by David
Phillips
Why are
more retail jewelers turning to full-color postcards as a
key form of promotion? The biggest reason is the simplest:
You don’t have to open a postcard. It won’t get lumped in
with all the direct mail envelopes that people toss without
opening.
If the postcard shows a very glossy, well-photographed
picture of attractive jewelry, the recipient will very
likely look at the picture and turn it over to see who sent
it. She might well put it aside and think, “Next time I’m
near the store, I’ll go in and have a look.” The postcard
often sits out as an easy reminder of your jewelry store.
Cutting Costs on Mailings When the economy is a bit shaky,
you should increase promotion to keep your name in the minds
of customers, but you also have to keep down your costs. To
get maximum return for your marketing dollar, you can mail
postcards up to 4 1/4 by 6 inches for between 17.5¢ and
19.5¢ each first class (the cheapest letter rate is 19¢ -
24¢).
If you find the
right company, you’ll likely be able to have 5,000 postcards
printed for less than $400.
Finding the Right Company Most businesses don’t have
in-house marketing departments, so find a postcard company
to help you. A postcard company can handle your mailing and
save you money. It makes most of its profits from printing,
not from consulting, selling, mailing lists and mailing, so
it can often find you better deals on such services.
\The
company should: • Specialize in postcards. It shouldn’t just
do postcards among other printing jobs. You’ll pay less
because the company gang-prints cards. In other words, the
company will print many different postcards in one large
press run.
• Have some marketing knowledge and experience.
The company
should be able to advise you on mailing lists, design and
quantities.
• Offer UV coating (laminated), full-color and 4 1/4-by-6
in. postcards. This ensures you get the highest-quality look
and the biggest post card you can for the lowest mailing
rate. The UV coating is essential for a very high gloss
finish to make your product look good.
• Help with photography.
Getting a
good picture is vital to the success of your postcard. You
might pay $150 to $1200+ for photography and, generally, you
get what you pay for. However, some photographers do a good
job without charging the earth. Your postcard company should
have contacts with photographers. Once you find a company
(it doesn’t have to be local – many do business with stores
all over the U.S.), ask for advice on creating the postcard.
Many companies will help with everything from determining
whether you should mail to your existing customers, mailing
lists of potential customers or both. The company also will
send you proofs.
Make sure any
corrections you request are made so you’re happy with the
final product.
About The Author: David Phillips has set up several
successful small businesses in the marketing and
communications fields. He swears by direct mail marketing
techniques which is why he writes for PostcardMania. Joy
Gendusa founded PostcardMania in 1998; by 2004 the company
did $9 million in sales and employed over 60 people. Visit
http://www.postcardmania.com
