Don’t Make These 6 Postcard Mailer Marketing Mistakes

Direct mail is experiencing a renaissance as businesses search for new ways to reach prospects and customers. In case you missed the stats from last time, response rates from direct mail are on the rise and many brands are finding success by tapping into it. One of the easiest entry-level direct mail options is postcard mailers so we’ve put together 6 essential tips for you to get the most out of your postcard mailer marketing efforts.

Even digital marketing gurus like Neil Patel are touting the benefits and effectiveness of including a direct mail component with your marketing.

In case you missed our last post Is Direct Mail Marketing Still Effective?, MarketingSherpa found that, “Consumers trust traditional advertising channels more than digital channels” when 1,200 U.S. consumers were asked about which ads they trust when making a purchase decision.

Not only are postcard mailers generally easy to create, they are often more budget-friendly than other mailing options which will only help you to keep more consistent with sending them regularly. And, consistency is key for getting the ROI you want to see.

Author of Think and Grow Rich, Author Napoleon Hill, said, “If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.” So, if your marketing budget is limited, why not do something small like postcards and do them well?

We’ve put together 6 tips for you to ace when sending out your postcard mailers. If you get stuck along the way, we can offer guidance and tips for success – click here to schedule a free consultation with us at a time that works for you.

Let’s jump in!

1. REMEMBER TO PICK AN EMOTION
This is the best place to start with your mailer marketing efforts: What do you want your reader to feel when they receive and read your postcard mailer?

Do you want them to feel motivated? Do you want them to feel like they’re missing out? Do you want them to feel like they don’t know as much as they thought they knew? Whether you want to make someone laugh, think, wonder, or spring into action, the power of this is in the headline.

Pick an emotion and then use headlines, wording, images, and a design that will help you convey that emotion to your reader.

2. HEADLINES + IMAGE = TRUE LOVE.
A good headline should be concise and evoke the emotion you are aiming for. Now before you turtle under pressure, remember, you don’t have to be a great writer, master of puns or poet to make this happen. Using honest, clear, to the point language will do the job.

Because you only have a few seconds to grab someone’s attention with your postcard, make sure to include a bold, bright, eye-catching image. You want your image to relate to your message or to your reader. Otherwise, it may come across as abstract or confusing and you don’t want that.

Consider these concise headline examples to help you get the inspiration flowing:
– Sell Your Home and Get 20% More
– Join the Gym Run by and for Busy Mums
– Spend less time gardening and let us make your garden beautiful

3. FOCUS ON BENEFITS, NOT SELLING
It’s natural to want to highlight everything you or your product or service can do. Why wouldn’t people want to know how great you and your product or service is?

Well, too much information can easily overwhelm and deter your reader.

Keep it simple. Focus on one benefit and make sure you are guiding the reader to take one specific action. For example, if you are offering a free valuation of a home, make sure that is the focus of your card instead of also including mortgage rates and a featured listing. With too much detail and lack of a focused action for the reader to take, they’ll take no action at all.

When you’re mailing regularly, you will be able to keep one focused benefit per postcard and you’ll get to share your other resources or benefits with a separate postcard design.

Here is an excellent example of a focused benefit idea from an accounting service:

Stop worrying about your annual returns, we’ll help free up more time so you can focus on what’s really important in growing your business.

4. DON’T FORGET THE CALL TO ACTION.
What is the point of spending your hard-earned marketing dollars on direct mail if you forget to include an urgent reason for your reader to contact you? This step is often overlooked and we don’t want you to make the same mistake.

A piece of print marketing is falling short if a prompting reason for your reader to reach out to you is not included. In marketing jargon this is called a call-to-action or CTA.

What action do you want them to take when they receive your postcard?

Do you want them to email you, call or visit your website?
Redeem a promotion?
Sign up for your market report?
Schedule a free consultation?

Take the time to build in a CTA and think about the things that would make you (as a consumer) take action.

Here are some useful examples of call to actions:
– Book your free consultation now at www.example.com/booking
– Reserve your spot before May 12th
– Call 555-555-1234 to request your free guide
– Download the app at www.yourwebsite.com/download to start saving today

If you need more inspiration, check out our 7 Call-To-Action Phrases That Get Visitors Clicking post.

5. WITHOUT THIS, YOU’RE IN TROUBLE
This is the one thing you CANNOT forget to include on your postcard mailers: your contact information.

At minimum, you need to include your phone number or email address. Ideally, you want to have your name, phone number, email address and website address.

Including a picture of yourself or a headshot is a really personal touch because this puts a face to your name. It will help your readers remember you over your competitors who aren’t including a picture of themselves. Plus, a logo and a picture helps with consistent branding and is a big part becoming a recognizable (and memorable) part of your reader’s mailbox.

6. DESIGNING FROM SCRATCH
Designing a print graphic can be time consuming, intimidating or overwhelming so we’ve got templates you can use for inspiration or pick to print your postcards with us.

We know that time is money so if we can help you save time printing your postcards and handling your designing and mailing too, that’s what we’re here to do.

Go ahead and book a free consultation time below. We’ll chat about your postcard campaign goals and options and we promise to make it as quick and painless for you as possible.