1. Postcard Marketing Tip #1: Gather an effective, targeted list
2. Postcard Marketing Tip #2: Start keeping an inventory of what works and what doesn’t
3. Postcard Marketing Tip #3: Memorize the language of junk mail, and forget about it
4. Postcard Marketing Tip #4:  Sync email campaigns with direct mail
5. Postcard Marketing Tip #5: Write a compelling call to action and iterate
6. Postcard Marketing Tip #6: Bring your audience back online
7. Postcard Marketing Tip #7: Mind the details

A solid direct mail marketing campaign can quickly offset ad spend and skyrocket sales. This is why good ol’ fashioned “snail mail” still hails as the top channel for direct marketing. However, the truth is direct mail marketing isn’t cheap—proper planning is crucial in order to secure a large return on your investment.

Inkit modernized postcard marketing campaigns by speeding up production and allowing for increased targeting, personalization and real-time event triggers, but the key to a strong postcard campaign still lies in your approach. Here are 7 tips you should consider to help your direct mail efforts succeed.

Postcard Marketing Tip #1. Gather an effective, targeted list.

In order to reach specific demographics, you should gather an effective, targeted list of receivers. Many small businesses use direct mail or postcard marketing only as an acquisition play, purchasing address lists for large scale area mailers. While you can definitely use purchased mailing lists with Inkit and find success with postcard marketing, this isn’t the only way to use the channel anymore. Before you spend a lot of time and money casting a wide net, we suggest you look at your existing audiences as a way to build highly targeted direct mail lists.

Still, the best practice is to create and maintain your own mailing list. Every time someone buys a product or service from you, make sure to collect their information. The more details you have, the better chances you have to create a proper targeted mailing list. Later on, when working with your database or CRM, you will be able to filter your data fields and address lists according to any criteria possible.

If you choose Inkit for direct mail postcards, you can easily upload your contact lists from different CRM systems, such as Drip, HubSpot, Sailthru, or Iterable. This will help you to make your direct mail and postcard marketing campaigns more targeted.

Postcard Marketing Tip #2. Start keeping an inventory of what works and what doesn’t.

Some of today’s most innovative advertising is delivered right to your doorstep. But your mail carrier is also toting an awful lot of poorly targeted and cluttered pieces of direct mail marketing. This means you have an abundance of guidance as far as what to do, and what not to do, right inside your mailbox.

So the next time you check your mail, take a moment to note what kind of postcard catches your eye and what makes you immediately disregard a piece of mail. Consider everything from color scheme to content, and from call to action to marketing postcard size.

What messages and images stand out to you? What gives a marketing postcard staying power? Is there any mail you are going to stick on the fridge or show someone else? Paying attention to your own direct mail will help you develop a knack for what works in this medium.

With Inkit’s template builder, you can easily launch postcard marketing campaigns within a couple of minutes. You can advertise your product or service with simple postcards created by yourself. Inkit’s template builder is an easy drag and drop system that enables you to choose any image and layout you want. You can select font and colors to customize your postcard’s background and style. With a few clicks, you will create your perfect, personalized postcard. The last thing to do is a simple click to launch printing and shipping to your target audience.

Postcard Marketing Tip #3. Memorize the language of junk mail, and forget about it.

When you complete your direct mail inventory, you may notice that much of what gets tossed immediately seems as if it could have been written by the same copywriter. Junk mail has a style all its own, often including:

• Bold with italics
• Cheesy, overused taglines such as “FREE MONEY!”
• Multiple exclamation points (!!!)
• Redundant imagery/text
• Cluttered bulleted lists and too much text
• Corny stock photos
• Clip-art-style illustrations

Much direct mail just hasn’t kept up with the times, but you can easily create a fresh and effective postcard that stands out in the mail pile. (Check out these 4 rules for writing and designing effective, modern postcards.)

Postcard Marketing Tip #4.  Sync email campaigns with direct mail.

Many companies use multi-channel integrated marketing strategies and include direct mail as one of their top marketing channels. Unfortunately, some marketers still use only one or two channels, disregarding customers’ demands for consistent cross-channel and cross-platform brand experience, personalization with a human touch, and offline connection. But if you try to combine the online data you possess about your clients and postcard marketing, you will surely satisfy these demands and reach more people.  

At Inkit, we’ve found many of our most successful users sync direct mail with email, triggering marketing postcards right from their CRMs. One cost effective strategy is to trigger a postcard when an email doesn’t get a response. This way you can target consumers first through the cheaper channel (email), and only invest in the more effective channel (direct mail) when necessary.

Postcard Marketing Tip #5. Write a compelling call to action and iterate.

If you add direct mail triggers to your email workflows, you might find yourself re-working email promotions for a direct mail format. Many Inkit users find a lot of success this way, starting with a proven offer and saving time on the creative side. While this is a great strategy, be aware that what works in email doesn’t always work in direct mail marketing.

Your marketing postcards should contain a call to action that is short, direct and measurable—and not much else. Avoid including long lists of benefits and overloading the customer with information. Inkit’s most successful users stick to one CTA per mailer. This will also make it easy for you to track redemption and iterate on the offer and creative based on performance.

Postcard Marketing Tip #6. Bring your audience back online.

If you’re using Inkit, we hope you’re taking advantage of being able to plug direct mail into your larger digital marketing campaigns. Inkit integrates with a number of CRMs so marketers can send digitally-charged direct mail and feed the data right back into their marketing platforms.

Because Inkit’s software allows you to merge your offline and online marketing strategies, we encourage crossover lead nurturing. Always include social media and website information on your postcards. And consider incorporating QR codes and free online value-adds to drive traffic back online when appropriate. If you own a store, insert QR coupon codes on your direct mail postcards in order to attract more customers online.

Postcard Marketing Tip #7. Mind the details.

Print has one significant downside—once it’s published and mailed, there is no way to revise it. One of the most common and costly mistakes marketers can make with direct mail is failing to proofread. A single typo can cause consumers to cast doubt on your company. Consider mailing a postcard to yourself to proof before setting it to mail based on real-time events in your CRM.

When you review your marketing postcard, in addition to proofreading copy, check that images are clear (not pixelated), white space is well utilized, visual contrast is pleasing and follow-up information is correct (such as links, fine postcard design print regarding offers and contact information).

Are you ready to use these tips to send modern, effective direct mail and increase your customer response rate?

With Inkit you can make your direct mail marketing campaigns easier and more enjoyable. Our postcard template builder gives you the possibility to create your own postcards and prepare any piece of direct mail that you need for your marketing campaign. We’ve automated all the routine and chores to make sure your creativity blossoms and your ideas get realized within a couple of minutes.

Our CRM integration allows you to connect your existing customer data with our direct mail automation software. Consequently, you don’t need to spend money on mailing lists anymore.

Let’s launch a winning direct mail campaign.