Every business suffers slow months, which can be caused by anything from post-holiday blues to out-of-season slumps to economic downturns. Delivered directly to a well-targeted audience, postcards can spur sales by motivating customers to buy now.
Consider these postcard marketing statistics:
- Direct-mail marketing yields the best household response rate of all marketing channels: 5.1% versus 0.6% for email and paid search and 0.4% for social media
- For every $167 invested in direct-mail marketing, more than $2,000 goods are sold — representing a 1,300% ROI
- More than 60% of people who receive direct mailers are influenced to visit a website (most of them first-time shoppers)
If you’re experiencing a slow sales month, use this guide to inject life — and customers — into your business with a postcard marketing campaign.
1. Identify your goals
Start by determining the desired outcomes of your postcard marketing campaign. Of course, you want to boost sales and earn profits; but what, specifically, do you want to sell? Are you seeking repeat business or new customers? How many sales will make your postcard marketing campaign successful?
The answers to these questions will inform your decisions as you create and launch your postcard marketing campaign.
2. Identify your audience
Consider who you’re going to be marketing to. What issues are they dealing with right now? Why aren’t they buying? Is there an untapped audience you should be reaching out to, or should you promote your products to existing customers?
If you don’t have an in-house mailing list, make a list of your audience’s demographics: age, gender, location, income, family status, buying habits, etc. You can use those demographics to create a new mailing list comprised of people who are likely buyers.
3. Develop a killer offer
There’s a reason sales are slow this month, so you need to craft a compelling offer that motivates customers to take immediate action. Think about the types of products your audience is likely to be interested in this month. Then, develop an attractive offer to buy now.
Ideas include discount coupons/coupon codes, buy-one-get-one deals, special VIP or after-hours sales, exclusive product access and events such as classes that teach customers how to solve an important problem or learn a desirable skill.
Make your offer time-limited to earn greater response in a short time. This is also a good time to vet your offer against your investment. If you expect a two percent response rate, determine how many postcards you’ll need print and mail to earn an excellent ROI.
4. Write your postcard copy
Now that you know your goals, your audience and your offer, you can begin developing your postcard. Start by writing your postcard copy. It should include:
- A strong headline that commands attention
- Benefits that create desire
- Your time-limited offer
- A powerful call to action that motivates response
Be sure to tell customers exactly what they need to do next to take advantage of your special offer, whether it’s calling a phone number or visiting your website or brick-and-mortar location.
5. Design your postcard
Create an attractive postcard design that works together with your copy to get noticed and create desire. Your postcard design can showcase your products, depict happy customers experiencing your services or use charts and graphs to illustrate a key point.
If you’re not design-savvy, you can hire a professional graphic designer; or, use PsPrint’s free postcard templates and online design tool to make your own postcards online. You can upload your own logo and photos, use your brand colors and adjust your postcard copy in just a few clicks.
6. Print your postcards
Once your design is complete, you should print postcards on high-quality paper stocks that lend a favorable impression of your company. People equate the quality of your marketing tools with the quality of your products and services, so it’s important to opt for premium printing.
That doesn’t mean you need to overspend on postcard printing; in fact, you can print premium postcards at discount prices when you choose the right printing company.
7. Mail your postcards
You can have your postcards shipped to you and mail them yourself. Or, you can press the “easy button” and have your printer handle the addressing and mailing for you. Supply your own mailing list or use a mailing list generation tool, then opt for mailing services when you check out.
It’s a good idea to incorporate a tracking mechanism to make it easy to measure response: coupons and coupon codes, for example.
If sales are slow, you can inject life into your business when you deliver a compelling offer to a well-targeted audience — and postcards are excellent marketing tools for the job. Spur sales and maximize ROI with discount postcard printing services today!
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