Postcard Marketing

Step 1: Register for an Account:
Click on register at the top of the screen. Reordering is easy. If you don't already have an account, it takes only a few seconds to save your account information and register.

Step 2: Create a Postcard:
Choose from hundreds of professionally-designed templates or upload your own artwork

Step 3: Upload your data list:
Organize your mailing list and upoad it in .xls, .csv or.txt format

Step 4: View the PDF proof:
View the artwork PDF with the addresses
Place your order.

Q. What is the cost of printing my postcards?
A. Please refer to the Pricing page on our website where you can enter the specifications of your order for an instant cost.

Q. How do I place an order?
A. Simply create an account, choose your product and design or upload your artwork. Select your shipping method, or let us mail your order out from our facility. You will pay for the order by credit card on our secure website. It's as simple as that!

Q. I'm not finished designing my postcards, but have to leave my computer. Can I save the work I've already done?
A. Sure, just click "save" and your project will be saved. To find it, go to "my account" and "my saved projects."

Q. Can I make changes to my order?
A. Check your order history to be sure your cards haven't been printed. If not, you may then modify artwork, put your order on hold, change your shipping method or cancel your order. You may also change the quantity and other specifications.

Q. Do you provide proofs?
A. All proofs are viewed online and the colors are close to what will be printed, depending on your own monitor.

Q. Can I re-order my postcards at another time? A. On our home page you will find a "reorder button" for your convenience.

Q. What kind of paper is used for my cards?
A. We use a 14-point stock with a semi-gloss finish for our postcards.

Q. Do you offer UV Coating?
A. Yes, you may choose to add UV coating when you place your order.

Q. If I use my own mailing list, what format should I use to upload it?
A. We accept .txt, .cvs or .xls files for mailing lists.

Q. Is there anything special that the U.S. Post Office requires for mailing postcards?
A. You must have a 5/8" strip along the bottom of the back side of the card to allow for printing the barcode. In addition, you'll need 3.5" on the right side of the back for address imprinting. The U.S. Post Office will not mail any designs containing pornographic or illegal images.

Q. What if I have a problem after I've received my order?
A. Postcards.com will work with you to solve any problems you have. If you have made a typographical error, we will reprint your cards at a 50% discount. This discount, however, does not apply to mailing services. If we miss our production deadline or if UPS delays your package then we will fully refund your shipping charges ($50 Maximum).

Q. What if my cards arrive in the mail damaged or do not arrive to the recipients?
A. The postcards are delivered to USPS without smudges/scratches. They come in contact with different equipment at the USPS level that may cause damage. Once the order is delivered to the USPS, we have no control over damages or undeliverables. The same thing can occur if you mail them directly. We aren't able to reprint or refund if this occurs.

Postcard Marketing

Postcards are the miniature print versions of marketing billboards which are designed to convey your advertising message to a large audience in a quick, persuasive and cost-effective manner. This sort of sophisticated yet close-knit marketing technique employs a more personalized approach to attract the customer. They are predominantly used by small businesses that wish to establish an intimate rapport with their customers, while curtailing costs and boosting revenue. However large conglomerates are not impervious to the power of the humble postcard either. A strategically designed postcard marketing campaigns can tilt the fortune of an organization in the right direction. The fact that they are visually stimulating, practical and multi-functional only adds to their appeal.

Why Postcard Marketing?

Attracting New Customers

The most common function of a postcard marketing campaign is to entice new customers into trying the company's products/services. Most buyers, bombarded by daily marketing junk, are by now fairly immune to long-winded sales copy. However the good news is that they are still open to viewing a marketing message that is brief, personalized and interesting. Postcards bridge this gap beautifully. They are to the point and capture the essence of the marketing message in a compelling manner. Striking visuals complemented by a sharp copy can immediately grab the audience's attention and pique their curiosity. Postcards work brilliantly in getting business from new customers if they make a desirable first impression, create an absorbing message and incite quick customer action.

Keeping in Touch with Existing Clients

Postcards are an effective communication channel for passing on a regular flow of information to existing customers. They keep loyal clients updated about the launch of new products, consumer events, special seasonal offers and milestone achievements in the company's history. These postcards are also highly functional and quickly disseminate important information like a change in the physical location of a business to a large number of recipients. Periodic informational/marketing updates ensure increased awareness about the company's products/services, which in turn translate into higher repeat purchase sales. Even a simple, non-marketing gesture like thanking your customers for the business they give you can go a long way in strengthening their loyalty towards your organization.

"Back-door" Promotion Tools

A powerful postcard marketing campaign can be brilliantly exploited to create an enviable image for your brand. Postcards need not always be 'in your face' marketing tools that carry a sales message. They can also be used as "back-door" promotion materials which subtlety keep reminding customers of your brand without actually selling them anything. This strategy is highly effective because it subconsciously improves the awareness, recognition and desirability of your brand. These postcards can be anything from "Just Sold" postcards used by realtors to announcing a new certification bagged by your organization. You are doing nothing but creating a likeable aura for the brand that in turn can help you become the preferred choice of customers when it comes to making buying decisions in the future.

Running an Effective Postcard Marketing Campaign

Aim Correctly

One of the most significant principles of a postcard marketing campaign is to aim correctly. Spend considerable time and effort in gauging if you are targeting the right people. Understanding the preferences, driving factors, interests, hobbies, values, cultural background and religious beliefs of your target audience gives you greater leverage for strategizing a successful postcard marketing campaign.

Conclusive research on consumer psychology and knowledge about the factors that affect your audience's buying behavior equip you for using the right approach to target them. You can use the perfect words, visuals and advertising concepts to directly address issues that concern potential customers and strike a chord with them. This practice makes the entire advertising message highly identifiable for your target audience and hence they are more likely to buy it. Focused knowledge about your audience offers you the flexibility of quickly adapting your message to suit the preferences of varied audience groups. A random approach of sending attractive postcards to all addresses you can lay your hands on seldom produces a revenue-generating postcard marketing campaign.

Repetition and Phasing Out your Campaign

Another crucial strategy for running a successful postcard marketing campaign is to deploy your cards regularly over a period of time. Advertisers have long recognized the power of repetition for firmly etching the marketing message in the customer's consciousness. After you launch a postcard marketing campaign, keep sending the postcards repetitively over a period of 3-4 months. Once this particular message ends, you can start all over again with a different message for the same period before you switch gears once more. You can spread out the campaign in different phases. For instance, if a new product is being launched – you can start with a teaser followed by a brief description of the product and then subsequently go on to offer more information about the product along with positive feedback by a few early customers who've tried the product/service.

Track the Impact of your Postcards

Measuring the success of a postcard marketing campaign is no mean task. Sometimes you just don't know if your beautiful looking postcards are just being admired or are actually stirring your audience into some productive action. There has to be a fool-proof system in place to track the success or failure of your marketing campaign. You have to be able to tell apart the designs that have generated brilliant results from the 'also rans'. This helps you make informed marketing decisions about retaining the approaches that are working and discarding the ones which aren't.

One of the most successful strategies for measuring the penetration and impact of your postcard marketing campaign is to carry codes on it and ask potential customers to redeem the card for a freebie or a special offer. Apart from being a great way of establishing a rapport with your potential customers by thanking them for going through your message, this technique helps you analyze the outcome of your campaign. If you are unsure about the approach you should employ at the onset, run a trial campaign by designing a variety of postcards.

Employ the Services of a Professional Printing and Mailing Company

Postcards, like all other marketing materials, are indicative of an organization's philosophy, values and professionalism. The credibility of an enterprise is largely established through the quality of its branding materials. A glossy and impressive looking postcard can leave a lasting impression. You may reason that a home printing job will come a few bucks cheaper but those few bucks can cost you your reputation of being a firm that isn't very quality-centric. And this can dramatically affect your sales in the long-run.

Apart from a professional printing service, a successful postcard marketing campaign also needs a highly effective and streamlined distribution channel. Employing the services of a professional postcard printing and marketing company relieves you from the burden of printing and distributing your postcards, so you can concentrate on the more crucial business strategies. These companies are a 'one-stop shop' that do everything from printing the postcards to addressing them to mailing them. In addition to being highly efficient, the services are quick and cost-effective. They also offer you the opportunity of customizing your postcards and dressing them up in an attractive glossy or matte look to make your campaign more impactful.

Creating a Postcard that Works

Use a Sharp Headline and Copy

If you want to grab the customer's attention and subsequently compel him to take action in your favor, you've got to create a persuasive headline that tempts his curiosity. The headline should directly speak to the customer and attract not just his attention but also his interest. Question-style headlines work well for postcards. They are dramatic, conversational and subconsciously elicit a response from the customers. Once potential clients find themselves responding to the question posed by you, it isn't difficult to get them to take quick action in relation to that response. The copy should also end with a powerful call to action. Offer them some incentive for making that call and create a sense of urgency to act without delay. For instance, "Visit out store today for the most astonishingly low-priced designer wear before they disappear off the racks".

Incorporate Evocative Visuals

Postcards are highly visual marketing mediums. They work primarily because they are so spectacular to look at. An attractive design not only grabs the potential customer's attention but also ensures that the attractive qualities automatically translate into a sort of unknown, incomprehensible likeability for your brand. Apart from visual appeal, it is important to concentrate on images that are proven to extract specific responses from buyers. The image should be powerful, evocative, identifiable, memorable and should indeed be the equivalent of a thousand words. Design a creative advertising concept, define your approach and then zero in on the images that complement the tone of your campaign. You can design ingenious marketing postcards by using metaphorical visuals which are brilliantly linked to the key idea of your advertising message.