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Actual for You - 55 Tips for Postcard Marketing Success
Modular office is a great way of solving your office space problems, from construction sites to golf courses, a lot of businesses are using modular office solutions today.Modular offices can be found throughout the country, in all regions and areas, this is mainly due to the fact that modular office building has progressed significantly over the last decade or so, and modular offices today can be used as a multi functional moveable spacing solution, the modular office can be designed to cold and warm areas, to keep humidity out and to securely hold any kind of material you need to store.If you are thinking about getting a modular office for your backyard, or for your home office, you can not have picked a "hotter" subject more than modular offices, since today a lot of people are moving to work at home, to avoid time consuming commuting and to increase the time they spend with
25. Expand your audience list to include their wants, needs, fears and concerns — everything you can think of that pertains to your audience.
26. Write down the various ways you (or your product) can satisfy their wants and needs.
27. Keep your audience statement handy as you develop your >postcard message (next item).
Marketing Message
28. Pull out your audience statement from earlier. Craft your message in a way that bridges the gap between your audience and your objective.
29. Take your big idea from earlier (item #13) and inject it into your message.
30. Remember, the better your product (or the bigger your idea), the easier it will be to write about.
31. Create a message that solves a problem, presents a solution, and offers value.
The Postcard Headline
32. Create a direct mail headlin
A great way to get your name around town is to ask a few bar and restaurant owners if they would use your placemats or drink coasters if you supplied them for free.Free placemats and coasters are not a tough sell and think about the number of people that would read your placemat or notice a well designed coaster, if you were to make a deal with a restaurant or two.For the placemat, just an advertisement could be unappealing to the restaurant owner. So, do a list of fun local facts or some clean jokes and make yourself the sponsor.For coasters, some great artwork is all that's needed. It can usually be a blatant ad as long as it looks good.Paper placemats and coasters are inexpensive and you will usually be able to get quite a large quantity produced without a large outlay of cash. You can spend a few afternoons meeting with restaurant and bar owners and your campaign is on it’s way.With th
But as with any form of marketing, you only get out of it what you put into it. To help you get the most from your postcard marketing efforts, I've assembled 55 tips for success.
Obviously, some of these tips will not apply to your particular postcard marketing needs, but with 55 of them ... there's bound to be something in there for you!
Upfront Considerations
1. To keep yourself on track through all of the steps to follow, create an overall postcard marketing plan. After reading this article, you'll know exactly what to put into it.
2. To save yourself time, headache and hassle, turn the logistics over to a professional postcard printer.
3. To find the company that's best for you, create a list of postcard service providers and begin comparing them on the points that are most important to you (cost, services, easy of use, etc.).
4. Begin thinking about the various elements of postcard marketing and who will handle them (the copywriting, the design, etc.).
5. Track down some colleagues who have used postcard marketing in the past. Buy them a cup of coffee and pick their brain about lessons learned, vendor recommendations, etc.
6. Start reading up on direct mail marketing in general, and postcard marketing in particular.
7. Create a postcard marketing budget that allows for multiple mailings.
Goals and Objectives
8. Gather your marketing folks together to define your marketing goals.
9. Avoid generalizations. Be specific with your postcard marketing objective. Determine the type of response you want, as well as the volume of response.
10. Set realistic goals and objectives. Get an idea of what postcards can do for marketers, and set your goals within those parameters.
11. Set objectives that are based on some form of response (as opposed to branding, awareness, or some other immeasurable trait). Postcard marketing is a response generator, not a brand builder.
Powerful Ideas
12. Create a reason for sending postcards before you send them (a promotion, a special offer, a news flash or announcement).
13. Come up with a big idea that will get people's attention. Avoid mediocrity at all costs.
14. Strive to be different from other postcard marketing messages you've seen in your industry.
15. Build value into your message and your offer...
16. Just realize that true value starts with the product or service, not the postcard.
17. Make it your goal to make people say, "Gosh, I'm glad I got this postcard."
18. Don't rely on yourself to come up with a big idea. Get your top "thinkers" together.
19. Seek outside input on your ideas. Run them by some of your best customers. Make sure that what you think is a "wow" isn't really a "yawn."
List Considerations
20. Obtain your mailing list from a reputable source.
21. Find out how often your list provider updates their data. Make sure your list is as current as possible to increase deliverability.
22. If plan to use your in-house database, check the list for accuracy, duplications, etc.
23. Divide your mailing list into segments to allow for a more targeted message (current customers vs. prospects, for example).
Your Target Audience
24. Create an audience statement that outlines the people to whom you are mailing your postcards.
25. Expand your audience list to include their wants, needs, fears and concerns — everything you can think of that pertains to your audience.
26. Write down the various ways you (or your product) can satisfy their wants and needs.
27. Keep your audience statement handy as you develop your >postcard message (next item).
Marketing Message
28. Pull out your audience statement from earlier. Craft your message in a way that bridges the gap between your audience and your objective.
29. Take your big idea from earlier (item #13) and inject it into your message.
30. Remember, the better your product (or the bigger your idea), the easier it will be to write about.
31. Create a message that solves a problem, presents a solution, and offers value.
The Postcard Headline
32. Create a direct mail headline
Caution! After reading this article, you may need to adjust your product or service, your advertising, your website, or your target audience a little (or all of them). Fortunately, none of these are set in stone and can usually be changed quite easily.I'm sure you realize it's impossible to meet everyone's needs. So you need to select a target group and attempt to appeal to them and them alone.This may seem simple at first glance. But, take it to heart; it really is a sure-fire way to increase your sales. Just focus in on one specific area. It is impossible for any one product or service to fill everyone's needs.You may be a little skeptical. If this is the right way to do business, why don’t more (or any) of your competitors do it? It’s a good question, and here are a few answers.1. Your competitors are probably greedy, so they don’t want to take a definitive stance. They want all the c
4. Begin thinking about the various elements of postcard marketing and who will handle them (the copywriting, the design, etc.).
5. Track down some colleagues who have used postcard marketing in the past. Buy them a cup of coffee and pick their brain about lessons learned, vendor recommendations, etc.
6. Start reading up on direct mail marketing in general, and postcard marketing in particular.
7. Create a postcard marketing budget that allows for multiple mailings.
Goals and Objectives
8. Gather your marketing folks together to define your marketing goals.
9. Avoid generalizations. Be specific with your postcard marketing objective. Determine the type of response you want, as well as the volume of response.
10. Set realistic goals and objectives. Get an idea of what postcards can do for marketers, and set your goals within those parameters.
11. Set objectives that are based on some form of response (as opposed to branding, awareness, or some other immeasurable trait). Postcard marketing is a response generator, not a brand builder.
Powerful Ideas
12. Create a reason for sending postcards before you send them (a promotion, a special offer, a news flash or announcement).
13. Come up with a big idea that will get people's attention. Avoid mediocrity at all costs.
14. Strive to be different from other postcard marketing messages you've seen in your industry.
15. Build value into your message and your offer...
16. Just realize that true value starts with the product or service, not the postcard.
17. Make it your goal to make people say, "Gosh, I'm glad I got this postcard."
18. Don't rely on yourself to come up with a big idea. Get your top "thinkers" together.
19. Seek outside input on your ideas. Run them by some of your best customers. Make sure that what you think is a "wow" isn't really a "yawn."
List Considerations
20. Obtain your mailing list from a reputable source.
21. Find out how often your list provider updates their data. Make sure your list is as current as possible to increase deliverability.
22. If plan to use your in-house database, check the list for accuracy, duplications, etc.
23. Divide your mailing list into segments to allow for a more targeted message (current customers vs. prospects, for example).
Your Target Audience
24. Create an audience statement that outlines the people to whom you are mailing your postcards.
25. Expand your audience list to include their wants, needs, fears and concerns — everything you can think of that pertains to your audience.
26. Write down the various ways you (or your product) can satisfy their wants and needs.
27. Keep your audience statement handy as you develop your >postcard message (next item).
Marketing Message
28. Pull out your audience statement from earlier. Craft your message in a way that bridges the gap between your audience and your objective.
29. Take your big idea from earlier (item #13) and inject it into your message.
30. Remember, the better your product (or the bigger your idea), the easier it will be to write about.
31. Create a message that solves a problem, presents a solution, and offers value.
The Postcard Headline
32. Create a direct mail headlin
Ethics are the focus of much discussion and media coverage in the post-Enron and WorldCom scandal tainted world of business. Leadership, always an area of study for organizations of all types and sizes, is receiving even more attention as a result of corporate and other forms of corruption (such as the recent events with Tom Delay in Congress and the “K Street” lobbying investigations of Jack Abramoff and others in Washington, DC). But when it comes to ethics-based leadership, while there is a growing volume of literature there are few role models (at least those who are still living and breathing, rather than in the history books and biographies). Given these circumstances, where can one go for “real world” guidance when it comes to ethics-based leadership?There are several key questions that leaders at all levels and in any type of organization – be it a large or small business, non-profit, government or the profes
10. Set realistic goals and objectives. Get an idea of what postcards can do for marketers, and set your goals within those parameters.
11. Set objectives that are based on some form of response (as opposed to branding, awareness, or some other immeasurable trait). Postcard marketing is a response generator, not a brand builder.
Powerful Ideas
12. Create a reason for sending postcards before you send them (a promotion, a special offer, a news flash or announcement).
13. Come up with a big idea that will get people's attention. Avoid mediocrity at all costs.
14. Strive to be different from other postcard marketing messages you've seen in your industry.
15. Build value into your message and your offer...
16. Just realize that true value starts with the product or service, not the postcard.
17. Make it your goal to make people say, "Gosh, I'm glad I got this postcard."
18. Don't rely on yourself to come up with a big idea. Get your top "thinkers" together.
19. Seek outside input on your ideas. Run them by some of your best customers. Make sure that what you think is a "wow" isn't really a "yawn."
List Considerations
20. Obtain your mailing list from a reputable source.
21. Find out how often your list provider updates their data. Make sure your list is as current as possible to increase deliverability.
22. If plan to use your in-house database, check the list for accuracy, duplications, etc.
23. Divide your mailing list into segments to allow for a more targeted message (current customers vs. prospects, for example).
Your Target Audience
24. Create an audience statement that outlines the people to whom you are mailing your postcards.
25. Expand your audience list to include their wants, needs, fears and concerns — everything you can think of that pertains to your audience.
26. Write down the various ways you (or your product) can satisfy their wants and needs.
27. Keep your audience statement handy as you develop your >postcard message (next item).
Marketing Message
28. Pull out your audience statement from earlier. Craft your message in a way that bridges the gap between your audience and your objective.
29. Take your big idea from earlier (item #13) and inject it into your message.
30. Remember, the better your product (or the bigger your idea), the easier it will be to write about.
31. Create a message that solves a problem, presents a solution, and offers value.
The Postcard Headline
32. Create a direct mail headlin
If you’re like most entrepreneurs, you aren’t satisfied with letting your business sit in idle mode for long. You want it to continue to grow and reach the level of success that you’ve been dreaming about. Well here’s you chance to light a fire under your company’s success.It seems that everyone is talking about how to generate multiple streams of income, and they’re talking about it for a reason—it works. While a business may be able to run with a few products and services for awhile, it is the introduction of new products and services that expands the bottom line.To get a better idea of how multiple income streams can propel a business to new heights, take a look at some of the biggest success stories.Yahoo! got its start in 1994 in a Stanford University campus trailer as “Jerry and David’s Guide to the World Wide Web.” Founders David Filo and Jerry Yang, PhD, began keeping track of websites th
18. Don't rely on yourself to come up with a big idea. Get your top "thinkers" together.
19. Seek outside input on your ideas. Run them by some of your best customers. Make sure that what you think is a "wow" isn't really a "yawn."
List Considerations
20. Obtain your mailing list from a reputable source.
21. Find out how often your list provider updates their data. Make sure your list is as current as possible to increase deliverability.
22. If plan to use your in-house database, check the list for accuracy, duplications, etc.
23. Divide your mailing list into segments to allow for a more targeted message (current customers vs. prospects, for example).
Your Target Audience
24. Create an audience statement that outlines the people to whom you are mailing your postcards.
25. Expand your audience list to include their wants, needs, fears and concerns — everything you can think of that pertains to your audience.
26. Write down the various ways you (or your product) can satisfy their wants and needs.
27. Keep your audience statement handy as you develop your >postcard message (next item).
Marketing Message
28. Pull out your audience statement from earlier. Craft your message in a way that bridges the gap between your audience and your objective.
29. Take your big idea from earlier (item #13) and inject it into your message.
30. Remember, the better your product (or the bigger your idea), the easier it will be to write about.
31. Create a message that solves a problem, presents a solution, and offers value.
The Postcard Headline
32. Create a direct mail headlin
Security, as we’ve suggested before, can mean many things, and different measures bring a feeling of security to different people. But the core of security is controlling access – to oneself (and by extension family or coworkers); to personal information; to portable property, or a physical location, or even, as in the case of stalkers, to proximity.Monitoring is a fundamental component of every method of access control. You have to know who’s there to determine whether or not to allow access. Peepholes in apartment doors, doormen or intercom systems, corporate security guards at gated facilities, and video cameras all serve the same purpose: monitoring to determine identity to permit or deny access.Video cameras are, simply, the most cost-efficient system for monitoring and controlling access to any business. A mounted camera keeps a constant eye on a door or entryway, providing immediate visual identificatio
25. Expand your audience list to include their wants, needs, fears and concerns — everything you can think of that pertains to your audience.
26. Write down the various ways you (or your product) can satisfy their wants and needs.
27. Keep your audience statement handy as you develop your >postcard message (next item).
Marketing Message
28. Pull out your audience statement from earlier. Craft your message in a way that bridges the gap between your audience and your objective.
29. Take your big idea from earlier (item #13) and inject it into your message.
30. Remember, the better your product (or the bigger your idea), the easier it will be to write about.
31. Create a message that solves a problem, presents a solution, and offers value.
The Postcard Headline
32. Create a direct mail headline that directly identifies your primary audience. Call them by name, if necessary.
33. Offer a strong benefit with your headline. Describe the value of the message and offer that follow the headline.
34. Write your headline clearly and honestly. Avoid the use of jokes, puns and complex language. Keep it simple so people get it right away.
35. Make your headline interesting. You can't bore people into contacting you.
36. Whenever possible, use numbers and other eye-catching specifics. Avoid generalities.
Postcard Design
37. Hire a professional graphic designer to create your postcard design. At the very least, start with a well-designed template and then customize it. Don't ever mail a postcard that reflects poorly on your organization.
38. Be original. Create a "purple cow," not just another brown one.
39. Design your postcard in a way that enhances your message and makes it more readable. Don't ever let the design obscure the message.
40. Create the kind of eye-catching postcard that bursts from the mailbox.
A Strong Offer
41. Create a strong postcard offer to motivate your readers and improve your response rates.
42. Build an offer that's related to your product or service in some way. Avoid offers that will attract unqualified prospects and "freebie hunters."
43. Make sure your postcard offer is relevant and valuable to the reader (your target audience).
44. Whatever you are offering, position it in a way that showcases its value.
45. Offer something different / better / more unique than what the "other guys" are offering.
46. With the offer in mind, revisit your headline to make sure it relates to the offer. Make the entire message cohesive and focused.
47. Follow your offer with a specific call-to-action (next item).
Evoking a Response
48. Tell people what to do next. Use your call-to-action to move the reader forward.
49. Make your call-to-action stand out from the copy around it.
50. Repeat your call-to-action on both sides of the postcard (using callout boxes or starbursts as needed).
51. Make it as simple as possible for people to respond. Give them more than one way to respond.
52. Restate the reason they should respond. Restate the value of your offer.
Testing and Tracking
53. Make sure you have a way to track and test your postcard response rates. You can't improve your results until you know what they are.
54. Try to learn something from each and every postcard you mail out. Change one element at a time to measure the difference in response. This is how you create "super postcards."
Further Education
55. Spend some time on the website below to further your postcard marketing education.
* You may republish this article online if you retain the author's byline and the active hyperlinks below. Copyright 2007, Brandon Cornett.
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