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Professional Direct Drive

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

Postcard direct mail marketing tips and ideas

Postcards are perhaps the least expensive way of reaching a
large number of people with your sales message. Although they
have their drawbacks, they are cost-effective at attracting new
customers. But only if you follow some simple rules that
professional direct mail copywriters follow.

Grab their attention on Side A

Side A is the side with the picture on it. One beauty of a
direct mail postcard is that your prospective customer does not
have to open it. There in the morning mail is your sales
message, seen by all. So make sure you put something on Side A
that arrests the attention of your prospect. Here are some ideas:

1. a wacky photograph 2. a photo of your product in an unusual
setting 3. an outrageous (but true) claim 4. your unique selling
promise stated in a clever or intriguing way 5. your prospect's
problem (the one that your product or service solves), stated or
presented in a compelling way

The only goal of Side A is to arrest attention and stimulate
interest. OK, so that's two goals. You must motivate your
prospect to turn your postcard over to read the other side. So
make sure Side A is arresting and interesting but does not tell
your whole story.

Sell them on Side B

Side B is the one with the address and postage stamp. Here you
create desire and motive your reader to take action. You do not
have much real estate upon which to give your sales pitch, so
stick to your strongest benefit. Describe in clear, compelling
language what your reader gets by buying your product or
service. You don't have enough room here to say enough to make a
sale, so just sell the next step.

Ask for the next step, not the order

The next step these days is often for the prospect to visit your
website. That's a great use for a direct mail marketing
postcard: driving potential buyers to a special page on your
website (called a landing page) where you give the entire dog
and pony show and give prospects a convenient way to part with
their money, if I may put it that way.

The next step may also be for the reader to call you, or to
visit your business. Both good uses of direct response
postcards. So make sure you say enough, and in a strong enough
way, on this side of the card to motivate a potential buyer to
lift the receiver or start heading in your direction. Which
brings us to your offer.

Make your offer irresistible

All direct mail pieces should contain an offer. The offer is
what you dangle in front of prospects to motivate them to take
the next step in giving you their business. What you are selling
and what your offer is are two different things. For example,
using direct mail, banks promote credit cards. That's what they
are selling. But to persuade you to act today they extend you an
introductory and time-limited interest rate of only 2.5% (some
conditions apply, of course!). That's their offer. Their offer
must overcome inertia. And so must yours. Make sure your
postcard features a strong offer. For more information on
crafting effective offers, read the many articles I've written
on the topic, found at my website.

About the Author

Alan Sharpe is a business-to-business direct mail copywriter. Sign up for free weekly tips like this at
www.sharpecopy.com
.