Working with a postcard marketing service can do wonders to boost the effectiveness of your direct mail efforts, and it’s equally valuable whether you’re new to using postcards or you’ve been using them for years to build your business. There’s always room to improve, and a postcard marketing service has exactly the right expertise to help you do that.
There are two keys to getting the most out of a postcard marketing service.
Listen.
First, do your homework, so you choose the right direct mail company. Pick a full-service company that’s well-established in business, with a successful track record in working with businesses like yours. Familiarity with your type of business can be especially helpful, because the details that drive postcard success differ from one industry to another.
Once you’ve chosen the postcard marketing service that’s right for you, listen carefully to what they have to say. They’re your expert advisors. You can enlist their help to refine each key element of your current postcard campaigns, or you can sit down with them to plan and execute your first-ever direct mail project. How can they help?
Postcard design. Each visual element on your postcard contributes to its success – the colors you use, the photos or other graphics you select, your blocks of text and where you place each of them. Postcards come in different sizes, and even that can affect your response rate.
Your experts will explain that the one thing you never want to do is go overboard with a weirdly shaped card or overly flashy printing, because those factors take your postcard outside normal mailing parameters, driving up costs.
Postcard content. How you word your headline, your special offer and how you ask people to respond (your call to action) all dramatically affect your results. Your postcard has to grab your prospect’s attention right off the bat and make them want to find out more. It has to compel them to respond, quickly.
Which benefits should you mention to differentiate your business from your competitors? What contact information should you provide? Should you include a locator map to your place of business? Your hours or similar details? Your expert can guide you through this thinking process, helping you see what matters most to your prospects.
Your mailing list. This is critical for successful postcard marketing and also for top-notch ROI. Postcards are highly targetable, and your direct mail expert can help you make sure your mailing list includes the right people without including the wrong people. They can help you purchase a list by defining appropriate criteria and help make sure your existing lists are accurate and up to date.
Listen to everything your postcard marketing service has to say, so you can gain the most insight into what works and what doesn’t. Then implement their recommendations, and you’ll see better, longer-lasting results from your direct mail efforts. That’s value you can’t create on your own, and it’s money you can watch grow your bottom line and your business.
Relax, and let them handle the details.
Like any worthwhile marketing effort, creating, producing and mailing postcards not only requires specific knowledge, it can be time-consuming. Marketing campaigns are essential, but they take time away from running the rest of your business. You can save time and be certain your projects are in good hands by allowing your postcard marketing service to do the work for you.
You’ll still have plenty of input where it counts, but you won’t be saddled with the production details. You won’t have to learn the intricacies of postal regulations that affect bulk make rates, either, because your experts already know exactly how to organize your mailing to ensure the lowest possible rates. You can be confident you’re getting the most out of your postcard marketing service, and that means you’ll get the most out of your postcard marketing campaigns.
Photo Credit: @rlj via Flickr.