Postcard Design Center

Comments: Postcard marketing is one of the most cost efficient ways of attracting the interest of customers. Postcard marketing has a history spanning about 135 years, and throughout that history has been an interesting way of attracting interest in products and services.

The first postcards

The first postcards really weren’t postcards as we know them at all. The idea came from envelopes that featured printed pictures. The first card sent post in the United States was privately printed and copyrighted in 1861. It certainly didn’t have anything to do with postcard marketing. Indeed, many postcards first evolved as sort of greeting cards. It wasn’t until 1870 when the first postcard as we would recognize it, was printed. And it was more of a historical issue for the Franco-German War. But marketing is a powerful force, and it only took three years for postcard marketing to get its start.

The dawn of postcard marketing

Postcard marketing got its official start in 1872, when a postcard advertisement appeared in Great Britain. These first advertisement postcards appeared in black and white, or with only one color. It wasn’t until 1889 that a multi-colored postcard was printed. And even then, because of the expense involved, postcard marketing did not embrace multi-colored postcards.

Early hindrances to postcard marketing

Postcard marketing did not take off immediately in the United States. It took a while to develop because early postal regulations made it difficult to create attractive advertisements on postcards. Happily, nearly all of the obstacles to cost-efficient postcard marketing have been overcome. Some of the hindrances to postcard marketing included:

• The expense of quality color printing
• Could only print the message on one side of the postcard (the side with the picture or illustration)
• An undivided back for addressing only
• Cost the same as mailing a letter
• Required a long and prohibitive identification phrase on the back

Changes that encouraged postcard marketing

As countries in Europe changed the regulations and design of postcards, the United Stated gradually followed suit. And this is when postcard marketing began truly developing into the inexpensive and effective advertising medium that it is today. A divided back that allowed for a message as well as an address, and no longer requiring the identification phrase helped create more room for a sales message. And, the postal service decided that privately printed postcards could be sent for less postage, making them more cost efficient. And don’t forget about technological advances! The changes to the quality of paper used and the decrease in price for multi-colored postcards combined to make postcard marketing one of the most cost-efficient advertising methods available.

What postcard marketing offers businesses today

Today, postcard marketing has evolved into an efficient form of advertising that allows for inexpensive production and mailing. It is possible to create attractive postcards for very little (http://www.designsnprint.com offers them for as little as $170 for 5,000 postcards), including full color cards that grab attention. Postcards can be strategically included in both offline and online marketing campaigns to boost quality business leads and increase sales. High quality graphics, photos and lettering can be included in postcard marketing, and postcards offer other advantages as well:

1. Small size makes it easy to carry
2. Postcards are easy for recipients to pass along to family and friends
3. Convenient reminders of your business
4. Perfect for informing customers of your Web address, and encouraging them to visit your business Web site for more information
5. Postcards look more friendly than more in-your-face advertisements

For the last century postcard marketing has become more cost-efficient. Now anyone can take advantage of one of the most effective advertising mediums around.

Author Bio: Michael Reid – marketing/promotions
Small Business Promotions, Inc
http://www.designsnprint.com

you can redistribute this article freely but you must keep my contact information including my website address.

Tags: postcard dimensions, mail postcards, postcard designs, postal reply card

What is direct mail?

Direct mail (or direct marketing) is a highly targeted method of marketing a service or product. In direct mail, communication is sent directly to a prospective consumer. This is unlike mass media, where every viewer or reader of a particular medium is exposed to the communication, regardless of whether he or she is a prospective buyer. Direct mail works over traditional mail as well as email. Newer channels of direct mail include SMS and telemarketing.

What are the advantages of direct mail?

Lester Wunderman is traditionally acknowledged as the pioneer of direct marketing in the 1970s. It was his success on brands like Amex and Columbia Records that pushed direct mail into the spotlight.

Direct mail allows marketers to record, analyse, and track consumer responses with far greater accuracy than mass media. Marketers know very quickly whether their communication is working or not. If, for example, a marketer gets a response from 1,000 consumers after sending out 20,000 mailers, he knows it’s because of the direct mail. Mass advertising, however, does not show such immediate response.

While direct mail can be highly personalised (based on past history of the consumer), it also costs more (in terms of cost per thousand customers reached) than mass media.

What are the downsides to direct marketing?

The downside to direct marketing is that there is so much of it being done by so many businesses. As a result, direct mail is often seen as unwanted junk or spam by the recipient and most end up in the trash can. The same is true in both the real world and the virtual world. In fact, software filters make it very difficult for marketers to reach users via email anymore. Generally, users online only read and respond to emails from companies they’ve interacted with before.

What are the types of direct mail?

There are three primary types of direct mail, these include:
Low-volume mailers. These are generally used by niche products that cater to a select target audience.

For example, Rolls Royce would only send mail to former customers, celebrities, and very well-off businessmen, as these are the only consumers who can afford their products.

High-volume mailers. These are used by mass marketers like clothing stores, malls, retailers, etc. They generally aim to reach as many people as possible to drive footfalls to their store.

Business-to-Business (B2B) mailers. These are from one business to another, for companies that sell to other companies.

For example, a digital processing house would send a B2B mailer to advertising agencies with their rate cards, work samples, etc.

What are direct mail channels?

There are also many different direct mail channels, including:
Catalogues. These are usually done to showcase a variety of products, usually by the retail or fashion industries.

Single-fold mailers. These are one-sheet folded mailers. Generally, they have a teaser message on the outside and the main message within. They would also include a reply coupon or some other call to action.

Postcards. These are simple and inexpensive, yet highly effective.

Envelope mailers. Examples of these are seen with credit card companies. They usually have one message on the envelope and your card statement inside, along with other material like gift brochures for reward points, etc.
Innovative mailers. These are generally far more creative. For example, an office furniture firm once sent customers a small pillow, to highlight how their furniture provides a comfortable working environment.

What is a newsletter?

A newsletter is a distributed publication targeted at a specific segment of society.

Newsletters could be general interest or they can be specific. A general interest newsletter could have articles about things such as:

1) Politics
2) Sports
3) Weather
4) Opinions
5) Humour
6) Fiction
7) And more

A specific interest newsletter, on the other hand, is generally about one topic such as:

1) Mobile phones
2) Writing
3) Pharmaceuticals
4) Stamp collecting
5) Or whatever else the business is selling

All articles in such a newsletter would revolve around the specific topic the newsletter caters to.

Who uses newsletters?

Newsletters are generally published by clubs, societies, organisations and businesses. Companies generally place a lot of stock in newsletters. They send out newsletters to both clients and employees. It isn’t unusual to see every arm in a large company circulating a newsletter of its own.

Web sites also send out newsletters. These newsletters could be used to update subscribers about new content, new product offerings, etc. These e-newsletters are often viewed as spam, however, and often end up in the trash can.

Newsletters are a powerful tool in connecting with consumers.
Author Bio: Rajesh V. Tavakari, Senior SEO of WebPromotionGuru.Com. Offering affordable website promotion and natural optimization services since 1998. Website : http://www.webpromotionguru.com . You may freely reprint this article on your website or in your newsletter provided this courtesy notice, author name and URL remain intact.

Tags: postcard layout, direct mail, printing direct mail, mailing services, business postcard