Postcard Marketing Straight Talk: How to Tell If Your Design Will Crash and Burn [FAQ Video]

I started PostcardMania more than 16 years ago. Since then, we’ve delivered postcard marketing campaigns and other marketing services to 68,469 clients (and counting).

In that time, I’ve seen my fair share of postcard designs succeed and I've also seen some that FAILED.

To help you make sure your campaign falls into the first category, I’ve identified 10 specific design elements that make a postcard effective.

The more 10 elements you include in your design, the better position you are in to succeed.

Without further ado, here they are…

1. A clear, bold headline.
2. A graphic that supports the message.
3. Color that pops.
4. Subheads that lead into text.
5. Benefits, benefits, benefits.
6. The offer.
7. Your company name and logo.
8. Call to action.
9. Contact information.
10. Return address.

For a more in-depth explanation of these ten elements, you have two choices:

1. Read this article on effective postcard design

or

2. Simply watch this video and let me explain it to you

(If you really want to hit your next design out of the park, do both!)

VIDEO TRANSCRIPTION:
It’s good if there are a number of ingredients in it, there are just so many different things.

Let us start with is the postcard is written with the viewpoint of the person who is receiving it, so that it is the first thing you have to look at? Is the headline going to resonate with my target audience? If you are in an industry that has a lot of nomenclature terminology, you don’t want to use that terminology in the postcard, you want to talk to the person receiving it.

The second thing is, is there a headline that immediately grabs the recipient’s attention and makes them want to read on and find out more? Does the graphic image align with that headline? Does it make sense, and instantly you know what this person is selling? If you cannot tell instantly from looking at the card what the person is selling, what product or service, then the design is no good. When you turn it over, is there a really good offer? There could be an offer on the front as well. There has to be a great offer. Something of super-high perceived value, that doesn’t cost very much money at all. It doesn’t cost you much money, but the person thinks they are getting something really, really great for something very little to spend, or something free. We all expect free things. A great, great, great offer on the back with a deadline, so they take action right
away.

Is there bullet pointed items that are benefits of the product or service, rather than long paragraphs of copy that nobody will read anyway? Those are just some of the things. You can look on the website, I am sure I have this data published on the site, the entire checklist of the things that you need to have a great design.

Questions? Comments? Stories about how much you learned and how it’s already given you a MILLION ideas?

Let me know in the comments below! Or shoot me an email directly at [email protected]

And of course, you can call one of my 25 professional marketing consultants anytime at 800-628-1804 to discuss a design idea, get a second opinion, you name it. Our advice is FREE to you :)

Best,
Joy