Copyright 2009 Bob Leduc http://www.bobleduc.com/Postcards have proven themselves to be highly effective for marketing in the 21st century. But marketers often sabotage their own success with postcards by making some common mistakes in using them.
Here are 5 postcard marketing mistakes many marketers make ...and some easy ways to avoid them.
1. Not Defining a Specific Goal for Your Postcards
You can't get the best results from marketing postcards if you don't have a clear understanding of what you want them to do for you.
Do you want to attract new customers to your website? Do you want to generate phone inquiries you can use as sales leads? Maybe you want to get more foot traffic into your store ...or something else.
Always define a specific goal for your postcards before you do anything else. You'll save a lot of time, avoid unnecessary mistakes - and maximize your results.
2. Using a Cheap Mailing List Instead of the Best List
Postcards produce the biggest profit when you send them to prospects likely to be interested in what you are offering. They produce even better results if those prospects also have a proven history of acting on things they are interested in.
Don't settle for a mailing list just because it's easily available or cheap. The most effective mailing lists generally involve a little bit of research to uncover - and they're usually not the cheapest. But the extra time and cost involved will reward you with a much bigger response.
3. Attempting to Close Sales Instead of Generate Leads
Many marketers try to close sales with postcards. But it's a lot easier to generate website traffic or sales leads than it is to close sales.
Design your postcards to generate website traffic and sales leads instead of trying to close sales.
For example, send the readers to your website or wherever you normally deliver your sales presentation ...a presentation you've already refined to produce the most sales.
4. Trying to Say Too Much on the Postcard
Postcards get delivered open and ready to read. That's one of their major advantages. It guarantees that nearly every recipient will see your message. But many marketers forfeit this advantage by cluttering their postcards with too much information.
You'll get the best results when readers can glance at your postcards for just a few seconds and completely understand what it says. For example, some of the most profitable postcards include no more than:
- A short one line headline to get the reader's attention
- A bulleted list (like this one) of 3 or 4 major benefits
- A brief motivating offer
- A website address or phone number to respond to the offer
5. Not Including a Motivating Offer
Just because you targeted the right prospects with your postcards, don't assume they will automatically take action to seek you out - at least not immediately. Many will intend to do so later but then get caught up in other things and forget all about you.
You can overcome this natural procrastination by including on the postcard exactly what you want the reader to do ...and why they should do it now instead of later.
For example, don't just list your phone number or website on the postcard. Specifically tell the reader to call you or visit your website - and offer them a special incentive for doing it right now.
Marketing with postcards is a simple process. But you can still make mistakes in using them that will sabotage your results. By knowing the 5 mistakes revealed in this article ...you can easily avoid making those same mistakes yourself.
Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales. He just released a New Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards ...and launched *BizTips from Bob*, a newsletter to help small businesses grow and prosper. You'll find his low-cost marketing methods at: http://www.bobleduc.com/ or call: 702-658-1707 After 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV