4 Rare Leap Year Marketing Strategies to Building a Better Postcard Campaign

In this day and age, everything has a ‘by’ date, doesn’t it? It’s either a ‘sell by’ or ‘use by’ or ‘open by’ message telling you when something is no longer going to be edible, or viable, or just plain effective. If you’re like my mother-in-law or my wife, you might believe those ‘by’ dates are merely suggestions; no extreme consequence can come about pushing them out a day or week or month. But I don’t agree. I’ve argued more than once that Ibuprofen doesn’t really work three years past the date on the bottle.

That made me think about the ‘boundaries’ of a postcard campaign. And not the physical boundaries like bleed or edging or a divided back. Just as there are rules for the consumption of food and medicine, there are also rules for the construction of a postcard. And they just work better when you fully consider these 4 ‘boundaries’ of campaign composition:

You must have a crystal-clear objective – Your campaign should be intended to identify additional leads OR to generate sales. It is not recommended to try and accomplish both goals in a single mailing. This also plays into understanding your ROI, something we’ve talked about before.
Clearly explain or feature your product or solution – What I mean by that is you can’t risk your prospect taking time to translate what you’re trying to sell them or tell them. Easy pictures, simple wording, actionable and ‘bright’ adjectives are a great way to grab attention and focus their time squarely on your message.
Make the offer premium enough for the prospect to care – Dangle something of interest or perceived value as the carrot to entice the prospect to motivate and take you up on your Call-to-Action. You’re not running a carnival (unless you are, and then that’s great!). Limit the scope of your reach to ensure a quality offer before dumping poorly made freebies on your target list in return for their business.
Create that ‘Skin in the Game’ feeling – Yes, you’re selling a product or service, or you’re looking to add leads to the top of your sales funnel. But this isn’t a one-way street. You’ve got what the prospect wants – or should want, from your target research. There’s nothing wrong with putting at least some of the responsibility for contact on the prospect. Calling an 800-number, or sending a quick email, or finding their way to a simple landing page tells you a bunch about their interest, and gives you a little insight into their willingness to move to the next step in the sales process.

Can you remember the last time you did a double-take? You walked by something or someone on the street, or perhaps you saw something out of the corner of your eye on the counter. Whatever it was, something flashed in your brain and told you that that glance just wasn’t enough. You were compelled to look again and discover what you missed out on. That, my friends, is the power of the postcard. And its ‘by’ date is either a split second or an extended glance tied directly to its campaign construction, its understandability (is that even a word?), and ability to make the prospect engage.

You must try hard to never give your reader an out, never hand them the opportunity to give your postcard an expiration date, a ‘by’ date. Use these boundaries to target the right audience, attract them to your message, and find it impossible to not ask you for more information.

Direct Mail coaches are ready and waiting. We can help you put that messaging together, and understand fully the moments in time you’ll have to impress your prospect. Working within the boundaries will be a million times more beneficial than simply throwing loud colors and pictures on a postcard and hoping it does what you need it to. Take a moment to reach out and set up a free coaching call today!