Postcards Are Still One Of The Most Cost-Effective Methods Of Outreach

There are so many different ways of reaching out to customers these days that it’s hard to even settle on which methods to use.  Plus, the rush of technology means there’s always potential to deploy the latest-and-greatest gimmicks to grab people’s attention.

However, one of the oldest  forms of outreach remains one of your best possible choices.  The humble postcard is extremely effective and brings higher responses than many electronic options.  Even better, digital techniques like QR Codes can tie your postcards directly into your larger campaigns.

If you’ve forgotten about direct-mailing postcards, here are a few tips for making them part of your local outreach!

Printing And Mailing Postcards is Still Great Marketing!

1 – QR Codes Are Your Friend

QR Codes are invaluable to all print advertising these days, but especially postcards.  It turns a simple card into an interactive experience, and there is a wide variety of options in embedded QR Codes.  For example, you could:

• Immediately set up an appointment with a scan.
• Add your contact info to their address book.
• Include free media downloads, like music or informative videos.
• Directly link to an item’s sales page, or even to a PayPal checkout screen.
• Allow commenting/reposting via most social media.

Plus, you can track each QR code’s response to get great feedback on which promotions are working.

2 – Always Include A Call To Action

Postcards are intended to be read rapidly and responded to rapidly.  A recipient is likely to decide within a matter of seconds whether a particular postcard is relevant to them.

Including a call-to-action, especially one with a digital element attached, is a great way to increase this relevance.

3 – Encourage Sharing

Here’s one many overlook:  If your postcard is redirecting the recipient to digital materials, they don’t need to hold onto the card afterwards.  If you include something like a coupon promotion, encourage people to pass the card around to their friends.

Real-life social sharing is still a thing, and it can get even more mileage out of a single card.

4 – Get Personal(ized) 

With modern digital printing shops, there’s no need to bulk-mail the exact same card to thousands of people.  At minimal extra expense, you can create and mail out several designs, based on chosen socio-economic or geographic data.  Even correctly identifying the neighborhood of a recipient makes it more relevant to them.

So, don’t forget the postcard.  They still work!