity against paper wastage.
Whatever you do with it, your postcard—mono, two-color, or full color—adds another component to your marketing campaigns, increases your fl exibility, and gives your customers/prospects a break from the run of mailshots they’re used to.
In practice • Once you’ve printed your postcard, you can use it different ways. As a self-mailer, an insert, a fl yer, an exhibition giveaway, or a component of your press kit. • Why not investigate digital printing for your postcard? You can incorporate your target’s name (and any other variable data you like) into the design. In color. (taken from Andy Maslen book)