How to Create Attention-Getting Postcards!

I have to admit something. I went to the mailbox yesterday and immediately frowned when I saw a direct mail postcard looking back at me. Positioned squarely atop the stack of mail, it was just sad and uninviting and a waste of not only my time, but the designer’s, the client’s, and the mailman’s. It was a hot mess. As I looked over the postcard, I couldn’t even tell what it was, exactly, that they wanted from me. Are you selling a product? Do you want me to ask you for more information? Is that a special font only ‘the kids’ know about these days? I can guarantee that because direct mail postcards are my business, I examined that postcard a lot longer than my neighbor or the person across town.

It. Isn’t. Supposed. To. Be. Difficult.

These 5 Suggestions for Direct Mail Postcards are a genius way to ensure your postcard is well-received, and ultimately acted upon – which is what we all want to have happen when we reach out to clients and prospects, right?

• It must be readable – The second you make your target figure out what you want them to read or what to understand on your postcard, is a second they’ll never get back, and a second you’ll lose in trying to win them over. Make it flow, make it sound good, and make it easy to put either blocks of text together in their brain or make it easy for them to make the connections.
• Pictures/Images are everything – You didn’t learn to read by looking at just the word. The way the brain associates images with meaning is powerful. Ensure that the images are correct, they lead the reader where you want them to go in their own imagination, and that they’re strong enough to convey a point without dominating the conversation.
• What’s your point? – Remember how we push selling the benefits? The more easily and completely you can get that message across, the better you’ll be. Even if you have to say something like, “The benefit of using ‘X’ means you’ll never have to ‘Y’ again…ever!” There’s nothing wrong with using plain text when you have to.
• Personalize the story – That does not mean to personalize the mailing. By personalizing the story you’re telling a story with the images and the copy, you’re putting the reader in the middle of why the benefit you’ve hooked them with will apply to them. Testimonials are great here. But the impact of personalizing is to allow the reader to see what it feels like on the outside, to not realize the benefit of your product; to keep doing it the hard way (for example).
• Create fascination – Unless you are selling gold for pennies on the dollar, there’s a good chance you can’t tell the reader everything you want to on your postcard. Create a reason for them to reach out for more information, to satisfy their curiosity, or to just prove you can do what you said you can. Pull them to a landing page or get them to snap a QR for a follow up. The postcard is only the first step in your sales cycle, so make the most of it.

The economics of direct mail postcards are fantastic. You’re going to realize a great ROI when you take advantage of the scale represented by this marketing option. But even with that being the case, you do not want to risk someone looking at your postcard and never making an instant and valuable connection to what you want them to know. Don’t give them the opportunity to discount what you can do for them, how your product or service can truly benefit them the way you know it can, by putting something in their hands that will turn them off, make them work to comprehend, or otherwise repel them (and their money).

Give Opportunity Knocks a call. Our Success Coaches are standing by, ready to help your postcard campaign leap out of the mailbox. We’ve got great ideas to capture your target’s imagination and keep them reading all the way to your Call-To-Action!