You can discover endless business opportunities with postcard marketing
Yes it is true, you can discover endless business opportunities with post card marketing.
Many people may not be aware, but the postcard business is indeed a very lucrative and profitable venture, based on annual statistics and the demand for postcards spanning across the globe.
Ever since it was first introduced in the early 1870s, postcards continued to enjoy cult status as an alternative means of communication, where people caught on the idea of adding short notes or messages on printed postcards.
As the United States Congress passed a legislation allowing people to incorporate notes on the postcards, it further caught on with the public and demand for more postcards, especially with catchy and creative designs and cute notes printed on it, it steadily rose with publishing and printing companies striving to meet up with public demand.
From an initial demand of 770 million postcards printed on that first year, the popularity of this innovative print media resulted to a breakthrough production of 1 billion two years after.
The fad kept on growing and by 1909 the leading printing firm Illustrated Postcard Company churned out a staggering 3 million printed postcards everyday.
By this time, people thought of a variety of ways other than postcards being just a means of communication.
Many took on the lead in making collectors items out of postcards and like postal stamps, were sold, bought or traded.
A printing firm, on the other hand, made a creative and ingenious way of printing a variety of postcards providing a glimpse of more than 15,000 photographic views of major tourist spots around the world.
This lowly 5 by 3- inch card also became a very important means of commemorating special events, holidays or simply one that helps provide people a glimpse of a traveled spot or destination.
People got used to using postcards that it had an effect on the way people corresponded with each other, where the limited space on the cards established a more concise and direct method of writing, that provided an alternative means for corresponding with others and broke away from the often discursive and long process of letter- writing.
With the current hurried pace of daily life, postcards kept on making its mark in the life of people and continued to serve its purpose of communicating brief messages and notes for people.
Be it at work, vacation or simply day to day living, postcards continue to enjoy the same popularity as it did and printing companies continue to meet the continued demand for printing and circulation.
With modern advances in print and communication media, there are alternative methods in selling and even making custom ordered postcards, including online or electronic postcards.
There are also a variety of ways you can offer from designing a creative postcard template or an online postcard resource offering a variety of services that can help others customize their own postcards- the possibilities are endless.
So why not ride on the postcard phenomenon and allow yourself to discover endless business opportunities with postcard marketing.
Why consider postcard marketing
Why consider postcard marketing, is going to be a good question that one would ask. Frankly, if you opt to consider the facts behind the lowly five by three-inch industry standard, then you might be surprised with how much potential postcard marketing will be for your business.
Consider the facts. Postcards, due to its minimal production cost, is one of the ways to get the message out to your consumers and prospective market. Basically a standard sized postcard is 35% – 435% cheaper than regular sized letters or posters.
Postcards also help keep mailing lists clean and updated. One of the biggest benefits of using first class postage for a regular -sized postcard is that it will be mailed back to the sender if it has a bad address, would help update your mailing list.
Postcards, surprisingly, have high impact. This is technically so because letters are sealed in an envelope and the consumer is often faced with the option to either open the envelope or simply throw it away, leaning towards the latter if the customer suspects that it is just junk mail that they are receiving. But with postcards, theres no envelope to hide the message and it is almost always impossible to throw the postcard away without looking at the message, sometimes even just a glimpse of the texts on the postcards can immediately be comprehended by the reader.
Postcards can be made easily and can be sent with ease. Postcards do not require complicated assembling, stuffing, licking envelopes, collating, etc. and what could be the most difficult part of the process is just setting the postage stamp. Sometimes, it even gets automated, especially if you are using online resources of software that can help you with making and mailing your postcards.
Here are some tips on how to also make your postcards more appealing and attractive.
Always make sure to keep your messages brief and concise and only use your postcard for lead generation.
Never try to explain the details, but just give some teaser information to get your reader hooked to take the next step, be it logging in to your website, calling your office or a toll free recorded message.
Make your postcard look like it came from a personal friend. Make the most out of the vacant or blank spaces to give the reader an irresistible urge to take the next step. You can do this by using catchy phrases that will catch the readers attention.
Dont spend too much on printing. You can simply design, lay-out and print your own postcards using a laser printer. All you need to have is creativity and the basic lay-out knowledge of mixing and matching colors or texts.
Lastly, make sure to make a very good selection of your mailing prospects. A little market research will do and this is where you may want to make good use of your knowledge in how you tailored your product.
Although it is also good to send out your postcards to the most number of people as possible, but the effectivity of your mailing list will also determine the captured market you may end up with as you move on with your postcard marketing campaign.
So why consider postcard marketing? All you need to do is look at the facts and see how it can do wonders for you.
Remember, no matter what type of mailing youre doing, its usually the list that will determine its success. Any in house list will outperform a rented list and if youre wanting to use a rented list make sure you use a list broker to help you.
Why Choose a Printing Company for your Postcard Marketing Initiative
Why Choose a Printing Company for your Postcard Marketing Initiative
One of the major reasons why advertisers and marketers prefer postcard marketing is that it is very easy to produce postcards. You could get it on just by using your computer and your very own printer. Thus, designing and printing could be done on your own, enabling you to save more on marketing and production budget. However, there could factors that would not make the initiative effective and possible. You may not be confident enough about your creativity. And you may not be able to produce many copies of the postcards on your own. This is the reason why you should hire a professional postcard printing company.
Why should you decide to hire a postcard printing firm as you aim to produce your marketing postcards? Aside from the reason identified, there are other valid reasons. First, hiring professional services could make it possible to produce the postcards faster. If your business requirement is quite urgent, you should leave the job to professionals who are more familiar to and used to getting the job done. You may also have your design and your own pre-made postcard for massive reproduction. Printing companies could make printing hundred times faster for your very urgent requirement.
Most of professional postcard printers offer ready-made and ready-to-use templates that could help you create and produce customized designs and logos without any impending hassle. You do not need to learn how to use design software available or special computer applications to use the services. All you have to do is to pick up or choose templates. It is also possible to choose from a roster of postcard materials that could be appropriate for your purpose. The best strategy would be to seek assistance of the postcard printing firms assistance.
Of course, you have to take care or mailing and distribution of the postcard after its creation and massive production. As an added offering of most printing companies, they could also commit to help you send out those cards to target receivers or prospective clients. Printing firms, especially those that are online are basically offering mailing lists to lure more business clients.
If you do not have your own sending list, you may not worry about it. If you have your own contacts and list, you could still of course opt to use your own. The mailing option and strategic distributions could also be decided on and planned by the printing firm, although such a service may incur additional fees or charges.
Lastly, hiring professional printing businesses could be best if you are targeting saving on costs and on time. Many printers are operating these days. You know what happens when competition is stiff. Prices go down. And because all the printing businesses are competing to lure customers, they tend to lower costs.
Your postcard marketing campaign may not demand much time if you hire professionals because design, production, and dissemination of the materials could be accelerated in no time, depending on the need.
What to Avoid When Using Postcard Marketing
In truth, postcard marketing works. This could not be contested especially because numerous businesses and companies that used the strategy could attest that marketing using postcard really boosts sales and gains attention of prospective customers. If you are in search of an effective marketing campaign, there is no reason for you not to consider and use this advertising and marketing technique.
However, there are cases when postcard marketing fails to deliver what it should bring about. It is important to note that during such instances, the problem is not in the marketing strategy, but could be identified in the implementation. It should also be noted that marketing though postcard does not end in designing and producing the postcard. There are necessary and important activities and strategies that must be followed after. You have to still attend to several tasks to make sure the marketing technique would truly work.
Here are some of the most common mistakes you should avoid when using postcard marketing. It would be best if you would strive to avoid doing these actions so that your marketing campaign would be effective and would be worthwhile.
Not sending postcard mail as first class
Take note that a first-class stamp could cost higher than 25 cents per postcard. But it would be wise for you if you would spend a bit more for it. The recipient would surely appreciate it if he realizes that you have allotted money just to send the message. The postcard would create a friendlier appeal. When you send the postcard, do not forget to include a return to sender address so you could determine whether the postcard has reached its intended recipient or not.
Overspending for the marketing campaign
Be reminded that the main reason why you should use postcard marketing is cost cutting. Spending on postcards alone could be unreasonable. It could also be considered a major mistake. This form of marketing would be effective if it would enable saving on costs, not spending more. On a large-scale marketing campaign, it could be less costly and more efficient if you would hire the services of professional printing businesses instead of printing the postcards for marketing yourself.
Poor message
Make sure the message is persuasive and effective. It needs to be clear, short, and highly compelling. To do so, it would be better if you would take more time putting together concepts of the postcard initiative rather than rushing to come up with a material with poor message.
Overstuffed postcard
Good layout is still essential. The marketing postcard should not be unnecessarily full with so much information and data. Rather, concentrate in just a product or a message per postcard.
Absence of contact details
Make sure you include your name, business address, email address, Website URL, telephone number, and fax number in the postcard. These are important information that needs to be printed correctly on every postcard. The postcard marketing material should point out to you so that recipients would know who to call and where to go in case they like what you sell.
What is Postcard Marketing?
Many people subscribe to and read magazines. You might notice that different advertisements are being included and published in such materials. Through the years, various styles and strategies have also emerged. Do you notice those postcards that are attached? They seem like multiple reply cards that you could detach or cut and send to the address that is already posted or printed in the card. Are you familiar about this kind of marketing tool? Well, this is what is currently called postcard marketing. It is becoming rampant and widely used by businesses these days.
To be able to attain success for your business, there should be a sound marketing strategy or program. It is a fact that currently, companies spend significantly on marketing. There are many types of marketing schemes available and are useful. The initiative also uses different media, from print, television, radio, to the Internet. Marketers and advertisers are also becoming more and more creative. Every now and then, there seems to be always a new and fresh idea that effectively reaches target audiences and people. Do you need a new and non-conventional idea to promote or market your products and services? Perhaps, it is time you employ the usefulness of postcards.
Postcard marketing is an effective and non-conventional way of business promotion without the necessity to spend too much. It is true, at first, postcards may seem a little outdates, but hey, such materials could be effective in seeking and catching attention and impressing people you intend to impress. That is important to business marketing. Postcards have always been effective in promoting anything, from tourist destinations to hotels to businesses. The materials are usually printed on small index cards (size 4 by 6) that are easily distinguishable in mail.
Postcards are very easy to read. They could be effective in sending messages to your target consumers. Advertisers assert that they are better than packets and pamphlets that consumers generally and usually find time consuming and boring. Instead of posting ad pages in newspapers and magazines, you could produce your own postcards. They could be distributed directly to people or they could be attached to print materials like newspapers, magazines, and newsletters. You could always design and produce even cheap postcards without the need to sacrifice the impact and effect of your message. In every postcard, you could spend just a few cents for printing.
Readers and recipients of postcards are more likely to be impressed and read postcards than unsolicited letters and common printed ads. They are also more convenient to fill out so that receivers could take only a few minutes to reply and send back the postcards to you. This way, postcard marketing is deemed better than coupons, clip-out forms, and other response generating materials. Postcards are colorful, impressive, and effective in instilling retention of message.
You could easily include your phone number, mailing address, and other contact information so that there is a better chance that more prospective customers would get in touch with you.
Understanding Postcard Marketing
Postcard marketing is still a popular means of trying to market a business or product directly to people. The fact that this method of direct marketing is still being used can profess to how effective it can be. And there are many things a seemingly ordinary postcard can do as a marketing method.
There are many ways that a postcard can be used for marketing purposes. A postcard can be sent to your marketing contacts in order to ask for business referrals. It can also be used to send out announcements of certain events to customers. You can use postcards to let people know that you are conducting seminars, classes, sales event, etc.
A postcard can also be used as a preliminary means to reach out to new prospects. A simple postcard can help “soften the effects” of marketing rather than actually directly reaching out to prospects through phone. You can also use the postcard to make an offer or if you have certain giveaways or discounts for your customers. Postcards can help spread out the word by mailing them out to the homes of your customers and prospects. A postcard can also be a more endearing way to say thanks to people for their help, for information or for referrals.
There are many reasons why you should use postcard marketing for your own business. For one ting, it will effectively work as a marketing method for all types of businesses. From providing sales leads to generating store traffic, postcards can easily help do the job. What makes postcard marketing so attractive is that designing them can be fairly simple and easy.
If you consider other types of advertising such as billboards or in magazines and newspapers, postcards can be considered much simpler since it does not require following a certain process and incur quite an expense in your marketing plans. From designing to the costs, postcard marketing is considered quite simple and inexpensive to conduct considering its potential of providing effective results.
What also makes postcard marketing quite effective is that they nearly always get read by the people who receive them. The reason for this is that postcards are “ready to read” once people receive them. There are no envelopes to open or any other covering to open up.
Another advantage of postcards is that they are likely to be passed on from one person to another, depending on how attractive and appealing they can be. This can help add up to the number of people they can reach the more they are being passed on from one person to another. As a direct marketing approach, postcards can also be used to target the market segment that a business would want to focus in, be it in terms of geographical reach or by age bracket.
Postcard marketing is an effective way to help bring out better results for your business. The way they offer to get your point across in the business and marketing sense can be considered to valuable to pass up. It is something that your business should be considering when you are trying to plan your own marketing efforts for your business.
Tips for increasing your postcard marketing capability
Its a given that the postcard business is one of the most lucrative ventures today, be it the standard paper print process or the innovative approach of selling and customizing electronic postcards, marketing is a key component in selling your product and here are tested tips for increasing your postcard marketing capability.
The cost and simplicity of postcards make it easy for customers to subscribe to the product, due to its continued popularity as an alternative means of communicating to others.
Market research has established that since it was first introduced in the 1870s, postcards enjoyed the reputation of cult status as a means of communication, as people caught on the idea of making short notes or messages on the printed 3 by 5 inch postcards.
At the turn of the century, the United States Congress passed a legislation allowing people to write notes on the postcards by providing for writing space and further caught on with the public and the demand for more postcards, especially with catchy and creative designs and cute notes printed on it, steadily rose with publishing and printing companies striving to meet up with public demand.
From an initial production of 770 million postcards printed during that first year, the popularity of this innovative print media resulted to a breakthrough production of 1 billion two years after.
The popularity of the postcard kept on growing and by 1909 the leading printing firm Illustrated Postcard Company printed out a staggering 3 million printed postcards everyday.
By this time, people thought of a variety of ways other than postcards being just a means of communication.
Some enthusiasts, in their efforts to preserve postcard varieties, made collectors items out of postcards and like postal stamps, were sold, bought or traded, especially those that were printed on a limited scale, special and unique ones that usually dont get circulated or are distributed on a limited scale.
A printing company, on the other hand, made a creative and ingenious way of printing a variety of postcards providing a glimpse of more than 15,000 photographic views of major tourist spots around the world, which appealed to travelers and tourists who could send out the postcards to family, relatives and friends to provide information or the development of a trip or simply also share a glimpse of the place that they have visited.
As time passed, people got used to sending postcards that it had an effect on the way people corresponded with each other, where the limited space on the cards established a more concise and direct method of writing, that provided an alternative means for corresponding with others and broke away from the often long process of letter- writing.
With the current hurried pace of daily life, postcards kept on making its mark in the life of people and continued to serve its purpose of communicating brief messages and notes for people.
With modern advances in print and communication media, there are alternative methods in selling and even making custom ordered postcards, including online or electronic postcards.
With all this information in mind, you may be able to work on these tips for increasing your postcard marketing capability.
Things to Consider before Starting a Postcard Marketing Campaign
Just like in typical marketing initiatives, there is a need to do ample and appropriate research before you launch any postcard marketing campaign. While the strategy is proven effective and truly bringing about desired results, there is a need to make sure you are well informed and necessary preparations are in place before the campaign. Otherwise, the whole activity and initiative would only fall into futility and uselessness. Take note that no marketing strategy would ever work without preparation and proper planning.
Before you embark on any marketing campaign using postcards, it would be best if you would consider looking at three major aspects, namely, mailing list, headline, and message. Contrary to common beliefs and perceptions, this marketing technique is not all about the artistic side of producing postcards. There are obviously many other factors and aspects that are more important than producing an aesthetic and colorful postcard alone.
Begin by using an appropriate mailing list
Before you launch the campaign or even before you produce the postcard, you should determine the target market. Who are you intending to send out the postcards to? Be honest in assessing and determining the market segment that is most likely to appreciate the products and services your business offers. After knowing the target market, you should also strive to determine the best and most effective way to teach those people.
Do you have mailing addresses? If you do, how sure are you that the contacts in the mailing address are all part of your target market? If not, you should spend time and effort making that list or buying a good list from businesses that currently sell such. It may not be practical to send out postcards that could not provide you results you are expecting.
Create an effective and curious headline
In this regard, postcard marketing could be compared to traditional advertising and copywriting. Good marketing postcards are those that are containing strong headlines. A headline is the initial thing that a recipient would read. In just a few seconds, the use of headline could determine whether the marketing campaign has been effective or otherwise. When writing headlines for postcards, stick to the catchy phrases. As much as possible, prevent using headlines that are too long or too vague. Be specific and clear in catching consumers attention and interest. The use of strong words is essential in this regard.
Make sure the message is clear and persuasive
The postcard marketing campaign should call to action. Whether you want consumers to buy your products and services or you want them to support your business initiative, it is important that you state your message and intention very clearly. Specify what it is you want the recipient of the postcard to do. Be clear when stating the potential benefits and advantages you offer consumers.
It is always effective and persuasive to include in the message reasons why consumers should heed your call to action. Not all recipients of the postcard could read and interpret your message accurately, so do not be vague and unspecific.
Postcard Marketing Tips
If you ever wish to conduct your own postcard marketing campaign, then you would need to know that it is an age old marketing method that is still quite popular and effective even today. You take advantage of the fact that postcard marketing is fairly easy and simple to conduct as compared to other direct marketing strategies. Here are some tips that may be able to help you out.
Simple Message Works
One of the advantages of postcards for your marketing campaign is that they are quite easy to come up with. But one thing to consider is that postcards also contain only limited space to write on. You might have a lot of things that you want to share with your target audience. But in postcard marketing, you might be forced to choose only the most information that your audience would need to know. Even though it would be just a simple message, it should be able to attract attention in order to be effective. This is something that you should be able to plan carefully way before you even plan on the design of your postcard.
Give That Personal Touch
What makes postcard marketing so effective is that most people consider is as a more personalized way of reaching out to your customers. People feel a bit more special receiving postcards rather than the usual mail. It may give them a sense of importance being considered for a postcard. In the same way, you as a marketer should take this to consideration and make sure that you always give your postcards that special personal touch that can endear you to your customers.
Keeping The Message Within
Another advantage of using postcard marketing for your business is that you can try to keep everything out of sight especially from your competitors. You can offer certain discounts or new products to your customers directly without your competitor knowing about it. This can provide you with the advantage you need that you know your competitors would not easily discover, unless you send out the same postcards to them.
Brand Recognition
One way that postcard marketing can also be quite helpful for your business is that it can help put your own brand out there in the market that you are trying to reach. It can be a good way to help establish your brand slowly until your customers may be able to identify you. That is why it is also important to put out your brand logo as part of the design of the postcards that you sent out.
Postcards Are Kept And Shared
Another advantage of using postcards for your marketing campaign is that most people usually keep them. Unlike direct mails which most people usually throw into the garbage bin afterwards and forgotten, postcards are usually the ones that most people can keep for longer periods of time. Postcards can also be a source of indirect referrals since some may even share them with other friends and people which can also translate as an added bonus for your business in terms of gaining additional customers.
Postcard Marketing Success
Success in postcard marketing can be achieved with having the right plans in place. Just like any other marketing efforts, postcard marketing also requires having a plan of action in place. Despite this marketing method considered as easy and simple, it would still require having a plan in place to become effective. The plan would ensure that you get what you wish to achieve with postcard marketing.
Establish Goals And Objectives
One way to plan your postcard marketing efforts is to establish your marketing goals and objectives. One way to do this is to gather around people who will make up your marketing team. You should try to define what you wish to achieve in your postcard marketing efforts. The more specific you can be with your objectives, the more effective your marketing efforts would become.
It is also important that the objectives be as realistic as possible. In order to do this, you should have a good idea of what postcards can do for marketers and then establish the goals within what this marketing method can do and avoid going beyond it. Try to make sure that the objectives set should be based on some form of response from customers and people that they are being addressed to.
Other Considerations
In order to ensure the success of your postcard marketing efforts, you should consider whether you have the means to mount the campaign all by yourself or you might require some help. For example, postcard design is an important aspect of this direct marketing method. If you think that you may not have the means or the skills to effectively design your planned postcard, you might consider handing this part of the work to a more able postcard designer or printer.
If you are just about to try out postcard marketing for your business, you might want to seek help so that you do not have to start your marketing efforts right from scratch. You can contact a friend or a business colleague who already have mounted a successful postcard marketing campaign in the past. You can ask for recommendations and valuable suggestions on how you may be able to mount a postcard marketing campaign successfully for your own business.
Target Audience
Another important thing to consider when mounting a successful postcard marketing campaign is determining the target audience you wish to reach out to. Identifying your target audience can help you effectively design and create a postcard with good results. This will help you determine the wants and needs of your audience more effectively. In doing so, you may also be able to get the right message across through your postcard marketing campaign.
Getting your postcard marketing campaign to succeed depends on how you try to plan and develop the different steps fro start to finish. The plan that you put in place will help ensure that you mount a more effective postcard marketing campaign that will give you the results that you wish for.
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