Postcards are Just Better

It’s important that I tell you I have no issues with direct mail letters. I really don’t. I think they provide a valuable, smart option for business owners…in the right setting. Just like my Uncle Carl, though, they don’t always work, or they aren’t right for the job, or they’re bad at getting their point across. I’m biased, yes, but to me postcards are just better, plain and simple.

I’ve read direct mail letters. But I don’t think they ever compelled me to make a purchase. Most of the time, I was left asking myself why I stood there and ‘read that’. Maybe it’s because I’m in the business, but I’ve been pulled into even the most basic postcard design and thought to myself, “This is genius. Clean, crisp, I see the product and the benefits they WANT me to see.” No competition. I can’t argue that point, though, without at least giving you my 5 Ways Postcards Beat Direct Mail Letters every time:

  1. Postcards are short – Good luck getting someone to stand at their mailbox or kitchen for two minutes, slogging through your postcard on the way to making a decision about whether or not they like your product or service. They don’t have that kind of time. And you don’t need the risk. Postcards are fantastic because they allow you to instantly communicate with the prospect. Large, bold headlines call their attention to the pain points you want them to feel! Great photography and a snappy background create curiosity! And THEN you hit them with the offer and Call-to-Action. Simple, compact, and effective.
  2. Writing/Designing postcards is easier and cheaper – You’ve got two sides of a postcard to work with. The boundaries, themselves, lend to postcards being easier and less expensive to both design and distribute. You’re not building anticipation like you would in a direct mail letter. You’re not coaxing the reader along a prescribed path. You’re not asking the reader to navigate a 3-page letter with a return envelope. With postcards, you’re focused on using a limited set of powerful language, and displaying a few standout images, that’s it.
  3. Postcards are less expensive to mail out – Even though the United States Post Office is, ‘going through some things’ as my teenaged niece would say, there is still tremendous value in utilizing them to spread the word about your business. Bulk rate postcards (at today’s rate) will run you anywhere from $0.265-$0.294; use the higher price point when timing is critical (e.g., holiday sale!), and the lower rate, for example, when you’re just searching for new leads.
  4. Postcards work for any size business – You’ve likely seen postcards from all manner of businesses come through your personal and work mail boxes. Even the Fortune 100 understand the power of postcards. Even if you aren’t necessarily beholden to shareholders and stock prices, you can clearly benefit from the simplicity of a postcard to bring in new sales and leads.
  5. Postcards don’t need to be opened – You cannot hide anything on a postcard. Your message, your company image, the way you present yourself to a prospect is immediately available. The great thing about that is it doesn’t give you any wiggle room to work up to making the reader curious about your product or service. ‘This is who we are and what we can do for you.’

Now, are there places and times and products that are a great match for a direct mail letter? Absolutely there are. You might have even tried them once, yourself. You might be considering using them now. But to what end will a direct mail letter beat out a postcard to your target audience? What benefit are you going to derive? How do you get around the cost, the time it takes to design, the expense in mailing them out, and the hope that they use the Self-Addressed Return Envelope (that you always have to pay for)? Your ROI will be a quivering mess.

Postcards are the way to go, hands down. Give Opportunity Knocks a call today. We’ve got Success Coaches standing by, ready to help you knock the socks off of your target audience. We’ll help you design the best postcard campaign to get your message out efficiently, less expensively, and with an explosive ROI you just can’t get from a direct mail letter.