It's been a couple of years since I wrote about Post Cards as a marketing vehicle. In the past 36 Months business life as we knew it has drastically changed. And yet, the opportunity to successfully launch a localized business and grow marketshare within one's geographic footprint using direct mailing lists have never been better.
And one of the few things that has remained constant for my clients is the success those using Post Card marketing (SNAIL MAIL -- Gosh how I hate that term!!!) to attract customers still achieve.
But there's a catch...
Like many things in life, Post Card marketing also has a catch. It's called FREQUENCY. Mail the same audience a second time about 2 and a half weeks after your intial mailing. This will help you to maximize exposure and increase response. (Make sure you order your mailing list for "multiple" or "unlimited" use to make sure that you can use the list more than once).
Over the years I've spoken with thousands of small business and home business entrepreneurs. Each of them looking for the most effective means to deliver their message into the hands of their target audience. With the proliferation of the Internet and email into the fabric of our society, many folks in my opinion, mistakenly fall in love with the concept of using email lists to drive cold traffic. I'm not anti-email. Far from it.
Email is an incredible vehicle, but as a prefered solution for building a business on a shoe-string budget...it is not. Email to communicate with customers/clients is a magnificently efficient tool. But unless you have a significant budget to devote to the testing of Subject Lines, copy, images, etc...the odds of hitting a winner with a one-shot email blast is slim.
Targeted Direct Mail on the other hand is a much better bet. Once you have chosen the right list(s) for your marketing effort (Reference my post on "How Do I Buy a Great Mailing List") you need to decide what message you want to communicate to your prospect. Once you have determined this, you next must design a mailing piece around your call to action (Reference my post on "Do I Need a Good Call to Action in My Direct Marketing Pieces?".
And that is where we come to WHY I like Postcards as a Marketing Tool.
Next time you go to your mailbox, observe yourself. Once you have thumbed through your mail, stop and replay what you did. Was there anything that caught your eye? Any plain or unexpected #10 envelopes that just made you want to open them? Probably not, unless they used 4-color artwork or were from a company that you were familiar with. How long did it take you to go through your mail and determine what was trash and what you would/needed to keep? Not long, huh?
So, in that fraction of a second when you were determining the fate of a piece of unsolicited mail what tempted you? Maybe nothing. Maybe it was an attractive or interesting postcard? It certainly wasn't a plain envelope.
The beauty of a postcard is that it NEVER has to be opened. In that fraction of a second that you will have to convince your prospect to keep you from the recycling bin (we're all thinking Green these days, right?) having a postcard with your call to action staring them in the face gives you a much higher probability of gaining relevance in the prospects eyes than an envelope that needs to be opened.
Looking for a low cost, high quality quote for your post card marketing job, email me at dcslistguy@greatmailinglists.com and I'll be happy to get you a no hassle, no strings quote.
I consult with dozens of small business owners each week. Without exception, each seeks to grow their business as inexpensively as possible--especially in today's tenuous marketplace. Some are quite focused on how to go about building their business and have an actionable direct mailing lists plan that they are just looking to me to fulfill with a list or help them tweek. For them, I am happy to oblige.
But for the most part, the small business and home business owners I speak with fall into three categories: I only want 100 Leads, I Want an Email List, Bigger is Better.
For those looking for 100 leads, or for 1,000 for that matter, there really is nothing I can say or do that can help them. Why? Because at those tiny numbers, the likelihood of getting any responses is remote. We have very low minimums--$200 for Consumer and $250 for Business. Why? Because that is the bare minimum that our experience tells us that you can have opportunity to receive a reasonable response from. If you don't have budget for that, it is going to be quite difficult to make a go of using direct mailing lists to grow your business.
For there person coming in telling me that they want to buy an email list to drive people to their website, or to build foot traffic at their brick and mortar location, I typically ask why? Nine times out of ten when I tell them how much they cost and what the minimum quantities are, they say that it's very expensive. And they are right. Quality emails are not cheap. General Internet untargeted emails (Bulk) are cheap. Then I launch into my spiel and they usually shift interest to a mailing list strategy...like the one to follow shortly.
And for the optimist contacting me saying they want a count for all of the people who buy from catalogs in the country...I try to reign them in.
Always work within your budget. There is no point in overspending on your test. What if you need to make changes and re-test? You'll neeed budget for that as well.
Targeting
Define your target market prospects as tightly as possible. Make the parameters for your direct mailing lists narrow, not broad. You can always loosen up your criteria to increase circulation once you have found your sweet spot.
At this point, I want to share that I ALWAYS recommend that a small business do postcard marketing to drive traffic to their on and/or offline businesses.
Buying Your Direct Mailing Lists
When I first started in the Direct Marketing Industry back in the 1980's, the big buzz was "shotgun" marketing. Lists were relatively inexpensive, postage was a small fraction of what it is today, and the philosophy of the day with many successful marketers was "the more hooks you put in the sea, the more fish you catch." And then targeting started to become more important. And more important. And more important.
Today the buzz words are "relevance", "content", "frequency", or timeliness. Relevance is addressed with proper targeting. Content is strictly a factor of the marketers' ability to effectively communicate their message to the recipient. And Frequency is the focus of this post.
Timing
Frequency, frequency, frequency. In email, you can find marketing experts that claim you need to send a prospect message 5 times or more to maximize effectivness. Well I have found that it is not a lot different with certain direct mail.
You are a small business that is opening a new location, or seeks to generate new customer activity at a site (New Memberships, New Customers, etc...) then you want to saturate your target market within your target geography. And to do so you need to mail more than once over a period of time. Say once every three weeks for at least 3 times. This enables you to build up recognition with a prospective customer (even though that postcard might get tossed the first time, there will be some recognition established for the second or third time received). They might have looked briefly at the card, considered it and either put it aside--where it sits until this day covered by something, or they might dismiss you the first time. But when they receive your card the second time, they take action.
So my recommendation is to:
1. Define your Budget.
2. Target your most responsive customers.
3. Purchase direct mailing lists for unlimited use, keeping within #1 above.
For the past couple of posts I have ventured off into the world of online search (search engine optimization and PPC). Today I return to direct mail marketing and direct mailing lists.
So many newcomers to direct mail marketing rely too heavily on the quality of the direct mailing lists they purchase to determine the success or failure of their mailing effort. While there is no question that the mailing list is the single most important element in the success of a mailing, if you do not:
- capture the readers attention
- provide relevant content
- and ask for the order
the mailing will almost certainly fail. I read a post earlier this month from Brandon on the postcardsmarts blog that I wanted to share with you. Brandon makes good points and offers helpful resources for the neophyte copywriter.
"In postcard marketing, the headline is the primary attention grabber. With direct mail letters, the envelope teaser fulfills the same role. The fundamentals for creating both of these are much the same. These are two of the most important elements in direct mail copywriting."
Take a look at his article "Direct Mail Headlines - How to Grab Attention" and leave me a comment letting me know what you think.
Also, don't forget to vote for the next Blog topic. It helps me to tailor what I write about to you the reader.
These 5 truths can help you to implement a successful direct mail marketing campaign.
In marketing to your potential prospects/customers you'll need to understand some rudimentary direct mail marketing principles that will help you to acquire new prospects/customers effectively:
1) A postcard is more visible and more effective than even the most compelling sales letter stuffed into an envelope.
There's nothing to open with a postcard, so your prospect/customer doesn't have to open anything to see what you want them to see.
People are fast and merciless when it comes to thumbing thru the mail. We see and read very quickly - actually much more quickly than we even realize. Think about yourself - how fast do you go through your mail and process out what you want to keep and what you don't want to keep...it takes a fraction of second to decide whether you are going to bother looking at a piece of mail. If you are a poor #10 envelope, what chance do you have to be opened to reveal what lies within?
With a postcard, even if the recipient throws it away, they have already visually registered a portion of your message regardless of whether they think they did or not. They saw it enough to either throw it away or keep it or respond to it.
And if they tossed it, the next time they get that same postcard in the mail, they'll see it again - as they throw it in the trash, again., or something might click, and you've engaged your prospect!
Let's face it - junque (I don't use a "k" in that word) mail gets thrown away. And postcards are junque mail just like other advertisements you get in the mail.
Frequency can help you bridge the gap between being junque and useful...especially if you offer a service!
2) Frequency is the key to postcard marketing.
How many times do you have to tell your spouse-or vise-a-versa-to take out the garbage?, close the lid on the toilet? Feed the pets, etc... Two, three times? Well it is no different when we see things in the mail. The first time almost everyone pays no attention...some do. The second time a few more take notice, and a third time even more make recognition. When you are targeting a finite geography (cities, towns, Counties, Zips) the more you repeat an action, the more familiar the target audience becomes.
People start to really believe you exist when they see your postcard over and over in the mail. It communicates credibility and gives people the idea that you are established and not going to go away. Some people may respond right away - a lot of people do not.
Think about all the mail you receive at home and think about the companies that hit you again and again. In your own mind, I'll bet those companies are more real and more credible then some company you received just one piece of mail from.
The long and the short of it is, frequency, not quantity is your best bet for cultivating a localized clientele.
3 Don't print both sides of the postcard in full-color.
Why? Because full-color on both sides is confusing. People don't know where to look first, and your message can get completely lost. On the other hand, if you have an attractive full-color front - with a great headline - the recipient will just want to turn that postcard over. And that's where your main message is, your call to action, your offer, and your contact information.
4) Promote one and ONLY one thing at a time on your postcard.
Even if you sell lots of different products and services, you only promote one of them. It is okay to mention more of the more popular services you offer on the back of the postcard bullet pointed. But your main focus on the front of your postcard needs to be one product, service, or item.
The purpose of a postcard is to generate enough interest so that the recipient takes a solitary action to contact or visit your business.
5) A person could grow a business with no other marketing media.
Postcards are a staple that works as long as you mail with frequency.
Enough said, now start mailing!
Any questions? Contact the DCSListGuy @ 203-546-8551 or email to:
DCSListGuy@GreatMailingLists.com
In the age of "E" this and "E" that, good ole
Direct Mailing Lists still work best for promoting geographically targeted (local) businesses. Here are some tips on when
direct mail should be your first marketing choice. Keep in mind that the more of these tips that apply, the more likely it is that direct mail will be your best bet.
- If you can clearly define your target audience, direct mail will work. Direct Mail is about targeting. The more precisely you can identify you best prospects, the greater the likelihood of success.
- Whether your sales message is short or long... direct mail works.
- Direct Mail works when you need to control the entire selling process. You don't want layers of contact between you and the decision maker.
- When other distribution channels don't work as well as going direct to your audience.
"What are the most common Direct Mail Mistakes and how can I try to Avoid them?"Successful direct mail doesn't depend on fancy, four-color design or "creative" copy.
Mistake No. 1: Not renting the right mail/email list for you.Do you know what the most important part of your direct mail campaign is? It is the
mailing list. No matter how beautiful your graphic design is, no matter how slick your ad copy is, if you mail to the wrong mailing list, your mailing is doomed to failure. Remember, a mailing list is not just a means to reach your prospects, it IS your prospects!
The best list available to you is your "house" list-your list of customers and prospects who previously bought from you or responded to your marketing efforts.
Typically, your house list can pull double the response of an outside list. When renting outside lists, make sure to consult with the list provider to make sure you are getting the most up-to-date names available and are renting the best possible list segment or segments of the targeted list.
Mistake No. 2: Not having an offer.An offer is what the reader gets when he responds to your mailing.
To be successful, a direct-mail package should sell the offer, not the product itself. For example, if you have a Kick boxing Gym, don't sell that you are a kick boxing Gym, sell your offer-Free Introductory class. The offer is the free class the benefit to the Gym is the opportunity to convert satisfied class participants into members.
Make sure you have a well-thought-out offer in every mailing. If you think the offer and the way you describe it are unimportant, you are wrong.
Here are some effective teasers: free brochure, free analysis, free consultation, free demonstration, free trial, free sample, free catalog...it doesn't always have to be free.
Your copy should state the offer in such a way as to increase the object reader's interest to respond to whatever it is you offer.
- The list is who you are talking to.
- The offer is a great deal you have for them,
- A call action is the close.
Thus, the call to action is what it is you are trying to get the prospect to do.
Don't ASSUME! Just because it is logical to you that they should look-up your website address or call your phone number, NEVER leave it to your prospect to make that connection!!!
Often times I will see someone put together a beautiful mailing piece, but because their call to action is not clear, their mailing falls on its face. It is not so much that people don't realize they can call your phone or visit your website, it's just that unless you actually ask people to do so, they don't.
The Art of the Call to ActionWe've all received pieces of mail that want us to do something. And they're typically covered with act now, supplies are limited, this is a limited time offer, this offer expires soon, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and so long. You probably ask yourself why do these people still do this? Everybody knows the limited time offer is probably a million years. Why do people still use this language in direct mail pieces? Because the simple truth is that these words increase the response of mail pieces.
Tell them what to do.One trick to a good call to action is to use action words. Hurry, for a limited time, act now, etc... And so on. These words are good motivators, they get people moving. Traditionally in one step mailings - where you are trying to get someone to order something after reading your piece - the call to action revolves around the order form.
If you push everything, people end up doing nothing. Instead focus on something very specific you want people to do and dedicate all the energy of the mailing be getting them to do it.
The most important element of any direct mail program is the mailing list.
This is one rule to which there are no exceptions. If you use the wrong list, everything else is futile. Market-savvy timing; distinctive mailing piece; catchy headline; creative copy, perfect offer--none of it matters one iota if the mailing piece goes to people who aren't good prospects. Your mailing is gonna tank!
Depending upon which dm guru you fancy, the list is anywhere from 40% to 60% responsible for the success of a mailing. The upside of this rule, of course, is that once you select the right list, you're more than halfway to running a successful direct mail program.
The terms "list" and "database" are often used interchangeably. Once you add any information beyond the name and address to a list, it starts to become a database." Then, using a computer, databases can be searched, manipulated, and analyzed, making it possible to target your direct mail efforts ever more accurately.
But the resulting proliferation of lists--the computerized refinements--makes the job of selecting the best lists daunting. That's why so many successful marketers use list brokers or consultants to aid them in the list development and procurement process
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