The success of your postcards depends a lot on the layout, design and ad copy. Be creative, but remember the simple design basics, which will help get your message across to the customer.

1. There is only a limited amount of space available on a postcard, use it wisely. You need to fill the space with information that will only address the main concerns that recipients have. A rule to remember, white space is better than a bunch of words that clutter your message.

2. Headlines need to be powerful, well-positioned and thought-out. They’ll make or break the success of your postcard. If you grab them with a clever headline, they’ll continue reading. Your headline has one objective: drive the reader into the rest of the copy.

3. The subheads are then written and designed to intrigue and arouse the reader further. The subhead is not quite as large as the headline type, and not quite as small as the body copy type. It is the line that provides a smooth transition between the two areas. This line also has the same objective as the headline: get them to read further.

4. Use graphics only if they have a purpose and contribute to the communication of your message.

5. Ad Copy. It’s not as much what you have to offer, but HOW you offer it that matters. That’s the job of your ad copy. Since space is limited, you need to be brief, specific, direct and clear in your message. The first line or two of the body copy must be razor-sharp – written and designed to keep the reader reading. After they read the first few lines of the body copy, they are hooked. They have made the commitment to read the rest. Now, tell the reader exactly what to do. Be specific: to phone you, to order something, to go to your store, to get more information, or to get them to visit your website.

6. When you are doing a series of postcards, use a consistent design so your cards are easily and quickly recognizable.

7. At the bottom of the postcard your logo may be the same size, but certainly no larger than your telephone number. You want that number to stand out!

8. Always print “Save this card!” somewhere near the top, and people will. It’s funny – but if you don’t print this line, they won’t.

9. Give your customer a number of ways to contact you: by phone, email, snail mail, or your website.

10. You can expand the limited amount of space on postcards by using certain fonts and typefaces. Just be sure that they are readable to everyone.

11. Once you exceed the 4 1/4 by 6 inch maximum for a standard-sized card, you may as well take advantage of the 6 1/8 by 11 1/2 inch maximum. You’ll pay extra to mail it, but this super-sized format allows more dramatic graphics and a more detailed message.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 30th, 2007 at 9:18 am and is filed under Follow-up, Frequency, Image, Marketing, Offline Marketing, Postcards. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.