Start with the Prospect

I want you to think for a moment about two things: 1) YouTube searches and 2) Your direct mail postcard campaigns. They aren’t really that far apart when you give it some thought; their similarities actually make more sense than you might imagine. I promise this is going to make sense.

Both YouTube searches and direct mail postcard campaigns to prospects have, at their most common point, the same basic premise: satisfying the viewer. The only difference is that someone actively and purposely enters what they want to see in that little search box at the top of the YouTube screen. Whether they’re looking for instructions on how to change their brakes, or the most luxurious private jets, funny dog videos, or the best way to arrange your closet, there is a stated purpose, and a clear expectation around the content they want to see. Solve their problem, or they move on to the next video.

With a postcard campaign, however, you’re showing the reader the answer to the question they didn’t search, and may not have ever asked! The mid-point is exactly the same…solve their problem or they’re going elsewhere. Here are 3 Three Best Practices for Postcard Campaigns you need to keep them reading:

Know the Language they use – If you want to turn off a prospect immediately, use language they have to look up to understand. And I know how that sounds. It’s not what I mean. When you’re communicating with a target audience, you need to speak the way they do, and use the words they use. For example, farmers and weekend DIYers both benefit from using pickups but use in them in vastly different ways. You’re marketing to both audiences, but concentrating on durability and towing power and how owners pass their trucks down and are used by generations on the family-run farm. While the DIYer wants to know she can haul plants and woods and her family around, and be just as comfortable driving to her corporate job Monday thru Friday. Same product, similar applications, different approaches to the way the message is delivered to the prospect.
Don’t shame the prospect – Even if your product or solution is going to miraculously eliminate the reader’s issue, you’re there to give them the solution, not point out their shortcomings. “Still don’t have an award-winning lawn?” “Can’t quite figure out how to satisfy your partner?” “Losing money on excess inventory you can’t sell?” You’ll always get more flies with honey than vinegar. The reader should feel like they’ve made a discovery all on their own, and a discovery that makes them feel particularly clever at the same time. “The industry’s best-kept lawn secret that will transform your yard!” “Leave your partner speechless (and breathless)!” “This little-known Supply & Demand solution might just change your life!”
Make it conversational – Public speaking consultants tell you a way to lessen your nerves in front of a big crowd is to picture them all naked. I’ve never understood why imagining a room full of naked people would make anyone relax, let alone remember what they were there to say in the first place. The same can be said for the way you write your postcard campaign. Imagine you’re just having a nice, albeit one-sided, conversation with a friend. You don’t want to intimidate or scare. You want reassure, you want to make them feel confident in their choice, you want them to feel comfortable with what you’re saying to them so they’ll take that first step and either ask for more information, or just pull the trigger right then and become a customer. Either way, the tone you set should be conversational and comfortable, not accusatory or desperate or judgmental.

If you approach the messaging with some true consideration and thought around your audience, you’d be surprised by the results you can generate. Give Opportunity Knocks a call today. Our Success Coaches are standing by to help you slow down, relax, picture everyone in their clothes, and design a fantastic postcard campaign that puts the prospect first!