Postcards: Producing Leads
by Michael Bowman
The next time you want to drive a surge of traffic to your website or generate a flood of new sales leads - send postcards.
It is important to avoid some common mistakes businesspeople make in their implementation of their postcard marketing campaigns.
Avoiding these mistakes can mean the difference between success and failure.
1) NOT TARGETING THE BEST PROSPECTS:
Having the best possible mailing list of prospects is one of the most important factors of a successful postcard marketing campaign. In-house lists are best, especially if those listed also have a proven history of acting on offers that interest them.
If you don't have an in-house list, you can develop your own or get a rented one. For a fee, you can rent subscriber lists of specialized publications and newsletters read by prospects in your targeted market.
2) USING POSTCARDS AS A SALES PITCH:
Don't try to close sales directly from your postcard. There's not enough space to provide all the information needed to do so. Use the postcard to grab the reader's attention and then lead them to the next step that can close a sale (visiting your sales webpage, coming to a grand opening, or using a coupon).
3) NOT ENOUGH ATTENTION TO THE HEADLINE, IMAGE OR MESSAGE:
A shortattention-getting and compelling headline will bring about 20 times the response to a postcard than one with a bad headline or none at all. Combine the headline with the image side and this will then guide the reader to the message side. The image should be easily comprehended, attractive and brightly colored. And be sure that the message clearly expresses what you are promoting.
4) NOT KEEPING THE MESSAGE SIMPLE:
Your postcard will probably get a one to two second initial glance, so don't weigh down your chances of success with a laundry list of everything you offer. Use short complete sentences with well-chosen plain language and bullet points that will get the attention of the reader. Promote no more than one key thing per card. Convey just what is important and what the reader should do next.
5) FAILURE TO PROVIDE CONTACT INFORMATION:
It sounds like common sense to provide a telephone, cell and fax number, as well as an e-mail and return address, but too many times contact information is forgotten on business postcards. Be sure to include your company name as well.
Michael Bowman is a professional sales trainer who has guided and implemented successful lead generation strategies for companies of all sizes: software, professional service firms and financial services.
|
