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Increase Sales with Postcards

by Jacci Howard Bear

Make it easy for customers to buy your product or service, and your advertising dollars will stretch further. A postcard can increase response to your sales message or subscriptions to your newsletter. As annoying as we may find those multiple reply cards that fall out of our magazines, publishers will tell you that the response they generate far outweighs the nuisance factor. Even on a small scale, reply cards work wonders. The first time The INK Spot used postcard-sized subscription cards, both new subscriptions and renewals increased noticeably in just a couple of months.

Whether as reply cards, newsletters, or announcements, postcards have multiple advantages over other means of contacting customers. Their size makes them less expensive to produce and mail. Recipients are more likely to read a postcard than an unsolicited letter in an envelope. They are more convenient to fill out and return than clip-out order forms, coupons, or other response devices..

Integrate postcards into your marketing plan in one or more of these ways:.

  • Subscription or renewal cards for newsletters, magazines, and other periodicals.
  • Order forms for almost any type of product.
  • Newsletters (newscards).
  • Survey forms.
  • Coupons.
  • Mini-news releases or announcements.

Increase the effectiveness of your postcards with one or more of these techniques:

  • Prepaid return postage.
  • Pre-addressed return address on card or a pre-addressed envelope.
  • Color. Neon-bright paper, pre-printed paper, or photo-postcards attract attention.
  • Plenty of room to fill in names and addresses, and easy-to-read large type.
  • Check-boxes that allow the recipient to quickly fill out order forms or surveys.
  • Incentives such as free gifts or drawings for prizes to entice recipients to return surveys or other types of reply cards.
  • Include your mailing address, phone number, or other alternate contact information on the card.
  • Repeat any special marketing message that is found in accompanying marketing materials.
  • Calls to action. Always tell the recipient what to do with the card — "Fill it out & drop it in the mail" may seem obvious, but say it anyway. It works.

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Jacci Howard Bear Company: JBdesigns
desktoppub.guide@miningco.com
Ink Spot
Copyright 1995, 1996, 1997 JBdesigns and The INK Spot. Contact Jacci Howard Bear at inkspotmag@aol.com for permission to reprint (electronically or in print). Reprinted with permission.
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