Are your results less than satisfactory even though you have carefully followed design, printing, and mailing tips from a respected expert? If so, you may need to rethink the layout of your postcard or other elements of its design. What works for one company may not work for yours. Successful marketing requires careful testing, so don’t despair if it takes time before you see the results everyone is bragging about. Here are some ideas for redesigning your postcard to maximize results:

Focus on the Back Side of the Card
A large number of mail carriers tend to deliver the mail with the address-side-up. If the back of your postcard contains only the address information, large numbers of your cards will be trashed before a single headline has a chance to be read.  Try testing different layouts with the headline and offer on the back side of the postcard.  Save the front of the card for additional information.

Limit Information
Avoid packing every little detail onto the postcard as this can result in a littered layout and, therefore, hidden message. Cut down the amount of words to include only the most important information. You merely need to cause clients to take the next step, not know every step of the offer.

Make a Unique Offer
If yours is the same as every other business offer, prospects will see no reason use your company above another. Without a tempting offer, an advertising campaign is useless.  The offer is what compels readers to take action. So give clients what they want – the newest, biggest, and best product or service at an irresistible price.

Although printed postcards are one of the cheapest marketing tools, without high results they are not worth any cost, no matter how small. Therefore, test and test again until your direct mail postcards have become the optimum marketing tool that you have read so much about.

What you may not know is that you can often improve your postcard marketing results just by making minor adjustments to your approach. Here are seven such adjustments.

1. A Free Consultation is No Offer
Many agents, advisors and sales professionals like to rely on a “free consultation” offer to motivate their prospects to call.  This approach usually fails because so many have a similar offer and prospects view a consultation as a normal part of the project, not as a free bonus or motivating factor.

Instead of offering a “free consultation”, offer something else the prospect may perceive as valuable.  Offer something that is loosely related to your product or service that provides information, saves them money or simplifies their life in some way.  Guidebooks, white papers and coupon books are perennial favorites.

2. KISS (Keep it Short and Simple)
Think of your postcard as a mini billboard, something that attracts the reader’s attention while they’re busy looking at something else.  Top advertising agencies understand that the most effective billboards usually contain less than 7 words.  Likewise, postcards should be short and direct. There’s an old saying in advertising, “confuse ‘em and you’ll lose ‘em.”

According to a study commissioned by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), postcards have the highest read rate of all types of direct mail.  Higher read rates lead to higher response rates and greater returns on investment.

To maximize your postcard’s effectiveness, limit your focus to one main idea and keep the language focused. KISS doesn’t mean you should ever talk down to your reader, but must speak clearly so that your reader understands your message upon first glance.

3. Qualify and Segment Your Audience
For top results, use a list that is segmented to be more specific and relevant with your message.  Find logical points to divide it, like businesses and consumers, male and female, old and young, income ranges and other demographics.

By creating narrow market niches within your data, you can be much more specific in your offer, copy and imagery. This produces a much greater connection with the reader which correlates with higher response rates.  That’s just one of many ways to segment your list. You can also break it up by age, neighborhood, buyer vs. seller, prospect vs. customer, home value, etc. Sure, it takes more effort on your part. But in this age of information overload, you have to make your message specific and relevant in order to make a connection.

3. Analyze Your List
Your list connects you with your audience, and your audience determines your direct mail success. So give your list the attention it deserves. Ask all the hard questions: Is my list up to date? Is this the best possible list for me to be using, given my objectives? Is my list too general? Should I segment it into groups?

Optimize your list(s) every chance you get. And make sure you protect it by saving it in various places – on your computer, on a disc, on the Internet somewhere. Can you imagine how devastating it would be to lose a list of past clients?

5. Clarify Your Call-to-action
First, ensure that you have a strong call-to-action. Without this critical element, your postcard is just another piece of paper in a mailbox that doesn’t give anyone a reason to do anything. So, make sure to include a call-to-action on your postcard. Just as important, make your call-to-action clearly visible. Put it in a colored box where it’s just impossible to miss.

If you follow these simple steps, you’ll soon find that your response rates are back on track and that your business is buidling once again.

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