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.
Over the years...
I have heard dozens of clients and direct marketing friends share with me some of their most painful learning experiences in Direct Mail Marketing. Some were obvious...some were not. They've made these mistakes so you don't have to! Learn from the following missteps and increase your chances for success using direct mailing lists. Or, you could pick and choose as many as you like and try then out to prove to yourself that they deserve to be on this list. The first two Don'ts are cardinal rules, and the remaining five are more subtle ways to sabotage your direct mailing efforts. Ignore these at your own risk.
1. Not knowing your target audience.
If you don't KNOW who your target audience is, you better find out before you start marketing. All marketing whether it be direct mail, email, broadcast TV or radio is aimed at a target audience. The delivery vehicles may be broad, but who you are trying to connect with is not! All content should be focused to speak to a specificly targeted group. Know your audience's hot spots and cater to them.
2. Mailing to the wrong mailing list.
I've heard industry Guru's bandy about the number 60% with regard to how important selecting the right mailing list is to the overall success of a campaign. 60%! Apply the knowledge you have acquired from your research to identify prospects that most nearly resemble the key attributes of your customers as possible. If buying response mailing lists (lists of actual buyers of a product or service or subscribers, etc...) does not fit your marketing budget, then work with a Compiled list professional to mirror the demographics and/or psychographics of your customer profile if you are purchasing a consumer mailing list or the SIC's and sales volume and/or company size if purchasing a business mailing list.
3. Not writing to a clear objective.
Before you begin to write your mailing piece, know what the objective is you want your prospect to take. Are you looking to get the prospect to contact you by phone, email, reply card etc...? What do you want them to call for? Are you looking to get them to take a purchasing action? Are you trying to motivate or compel them to visit your location? Make sure your writing speaks to a specific goal. Make sure you know where you're going with each piece you write, then stay focused. Don't meander. Keep it simple.
4. Price before offer.
I don't know anyone who buys an unknown entity because it is cheap, do you? Price may be your chief selling point, but until your prospect knows what they are buying, price is irrelevant. Make sure you tell them about your product first. Then you can talk price.
5. Price before benefits.
Benefits sell. Price sinks the hook. Not the other way around. People buy benefits. You need to tell your readers what makes your price so great - in terms of benefits to the reader.
5. Wrong objective.
Asking for the sale instead of selling the call can be a fatal mistake. Unless you're sending a long, hard-sell direct mail piece your objective should be to engage the reader and compel them to contact you for additional information. Rule of thumb--do not ask for the sale in a postcard or short letter, you ask for a call. Offer the product, show the benefits, and sell the call hard. Cultivate your prospects and then close them. Don't bang them over the head with an anvil and expect them to buy.
6. Wrong headline.
The headline is the single most important element of your direct mailing piece. Solely on the basis of this one line, your reader makes the decision to continue, or not continue to read.
7. Not telling your readers exactly what you want them to do.
You should tell your readers several times (3 seems to be the magic number. In the beginning middle and at the close) exactly what you want them to do. Be specific. Let readers know exactly what action you want them to take; tell them, and tell them again.
I read somewhere that around 1000 B. C. or so, an Egyptian landowner wrote what is considered by some worldwide direct marketing experts to be the earliest identifiable example of direct advertising. It was an advertisement on a piece of papyrus for the return of a runaway slave. The original was actually exhumed from the ruins of Thebes and can now be seen in the British Museum.
Whether or not the Egyptian landowner found his slave is unknown. Since we do not have the result to measure the effectiveness of the "return-my-slave" effort, I am forced to conclude that the campaign was a direct marketing failure. Direct marketing is a finitely measurable media. Measurability sets direct marketing apart from general advertising and other forms of marketing. Direct marketers can measure the response to any offer.
Later, the Babylonians would use bricks as a means of distributing direct advertising to individuals. Guess their BPS (Babylonian Postal Service) didn't have any weight regulations for third class or bulk mail. I think this is the genesis of the phrases "hits you like a brick wall" and "in your face" advertising. Interestingly, it was about this time that the first rotator cuff surgeries were performed. Apparently brick marketing also spawned the need for Babylonian HMO's.
Writing was not a common skill among the elite of the day (cave art was still big) and thus the development of direct marketing techniques was slow. In fact nothing much happened until Steve Gutenberg's (the fine Actor of Police Academy fame) Great, Great, Great, Great Grandfather-Gutenberg "the printer" invented the movable type printing press around the early 1430's. This nimble gadget-about the size of a current day USPS delivery truck-enabled Gutenberg to churn out mass-produced literature in record speed. He did Bibles in about...oh...say a year-at-a-time. Big stuff! The development of printing techniques would drive direct marketing advertising pretty much up until today.
Later in the century, in England, a printer by the name of William Caxton set-up the first English printing press in Westminster Abbey in 1471 and printed his first hand-bill around 1480. With this hand-bill, the Age of direct marketing was born...
Direct Mail Basics
I originally published this article on my website last October, but thought it made sense to post it here for those who might not have found it prior.
Q: "What are Direct Mail Basics?"
ListGuy:
When done correctly, direct mail is one of the most effective marketing tools available to small businesses, regardless of industry. Unfortunately, many first-time mailers--and even some experienced ones--overlook some of the basic "rules" for creating an effective direct mail campaign. Here are some proven thoughts to heed when planning your next mailing.
The success of your campaign relies on the following:
1. The accuracy of your mailing list
2. The perceived quality of your offer
3. The appeal of your mail piece .
Many experts speak of the 40-40-20 rule. It states that the mailing list makes up 40% of the success of a mailing, the offer makes up another 40% and the package itself (paper, design, copy) is responsible for the remaining 20%.
Buy a good list
Understand who your best customers are. Select a qualified mailing list provider.
Work with your list supplier to develop the most effective prospecting list for your needs and budget.
Create a powerful offer that will make people want to respond
Make sure your offer is clearly spelled out and easy to understand. Offer something with high perceived value. Don't underestimate the power of the word FREE. Make it easy to respond--via website, email, telephone, mail and/or fax. Offer a money-back guarantee if appropriate. Repeat your offer, response options and guarantee as often as possible.
Create an appealing mail piece
Your mail piece should reflect your company's positioning and sales strategy. If you are perceived as exclusive, unique or high-end your mail piece should reflect it. If customers buy from you primarily based on low pricing, your mailer should have a "budget" look and feel to it. Keep your copy simple by using clear, short and descriptive sentences.
Personalize the piece. Use a call to action tell the reader what you want them to do and by when they must do so.