As you know, I love direct mail. It has effective results and brings in clients. Harvest Print does many different types of mailings. One of my absolute favorite ways is by watching our clients send out postcards.
As a business owner, we understand the challenge of coming up with new and creative ways to market your business. If a company has a simple and direct message to communicate, a postcard can raise awareness, increase sales and actual foot traffic to your business.
Standard Postcard Size
We get asked all the time – What’s the standard postcard size? Do I have to create my postcard so small?
This is an easy answer and yet two fold.
Postcards can be designed and printed at any size. Harvest Print can work with any variation of design. However, if you are looking for a standard postcard size that will use a postcard stamp, they are sized as follows: 3.5×5, 4.25×6 or 4.25×5.5. The current 2020 cost for a postcard stamp is $0.35 per stamp.
If you are looking for a marketing mail postcard (direct mail) and sending 200 postcards or more, your postage will be the same no matter what size postcard gets sent out. Moreover, the postcard can be custom size. The usual custom postcard sizes we tend to see in our print shop are as follows: 4×6, 5×7, 8×10, 5.5×8.5, 6×9, 6×11.
Reasons to Send Your Customers Postcards
- Postcards are cheap! Postcards are less expensive than a letter, an envelope and the cost of labor to fold and insert into an envelope. If your message is direct, clear and simple, it’s easy to fit your message on a postcard.
- Postcards are an easy read. People read and process facts very quickly. A postcard can be seen as an ad BUT IT’S AN ADVERTISEMENT THAT GETS READ! With a postcard – it’s a message they saw, processed and will stick with a client forever.
- Reminders – Send a postcard to remind your customer of things going on within your business:
For example – Shop the Sale, Order Now, RSVP, Deadline Extention, Renew Now, etc.
- Pre/Post Show Mailing – Send a postcard inviting a client to attend or shop a show or visit your business at a tradeshow. Then, after the fact, send them a quick postcard thanking them for attending and participating in the show or event. This goes a long way!
- Happy Birthday– Did you know that in “this day and age” customers expect us to know them on a first name basis? For example, businesses that sells insurance, sells real estate or anything financial are personal to each individual. Who I choose to shop car insurance through, buy a house with or invest with in life insurance – I kind of expect them to know my name.
This is a competitive market where customers are armed with too many choices of shopping online. Adding a personal touch of a birthday card will allow you, as the business owner, to cut through the noise of digital tools and deliver a relevant, innovative, personal message.
- Invitation – Getting Married and want to send a wedding save the date postcard? Launching a new website or having a birthday party or corporate event? Sending a postcard invite has high-impact and it’s an easy read that will allow the customer to retain and refer to for a later date.
- Happy Anniversary – Have a customer that bought something a year ago? Acknowledge your customer’s loyalty! This will remind your client how happy they are with your product and keep them coming back for more. (Tip: you can also include an upgrade or a cross sale on this card!)
- Change of plans or Opps! We made a mistake – A postcard can inform a client of a change of address, time, date or place. Changes happen all the time and a postcard is a simple, inexpensive way to spread the word.
Every once in a while we goof. Yikes! A postcard is an excellent way to provide the client with correct information.
- Referrals – Create a double postcard to generate referrals back to your business! What is a double postcard? It is two postcards that are perforated together. Your client can tear one postcard off, compose and send back to you! Referrals are IMPERATIVE for a business as people want to shop or buy from a trusted source.
- Thank you – Send a postcard to thank your client for their purchase or order or for stopping by! Remember that 20% of your company’s clients are responsible for 80% of your future sales.
Overall, it’s important to continually reaching your customers. Harvest Print & Marketing wants to help you know your clients better. Continually building a relationship with your clients allows a positive sale experience. Furthermore, a positive experience can create a positive word of mouth recommendation.
Need help designing it? Harvest Print can help! We can act as your one stop shop to design, print & mail. So let’s get started!
