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Direct Mail Marketing With Business Postcards

Written By: Elisha Yvonne Velasco | Published on January 12, 2025

Every day, countless and various mail and correspondence get sent to mailboxes and these include business postcards. However, not all of them get a second glance before getting thrown away. Let’s face it — mail can be daunting for customers at times, but what if you can make your business postcard stand out? With the right design and strategy, postcards can be effective at resonating with your audience.

In this article, we explain the benefits of using business postcards, the different ways you can use them, and share tips on how to create postcards that meet your business needs.

But First — What is Direct Mail Marketing?

Direct mail marketing is a simple yet effective way of sending promotional materials to your audience’s mailbox. They usually take the form of letters, brochures, catalogs, and business postcards — a popular choice among marketers due to their tactile feel, simplicity, and effectiveness. Whether you’re announcing promotions and discounts, sending event invitations, greetings, or thank you cards, these materials are perfect for engaging with your target audience.


4 Benefits of Using Business Postcards for Direct Mail Marketing

Postcards may seem old-fashioned to some, but they have benefits that are helpful for marketers. Here are some of them:

  1. Budget-friendly. Business postcards do not cost much to print and distribute. They're affordable and may also qualify for bulk discounts if you order them in large quantities.

  2. Visual appeal. With postcards, it’s easy to capture the attention of your audience. They don’t need an envelope, and you can use bold designs or compelling messages to make readers interested immediately.

  3. Easy to personalize. Unlike digital ads, you can customize postcards by including your recipient’s name, giving them a heartfelt greeting, or adding special offers that match their interests. This approach makes postcards feel more thoughtful and personal and shows how much you value your audience.

  4. Clear results. You can easily see how well your marketing efforts are performing with business postcards. Just add QR codes, discount codes, or custom links to track engagement. This also lets marketers know what’s working and what’s not, so they can adjust their strategy.


4 Types of Postcard Campaigns You Can Try

While postcards are often used to send personal or seasonal greetings, there are other ways to use them for your marketing campaign. Below are other types of postcard campaigns that you can try for your business:

  1. Promotions and discounts – Increase your sales by adding discounts, special offers or exclusive deals to your customers. You can also use striking designs and time-sensitive calls-to-action to keep your recipients engaged.

  2. Invitations – Pique your customers’ curiosity for events, grand openings, webinars, or product launches by adding QR codes or sneak peeks in your postcards. This way, you can keep your audience informed while attracting interest.

  3. Thank you and milestone cards – Show recipients how much you value them by sending thank you notes or celebrating their personal milestones. These small gestures can foster customer loyalty and leave a lasting impression.

  4. Real estate updates – Share market updates with your recipients and let them know which properties have been sold or listed with postcards. This gives your audience the idea that you’re a trusted expert in your field.


11 Tips on How to Create Effective Business Postcards

A postcard is only as effective when your message reaches the right people and resonates with them. Follow these tips to ensure you create effective postcards:

  1. Match your message with your market. Who are you sending your messages to? Are you sending them to organizations, individual customers, or potential business partners? Messages that hit home are much more likely to generate interest and sales if they’re tailored to your target audience.

  2. Use a conversational tone. Write your business postcards using a friendly, conversational tone. This makes your message feel more personal, and you’ll come across as honest and sincere to your readers.

  3. Get to the point. Grab the reader's attention by using words that get your message out as succinctly as possible. Add some graphics, highlight keywords, and fun ideas to your business postcards, and remember to include your contact details such as business address, website, social media handles, or email address.

  4. List the benefits first. Instead of listing all the features your product or service offers on your business postcards, start by listing the benefits your company provides. Focus on what makes your product special, how it can save them time and money and make their lives easier, and people will be more likely to read and be compelled to act. In short, tell them how you can solve a problem they might have.

  5. Generate interest. Business postcards don’t always have to be about sales; you could use them to focus more on generating leads, increase engagement, or call your customer service center. Let your audience think about your company and services now. There will be plenty of time to make the sale later.

  6. Include a discount and expiration date. People are more likely to read and hold onto business postcards that offer them some kind of discount. Limited time offers also elicit more responses, so add an end date to your promotion. You can also include any guarantees that your company offers. People may hesitate to try companies they hear about in the mail, but if they are offered affordable prices, fast turnarounds, and a money back guarantee, you can nudge them to take a chance in you.

  7. Keep it simple. It is important to make your business postcards easy to read with reasonable sized fonts and simple, clear language. If your target market is a more specialized group then technical terms and jargon may be acceptable (don’t overdo it, though), but simplifying your writing is always a good idea. Be careful about how much text you put on a piece and be mindful of white space, as this is necessary in giving readers some breathing room while reading your postcard. Bulleted lists and short paragraphs work best when dealing with the space limitations presented by business postcards.

  8. Use a bold headline. The first thing your recipients will see when they read your postcard is the headline. To keep them interested, make sure to write a headline that is either bold, fun, straightforward, or eye-catching.

  9. Add a clear call-to-action. Provide a strong call-to-action to encourage readers to take immediate action when they see your postcard. Use words like, “Call now,” “Visit our store,” or “Shop now” to make your audience aware of what you want them to do next.

  10. Consider using a mailing list. A mailing list can group your target audience based on demographics, interests, or purchase history, and will reach the right people and generate a higher response rate. Create a mailing list of your own or purchase one.

  11. Reinforce postcards with digital marketing. Combine traditional with modern and incorporate QR codes or your social media accounts in your postcards. This will not only drive more traffic to your website but also keep track of who’s interested in your message.


Conclusion

Using business postcards for direct mail marketing is a simple yet powerful way to connect with your audience. They’re personal, memorable, and incredibly effective when done right. Whether you’re announcing a sale, thanking customers, or inviting them to an event, postcards make sure your message gets noticed. Creative designs, solid postcard printing and other design enhancements help make your postcards stand out.

Got a ready-made design that you want to upload? Check out 48HourPrint.com’s postcard guideline templates first to avoid any prepress issues and printing and delivery delays.


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