Here are five tips to improve you postcard marketing response rate which were developed from Galleria Ventures several years of experience with postcard marketing.

1. Understand your mailing list. The most important factor in any direct mail campaigns’ success is the quality level of the list of customers or potential customers you are sending your items to. Is your list made up of customer’s that you have done business with or is it mainly new potential customers you do not know? If it is new potential customers, do you have any demographics to sort the list to be able to give some focus to your advertisement? For example you will have more success with a postcard ad that is targeted for women if you know the list you are sending to is also focused on women. Therefore, match your message to the right group of people (and if possible, the right group of people at just the right time).

2. Make your headline “readable with a glimpse”. A postcard advertisement only has a brief moment to capture the reader’s attention. That brief moment, which has been referred to as the “golden glimpse” — is the moment when your postcard is grabbed out of the mailbox and either goes on the desk or in the trash. An attention grabbing headline which communicates a primary benefit for your targeted recipients is the key to getting the potential reader to read on. After you hook their attention with a successful headline then some “skimmable” bullets after the headline giving more benefits should build enthusiastic interest. To make this happen sit down and list the features of your products or services. Then list the benefits each of these features bring to the customer. Prioritize which benefit has the most importance to your focused list of recipients. The benefit that you chose to have the highest importance should be used to make the headline and the other benefits should be used to make the supporting bullets. If a photo or artwork can help make the impact greater of your primary benefit, then use it.

3. Give it the Simpleton Test. You should figure out that your potential clients will never know your product or package to the extent that you do. They are not around it everyday and therefore cannot understand it as well as you. Accordingly, the best way to proceed is to be distinctly simple in the message you communicate. This is not simple, as there is a probability that you will have knowledge you take for granted and use but your targeted clients will not have the knowledge to easily understand your message. If you do not achieve first time understanding of your message, you probably will not be provided with another opportunity. Therefore, your message should be very simple to understand in a plain clear language. Additionally, use images when it will strengthen the understanding.

4. Complete the advertisement with a compelling offer and a call to action. The offer and call to action is the conclusion of the marketing postcard’s statement. It’s the climax of what the complete postcard leads to. This is where the reader finds out whatever he or she should do to ascertain more or the reason they should take action. Be confident your proposition is pertinent and captures the reader with a deal they will not want to turn down. As the recipient is absorbed in your offer then you present your call to action so it is not lost!

5. Continually Measure and Track your direct mail success. The number one rule for success in direct mail marketing, is to TEST. Test the offer. Test the message. Test the mail piece size. Test the postage stamp. Test everything you can think of which might influence the reader. Through continual testing you can finally find the “formula” of success for your direct mail marketing. We recommend a split test of each new marketing postcard. To implement a split test by splitting the quantities of each campaign mailing with one thing that is different in each. Then measure the results of each and pick the one that gives the most effective results for another split test in another mailing. This process will allow your marketing message to evolve to the best performance.

Posted: July 11th, 2008 under Advertising.
Comments: 1

Before you start to read this article grab a piece of paper and a pen and note down what you would like to have attained in five and ten years time. Make sure it’s what you really want. This piece of paper is the key to your long term future success. To succeed you need to focus on not only short term goals and income but to focus on your long term success. This is what is going to drive you on through the next few years.

I had someone I used to help with her online business. She often got demotivated and stopped work. One day I asked her what she desired most and she told me how she wanted to move out of her 1 room apartment and into a house. I told her to go and find the house she wanted. When she found her dream home she placed the plans and photo’s on the wall behind her computer. Every time she wanted to finish early or not work she would look at that house and think what it meant to her. Very soon she was back working hard and completely motivated. About 14 months later she was able to complete the purchase of a similar house.

In addition to long term focus you need to consider your short term focus. a lack of short term focus will have a negative impact on your Long term focus. How many times do you sit down to write an article or build a site only to answer emails of have instant message conversations? very soon you realize you’ve done nothing constructive and you have no time left.

Getting a simple system together will help you achieve your short term goals. Once they are achieve then it’s just a matter of time before you achieve those long term goals. Try a system that will allow you to work without being interrupted by emails and instant messages. I set aside a 2-3 hour period each morning where I concentrate on work and nothing else. Only when that time is up and I’ve completed my tasks will i then read and answer emails.

You should also make a point of eliminating as many distractions as possible. Ask your family to respect your work time. If you explain to them why you need to be left alone then they will support you 100%. Try to turn off your cellphone and put any pets outside. Become your own strict boss!

Writing this article took less than twenty minutes. I had no distractions and focused on it 100%. If I hadn’t been able to focus on it I know for sure that it would probably take me and hour or so.

There is noting in this world that will stop you achieving your goals If you want them enough. You just need patience and belief in yourself

Posted: July 11th, 2008 under Marketing.
Comments: 1