Postcard Marketing Ideas and Advertising Tips

What Is Postcard Marketing?

Postcard marketing is popular among direct mail marketers right from the beginning. It is the easiest and most cost-effective direct mailing option. There is no doubt that communicating via postcards was common in the past. People sent postcards to and fro and enjoyed the process very much. Postcards are an excellent communication medium for every occasion, whether it’s Thanksgiving or college graduation. Owing to these reasons, the introduction of postcard marketing was a no-brainer. Companies started sending postcards as marketing items to prospects and existing customers.

Postcard marketing is a type of direct mail that helps you reach out to your target audience with promotional messages and undeniable offers. All marketing postcards are either invitations, announcements, or offer coupons. While postcard marketing may seem a bit old-fashioned, several companies continue to use this tactic and capture markets.

People hold on to use direct mail pieces. Postcards with relevant offers are likely to be saved for future use. But, do postcards work for marketing? If done right, postcard marketing can increase engagement levels and sales.

You can segment your mailing lists and pull data from different digital channels. These things help in personalization, which in turn, helps to garner more attention.

Tips to Follow While Conducting a Postcard Marketing Campaign

Marketing with postcards has long been an affordable way for many types of businesses to reach their customers. The mailings are irresistible and, of course, also contain the customary reminder on the print side that one of our dogs is due to have a check-up.

Conduct Recurring Campaigns

Recurring postcard campaigns help you always stay fresh in the minds of your target audience. Decide on the interval period, say 3 months, 6 months, or 1 year.

These recurring mailings remind prospects of your brand. So, the next time they want to buy something that matches your brand’s products, they are likely to contact you before your competitors.

Consistent and repetitive campaigns are much more productive than one-off campaigns. This set-it-and-forget-it approach doesn’t work for direct mail marketing.

You need to contact prospects enough times to build familiarity and credibility.

Yet, not all postcard marketing campaigns should be recurring. Postcards promoting a season sale with limited-time offers are better as a standalone campaign. Hence, depending on your message and offer, decide your campaign type carefully.

Segment Your Target Audience

The key to a successful postcard marketing campaign is the right mailing list. In fact, mailing lists contribute towards 40% of your campaign success.

Select prospects that match your customer persona. For example, if your company deals in home automation, you should target households that can afford your products. Or, if you own an eCommerce website selling kid’s clothing, you should focus on families having small children.

Laser-focused targeting enables companies to reach out to prospects that are most likely to respond to your postcards.

PostGrid’s print and mail API can help you build mailing lists based on specific demographics. Hence, you can save a lot of time and money by only focusing on a relevant audience.

Use a Trackable Call-to-Action

Some marketers often wonder about “is postcard marketing effective?” It can be if you use all the right elements of postcard marketing in the right manner. One such important element is the call to action.

A call-to-action tells people what their next step should be. It directs them towards an action that takes them ahead in the sales funnel.

• Postcards with missing CTAs are of no use. They have no clear objectives and leave the recipients confused.
• CTAs guide them on what to do next if they are interested in the offer. They are also used to track responses and engagement.
• You can add QR codes, pURLs, or dedicated phone numbers as trackable features. They can act as a CTA and help you record every response.

Find some examples below:

• Scan the QR code given below to get a 20% discount.
• Call on our toll-free number to order now.
• Click on the link below to know more about our products.

Always Follow-Up After Recipients Receive Your Mail

Your campaign does not end with the delivery of your postcards. Marketers should have a solid follow-up plan in place.

Direct mail campaigns should never be a standalone marketing strategy. Instruct your sales representatives to get in touch with recipients soon after they receive your mail.

You can also drop them an email or run a simultaneous social media campaign. These things guarantee increased brand awareness and recall.

Most people need an additional push to complete the CTA. Follow-ups work as that push and help you get more responses.

You should also follow up with your respondents to close deals. Businesses can convert a lot of cold leads into hot ones by following up with them.

Avoid Using Postcard Marketing as Sales Pitches

Using postcards for marketing is brilliant, but using them as a sales pitch is not right. Rather, see postcards as something that can strengthen your relationship with your prospects and customers.

There is very limited space on postcards. So, you can only insert your headlines, offers, and CTA. Your prospects may need more information to buy something from you.

Some marketers use pURLs and QR codes to lead recipients to landing pages. Mention more details on these pages and let them know how they can buy from you.

You can also mention your contact details on your postcards. Allow people to connect with you directly and take their purchase process further.

Always Proofread

Spelling mistakes and typos on your sent mail items can tarnish your brand image. Thus, always proofread your postcard contents before printing them.

Not only misspellings and typos, but irrelevant offers and messages can also create a blunder.

Is your offer useful to the audience? Will they be interested in your message? The answer to such questions can help you determine whether your postcards are effective.

Have other people look at your draft, once it is designed and ready to print. It is important to take a third person’s opinion as you might not be able to see any mistakes yourself.

Perhaps, proofreading your mail items is one of the best postcard advertising tips you can get. A fresh pair of eyes may help you spot errors and fix them.

Also, these opinions help you improvise your copy and design. You should look at your postcards the way a recipient would.

Generate More Responses With Personalization

Some of the best marketing postcard examples consist of personalized and customized postcards. Personalization gives you an upper hand and helps you connect with your target audience instantly.

People tend to preserve mail items that have their names on them. Hence, personalization increases your mail’s lifespan and improves brand visibility.

• 71% of customers are frustrated by impersonal shopping experiences.
• 90% of US customers find personalization in marketing communications appealing.
• Customers are 2.1 times more likely to treat personalized messages as important.

These statistics show that personalized postcards can grab attention and improve response ratios significantly.

Marketers should make their recipients feel that these postcards are designed especially for them. When they see their name highlighted on a postcard, there are better chances that your postcard is read and remembered.

You can use several other variable tags like a person’s company name, age, likes, and preferences. These things make your mail useful to the recipients.

As discussed above, pURLs also make a good form of personalization. It adds a personal touch to your postcards and makes them special to the recipients.

Add Exciting Offers

Is postcard marketing effective? This is a common question asked by several marketers.

The answer to this question is very subjective. It can be a “no” if you use generic mailing lists and send out postcards without anything to offer. But, you can turn it into a “yes” by making the necessary changes.

Always add relevant and useful offers to all your mail items, especially postcards. A lot of people think of marketing postcards as coupons and discount cards. You should keep up to their expectations.

Offers act as an encouragement for people to respond. There are several types of offers that you can highlight, like:

• Buy 1 Get 1 Free
• Avail a 10% Discount on Your First Purchase
• Get a Flat $50 Cashback on Your Next Purchase
• Refer to a Friend and Win Credits Worth $20 Each
• Use the Coupon Code “HolidayOffer50” to get a 50% Discount
• Enter Your Details and Unlock Your Free 1-Year Subscription

These are some examples of interesting offers for your reference. You can come up with some that are relevant to your brand.

Include Your Contact Details

This is one of the most basic practices, yet some companies miss out on it. Don’t forget to include your contact details—your website link, phone number, and email address.

Apart from the CTA, these details should be printed on every postcard. If you don’t have the space, use the backside of the postcard towards the left.

Also, take care to include your company name and logo to maintain clarity and consistency.

Talk About Benefits, Not Features

Always emphasize your product or service benefits, not their features. To put it in simple words, let’s consider an example. People buy a vacuum cleaner to clean their homes, not because it is made up of plastic.

It is easier to explain your product benefits to prospects rather than talking about the features.

Perhaps, you can mention these features on your website. But, postcards have limited space. It is best to use that space wisely and focus on things that can help you sell.

Another smart strategy is to take your features and represent them as benefits. For example, “our plastic-made vacuum cleaner is easily cleanable and manageable.”

Set Clear Postcard Marketing Objectives

Define your objectives clearly. You should know what you want out of your campaign.

Some common goals are:

• Retaining existing customers
• Generating fresh leads
• Tapping into a new market segment (for selling a new product line)
• Re-engaging old customers
• Increasing sales with discounts offers and contests

Clear and well-defined goals help you decide your next steps like deciding the postcard layout and copy. Your mailing list also depends on your marketing goals.

Add Testimonials

Testimonials or other social proofs help convince the audience that you are a reliable brand. They show that people like your products or services and buy from you regularly.

Although postcards cannot accommodate a lot of testimonials, you can include one or two quotes.

You can also pick some of your old marketing postcards and use them again. Use the same artwork with some minor customizations.

Is there a market for old postcards? Old postcards are always in demand. In fact, a lot of people sell them online.

Thus, you can also use up your old postcards again. It is likely that people will like your vintage style and respond to them.