10 Reasons Your Business Should Send Postcards

Sending postcards may seem like an archaic form of communication, but it’s not at all. Read on to learn 10 reasons your business should send postcards.

In today’s digital revolution, the idea to send postcards isn’t on many companies’ radars. But it should be.

Postcard marketing remains one of the most effective ways of connecting with your clients. In fact, the average conversion rate is more than twice of what it used to be a decade ago, clocking in at an impressive 4.4%.

Some experts suggest this increase in effectiveness is because postcards are so few and far between these days. Not as many businesses are investing in them because of the push for digital marketing. This gives the ones who do send postcards a better chance for visibility and engagement.

In other words, digital has made postcards cool again.

If you’re still on the fence about adding postcards to your strategy, here are 10 good reasons why you won’t regret it:

Send Postcards Because They’re Inexpensive

From printing to mailing, postcards are one of the most inexpensive ways to make an impression.

You can create postcards online for almost nothing per piece, depending on size, color, and other design elements. Postage can cost as little as 16 cents per piece, depending on size and delivery method.

When you send postcards, you’re likely spending less than fifty cents per piece.

Inexpensive doesn’t always mean ineffective, either. Postcard marketing offers one of the highest yields at one of the lowest costs.

You Can Send Postcards that are Highly Targeted

One of the biggest benefits of postcard marketing is its targeting ability.

There are countless ways to ensure your postcards find their way into the right hands.

For example, you can take advantage of the post office’s Every Door Direct Mail option to target consumers on a specific mail route. This is an ideal option for local businesses who use location-based demographics in their marketing.

Another option is to purchase a list based on certain criteria. There’s a list for just about anything, including age, gender, household income, ZIP code, and whether someone has previously purchased something through direct mail.

Postcards are more highly targeted than newspaper ads or radio spots because you can control who receives them. When you blast your message across public channels, you never know if the right people are hearing it.

Your Competitors Don’t Know When You Send Postcards

When you place an ad in your local newspaper or cable channel, your potential clients aren’t the only ones who know about it.

Your competitors are also watching and listening to see what you’re doing and how to step up their own marketing.

When they find out how you’re marketing your business, they may feel more inclined to do the same. This could potentially stifle your ROI because your competitors are encroaching on your market share.

Sending postcards keeps your business interactions between you and your recipient. Your competitors won’t know what you’re up to unless someone tells them, giving you a better chance of earning the ROI you expect.

Postcards are Personal

Postcards are often associated with friendly communications. People have used them for decades to send word of their travels, share exciting news, or let someone know they’re thinking about them.

Businesses can leverage postcard marketing in a similar way. Postcards can make your message appear friendlier, as though you have a personal connection with each recipient.

The key is to make your message short, sweet, and tailored.

Because postcards are usually small and basic, you’re forced to get creative with your content. Limit your text, get straight to the point, and make your message about the recipient. You can’t lose.

Easily Test an Offer with a Postcard

If you’re not sure about a promotion you’re offering, postcards make it easy to test on a small (and inexpensive) scale.

You can A/B test a small batch of postcards before you roll out a larger campaign. This can help ensure you’re using the best offer to get the biggest ROI.

In addition, using postcards to test your marketing offers makes it easy to track your success.

Whether you’re using a special online redemption code or need to see the physical postcard in person, you’ll have plenty of data to measure your mailing’s result.

This is perhaps one of postcard marketing’s biggest advantages over other print advertising. It’s not something you should take lightly.

Before you send postcards, make sure you have a solid plan in place to analyze your results. The information you collect can help you steer future mailings for optimal success.

Postcards are Straightforward

Because postcards have limited real estate, your message must be straight to the point.

People like postcards because of this. They don’t have to search through your material to find out why you sent a mailing. They don’t have to waste time opening envelopes or wrestling with packages.

Even if they don’t need your services at that time, people may be more inclined to remember your message for later when you send postcards.

Postcards are Easy to Retain

Postcards carry less packaging than business letters or other direct mail pieces. This makes them much easier for consumers to hold onto until they’re ready to take action.

Postcards can easily make their way to a refrigerator or bulletin board. They don’t take up much space, which might make them more attractive to keep when they toss out the junk mail.

The longer your consumer hangs on to your postcard, the more brand impressions you make.

Even if they don’t take advantage of your offer, you’ll have boosted your chance of brand retention and top of mind awareness for future mailings.

Postcards are Highly Visible in the Mailbox

Because of their unique size and shape, postcards stand out in a mailbox.

Remember, your mailing will have to compete with bills, magazines, catalogs, business letters, and other mailbox fillers. Visibility isn’t always easy to come by, even in the digital age.

When you send postcards, your recipient can quickly scan your material for your message without much effort on their part. This gives you a better chance of not just getting seen, but also getting read.

You can boost your visibility by investing in luxe materials, such as high-quality paper, embossing, embellishments, or full color.

If you want further increase your chances of getting noticed, opt for an oversized postcard that will be hard to miss.

You Have Seemingly Infinite Options

Postcards are arguably one of the most versatile pieces of print marketing in existence, both in the message and in the design.

On the message aspect, a postcard makes a suitable mailer for a variety of campaigns. You can use a postcard for referral marketing, as a follow-up for new customers, appointment confirmation, coupons or special offers, product announcements, or just to say hello.

From a design aspect, you’ve got plenty of options to make postcard marketing easier and more cost-effective.

For starters, you can partner with a number of professional printing companies who offer postcard templates. All you do is fill in the blanks – no professional designer needed. Some desktop publishing software may offer similar advantages.

If you want something more custom, hiring a graphic designer has never been easier. Sites like Fiverr or Guru can pair you with a reputable designer that will craft a postcard design quickly and inexpensively. In many cases, you get unlimited revisions to that design until it looks just how you want it.

They Help Promote Your Brand

Your brand is your worth. It’s how people identify your company. And it may well be the deciding factor as to whether someone wants to do business with you.

Postcards are a great way to promote your brand for three reasons:

First, they create top of mind awareness. You won’t always connect with customers at the precise time they need your services. But every impression counts in building that recognition they can store away for later.

Second, postcards help build trust. If your brand is relatively unknown in an area you’re targeting, sending a postcard is a great way to introduce yourself.

And third, they’re visually impactful to help you promote your brand in the best possible way.

Many companies include images of their business, staff, products, or other pictures that promote their brand image. In addition, you could include a QR code, encourage social media engagement, or a coupon or discount to help them further discover your company.

Adding these small branding nuances may not seem like much, but they can go a long way in tying your strategy together and presenting a consistent image.

If you plan on using postcard marketing as an ongoing practice, it’s important you create some sort of consistency in all of your messages. Every piece should have your logo and company colors. When done correctly, people will start recognizing your postcards and won’t be able to mistake your brand for anyone else but you.

In Closing

Sending postcards is too lucrative an opportunity to ignore, especially since the digital era has reimagined what postcard marketing can be.

Decide what you want to say, why you want to say it, and who needs to hear it. Then, design your postcards around those goals and give yourself enough time for your efforts to work. They might just pay off better than you ever expected.