Getting "Gassy" Gets Results

Postcards cornering as golf cars market

So, you have a new advertising campaign and are thinking of marketing it through the use of printed postcards. Great idea! With a postcard mailing you can you rest assured your message is literally getting in the hands of your intended target audience. Your brightly colored postcard will arrive in the mail proudly marketing your company and standing out among the several same-sized envelopes that also arrived in the mail that day. If you have ever wanted to stand out in a crowd, this is the perfect way to do it!

Like a billboard along the highway, your "mini billboard" has a job to do. Without proper elements, your postcard venture may fall short of being as effective as you had intended. Follow these three simple postcard design rules and watch as your campaign succeeds with flying colors.

1. Keep postcard headlines short, simple and snappy.
   Statistically, you have about three seconds to catch your readers interest. Too much text will loose their attention and can ultimately cost you a potential sale. Short phrases like "FREE Kids Meals!", "Rock Bottom Prices!" or, "Enjoy a Gassy Summer!" (like Paul Bach's company that had gas golf cars for sale) are simple yet effective headers that relay your campaign's message, get the reader's attention and entices them to read further.


2. Keep body text to a minimum.
   Following your headline you will need to explain a bit more about your promotion. Include pertinent information such as where and when the event will happen and a few short sentences explaining the promotion further. Again, too much text can loose your reader's attention so keep your text to a minimum. Continuing our example above, Paul's next sentence after his headline read "Gas Golf Cars For Sale! Test drive any of our like-new gas golf cars at Green Heights Golf Course & Country Club before May 10th and get 50% off your Country Club Membership!"


3. Use colorful imagery.
   It is a proven fact that pictures grab attention faster than rows of plain text. Therefore, it is important to consider incorporating photos, illustrations or clipart into your marketing venture to make sure your postcard is as eye-catching as possible. Your selection should be relative to your promotion and one that will stand out in a pile of mail. Paul simply used a colorful photo of the country club since it is a well known business in the chosen mailing area. A photo of such a prestigious venue printed beside the word "Gassy" obviously attracted the attention he was looking for!

If you are excited about your promotion (as you should be!) and anxious to get started but are lacking professional design skills to pull your vision together, there are solutions right at your finger tips. There are many online websites that offer free postcard templates that come pre-designed for you. These free, downloadable and easy-to-use templates are a great solution to help small businesses and professionals alike to design their campaigns and send them to print immediately through an online printer. With the affordability of online printing, postcard campaigns are not only cost effective but they can become a major player in the building of your company's brand.