Did you know that postcard marketing is an important part of the strategy that helps the Latimore Group gain $30,000 in revenue?
Depending on which industry you’re operating in, integrating postcards into your marketing strategy can bring out huge results. Postcards can display product information, visuals and, unlike brochures, they can bring about an emotional touch.
Learn how you can integrate visuals into your postcard marketing strategy to make it even more powerful, and how you can create postcards easily using Venngage’s marketing design solutions.
Click to jump ahead:
- What is postcard marketing?
- Does postcard marketing really work?
- Real estate postcard marketing
- How to optimize postcard marketing using visuals
What is postcard marketing?
Postcard marketing is a form of direct mail marketing that is carried out using postcards, which are small cards typically sent through the mail to promote a product, service or business.
The idea behind postcard marketing is to use the postcard itself as an advertisement. This takes the saying “less is more” to heart because postcards are usually simple in their design.
A company will typically only need to include enough information on the product, including contact details, and a reply form as part of the visual.
Here’s an example of a postcard you can customize as part of your direct mail marketing campaign:
Does postcard marketing really work?
Postcard marketing isn’t a new concept. As it’s a part of direct mail marketing, postcard marketing works well when you need to reach an audience that’s typically hard to target with paid ads or when it’s not enough to rely on both organic content (blog posts, webinars, etc.) and paid ads to convert customers.
Plus, there’s a higher chance people will read your postcard than your email. According to statistics from the Data & Marketing Association (DMA), up to 90% of direct mails get opened.
In the meantime, the average open rate of an email is 21.33%, according to Mailchimp.
The DMA also reports that as a direct result of opening mails:
- 92% have been driven to online or digital activity
- 87% have been influenced to make online purchases
- 86% have connected with a business online
- and more.
This is not to say that email marketing doesn’t work (it does!)—but that having a postcard marketing campaign can contribute tremendously to your marketing efforts, depending on the industry you’re operating in and who your target audience is.
The Latimore Case Study shows how effective postcards can be when it comes to direct and omnichannel marketing. While we don’t have an example of the real estate postcards they sent, you can consult this postcard template as an inspiration:
Real estate postcard marketing
As mentioned above, a postcard marketing campaign done right can really drive results for real estate companies.
Besides using real estate postcards to showcase properties, agents can also reach new customers by sending business postcards introducing themselves and their company. Here’s an example of one:
Related: 10 Customizable Real Estate Postcard Templates for 2021
Of course, postcard mailing or direct mail can work for more than just real estate agents.
Direct mail is more popular for B2B marketing, but B2C companies can benefit from this marketing channel too, especially those operating in these sectors:
- Real estate
- Home improvement
- Education
- Council
- Hospitality
- Travel
- Car dealerships
- Retail
How to optimize your postcard marketing campaign with visuals
If you’ve decided to adopt postcard mailing to your marketing strategy, let’s take a look at some tips you can apply to optimize your postcard marketing campaigns and how to use visuals to take it to the next level.
Having clear headlines will likely increase conversion rates
Clear headlines are vital to creating better conversions. The headline should clearly state the offer and the benefits of buying the product or service. It should be well-written, use words that are easy to understand, and include numbers or statistics, if possible. These headlines should also be short—longer than 20 to 30 words is too much for people to read.
If you can come up with a witty headline—great, as it’ll prompt your customers to check out the rest of the postcard. If not, just make sure your headline is clear and concise and doesn’t cause any unnecessary confusion.
Let’s take a look at an example.
While the headline is pretty straightforward as it’s the name of the real estate agency, the “JUST SOLD!” text beneath the property draws just the same amount of attention. There’s a hint of urgency from this line as it encourages customers to check out other properties before they’re sold.
Of course, this postcard is pretty specific and should target a segmented mailing list. Which leads us to the next tip…
Make sure your marketing postcards coordinate with your customer journey
This is quite self-explanatory: if you’re targeting someone in the Awareness stage, make sure your marketing message fits that particular stage. A postcard meant to generate leads should not read the same as one meant to retain customers.
Generally, a postcard marketing campaign can cover multiple mailing lists. This one, for example, serves as an introduction of the company:
The message is really clear: Fresherly is a grocery delivery service that provides fresh, local produce, and you can sign up in 3 simple steps. It relies on the clear headline “Fresh, Local Produce At Your Doorstep” and the nice image of fresh vegetables to capture your attention—not too sales-y or aggressive, just enough for an introduction to leave a good impression.
On the other hand, you can customize this postcard for both Awareness and Retention customers:
For potential customers, this is a great postcard to get their attention and get them to try out your product. Who doesn’t like discounts and promotions? For existing customers, you can customize this postcard so it looks like a special deal for those who have been supporting you for a long time. This will make them feel appreciated and get them coming back.
Use a consistent message
This goes hand in hand with the tip above. As you’ve chosen the target audience for your postcard marketing campaign and known what stage in the customer journey they are currently in, make sure your marketing message follows suit.
Here’s another great example.
The image accompanies the postcard headline really well, as it’s a patient with a beautiful smile and perfect teeth—as evidence of the dentist’s skills.
The back side of the postcard goes into details about how exactly will they provide the service and “create unforgettable smiles” for their patients. The postcard also includes the price tag for new patients—which is consistent with the little announcement “Now Accepting New Patients” on the front side.
You’ll also notice that the company’s brand colors are very prominent. This is easy to do using Venngage’s My Brand Kit. Simply type in your website and let the tool pull your brand colors and logos automatically:
And apply your branding elements to your postcard design in one click:
Make your direct mail postcards visually attractive with relevant imagery
A good postcard is incomplete without captivating, relevant imagery. Here’s a good example.
Right away, you can understand that this company is promoting a service for business offices, courtesy of the nice office environment image at the front of the postcard. Different icons are used to illustrate the services offered, giving the back side a nice visual touch without going overboard.
If you want to replace the image or the icons with new ones, simply double click them and choose the alternative:
Venngage offers 40,000+ icons and illustrations, as well as 3+ million stock photos so you can always have the right imagery for your postcard design.
Here’s another example. The image is not as prominent, but it serves its purpose as it helps provide receivers with an impression of the business and its employees (professional, men-in-suits consultants that will provide you with the actionable advice you need):
Personalization will always hit the spot
Personalization works well for online direct marketing because it can generate an instant connection to the customer. Customers are more likely to click on an advertisement if it is tailored to their interests. That connection, in turn, can translate into a sale. The same thing can be applied to postcard marketing.
The real estate postcard template below targets home renters instead of homeowners, but to personalize it even more, you can include the name of the receiver in the message. Something like “Hey Allie, give us a call and you’ll see how easy it is to own a home in the city!” can do.
Sell your offer’s benefits (like most real estate just-listed postcards)
Real estate companies use postcards to display their most recent successes. For example, they would write, “I’ve sold this property for $300k,” and the statement is solidified by the three-bedroom house that serves as its image.
The benefit of this postcard is the agent’s capability to sell high-ticket properties similar to yours at a high price. Aside from this offer, you can include discounts, promotions and other aspects that can entice buyers to consider your services.
Here’s a great example of how to effectively display your offers.
This Venngage template might seem text-heavy, but it displays text and images so well, it doesn’t feel strenuous to the receiver’s eyes. This postcard allows senders to include their product’s features and testimonials while endorsing their brand at the same time.
Don’t forget your contact details
Never forget your contact details.
It might seem basic, but a huge number of marketing campaigns fail because the readers could not or have difficulty finding the sender’s contact information. Postcards are meant to get your target audience to take the next action, and your contact information isn’t included or your website address isn’t mentioned, most likely the receiver will just ignore the postcard instead of looking for more.
If you want a great sample to display your contact information, the following template is definitely your best choice.
Track what worked and what didn’t in each campaign
It’s always important to report on learnings after sending postcards. Make sure you have a specific goal for your postcard marketing campaign prior to starting it so you can see how it performs compared to your expectation.
In summary: Integrate visuals into your postcard marketing campaign to increase engagement and conversion
Whether you’re a B2B or B2C company, chances are postcard marketing can work for you.
Using a postcard template can save you hours of contemplating the design, especially when you’re not a designer. Easily customize one of our professional, easy-to-edit templates using our drag-and-drop editor. Add your branding and liven up your beautiful postcards with images and illustrations. You can get started for free.