Did you know that you are exposed to about 3,000 advertising messages a day?

1. Always use the half second rule. Oversized, high gloss, full color postcards stand out in the mail and get the greatest rate of response. Make sure that the front is compelling enough for consumers to read the back and the back is compelling enough to call consumers to an action that will ultimately lead to a sale.
2. Clever or compelling? Clever cards get attention but won’t necessarily lead to sales. Compelling offers may not get noticed without an eyecatching design. Finding the balance between the two is the key to successful direct mail promotions.
3. 80% of annual sales come from your existing customers. With sophisticated, affordable computer software, there is no excuse for not having an updated database. Cultivating a customer mailing list is one of the most valuable assets available to you to grow your business. Letters are extremely effective for private sales. You will dramatically increase the response rate if the letters are hand addressed or use a stylized font. Choosing a live stamp instead of an indicia (you can still mail at the bulk rate) and printing envelopes without your company logo also increases the chance that the envelope will be opened. The point here is to make the recipient curious enough about the sender to open the envelope to see who it’s from.
4. Use the postcard to drive prospects to your website. This gives postcards two additional advantages. First, visiting your website will give them the chance to see much more of the different items you have on sale. Second, it enables you to capture their email address. One way to do this is to offer to printable email coupons for a free gift or an additional discount. Building an email database is essential for future sales.
5. Target. Test. Track. Repeat. It doesn’t matter how effective the direct mail piece is if you send it to the wrong list. The good news is that it has never been easier to determine the right demographic for your business. Make sure the mailer requires the customer to bring in the postcard or letter to be eligible for the sale. Once you track the results, you can refine either the offer or the mailing list. Then commit to at least three mailings to realize the full potential of direct mail.