Dale,

Fully agree with your assessment.

I get one of these plain white cards quarterly from the veterinarian with info re: dogs' health and a call to action (get shots, etc.). It is the only one I read. All the others get tossed in the trash because they look like junk mail (slick, glossy, neon colors, etc.)

Want to do a lead generation mailing to me that I'll read? Send it in a business envelope with a handwritten address or courier font type and a stamp on it. Bulk mail postage gets tossed faster than a post card.

My two cents.

YEMV

-Mike

Huge mistake Dale? I don't know about that.

I will not use a jumbo card and no uv. I got a card from verizon (jumbo high color) and I do not want to look like that.

I am actually going to test a very plain against a not so plain (nothing crazy), both on regular size 12pt stock. On postcards I nevernotice the type of postage, so I will go with bulk. I will test that on the next mailing.

For my market, cheaper may be better (for this)...unless the offer sucks

Michael, I couldn't agree more.

Over the years, I've done many postcard campaigns for clients, and without fail, regular stamps always outpull bulk-rate or postage insignia's.

I don't think that's a mere coincidence.

Dale King

On a postcard, why does it pull better with a stamp? I know on letters it is far superior, but with a postcard it is all right there, no opening of envelopes, just an offer.

I don't disagree, but there must be a reason.

Hey Paul,

Unless you run across any other window cleaners here who did a similar mailing with a similar offer to a similar list, I think the only way to know what works best in your particular situation is to do a test and see what works best yourself.

Personally, I pay more attention to larger items whether they're postcards or letters in oversize envelopes because they stand out far more than a typical letter or post card.

Steve

It is amazing how everyone has a different opinion on this.

I will need to test to be sure.

Hey, you didn't think we could all actually AGREE on something, did you?

Let us know how you make out with the testing, and what kind of offer you plan to make to these folks.

My advice on postcards...

They work if the mail is received by your reader. example: to consumers or small businesses with one or two people, where owner is taking the mail out of the mail box.

Stamp or no stamp, doesn't matter. It's a postcard - who are you sneaking up on?

1st class or bulk? I always mail 1st. I've sent mailings where it's taken 17 days, that's 17 days, not counting Sundays and a holiday, for me to get a bulk postcard sent back to me. I even have trouble with 1st class delays.

Jumbo or Standard? Depends. TEST both. Jumbo may stick out. Depends on what kind of mail your prospect gets when they get your postcard. Can you fit your copy on a standard or do you need jumbo.

Postcards - good for a follow-up, mix into a multi-step campaign.

Postcards - I use them for lead generation all the time. I start with standard size, then test jumbo. Then business envelope.

What color paper? Test - some say that an off-green color works best, I haven't noticed a difference. White blends in with too much. Try off-green, gold, light orange.

UV no UV - hasn't made a difference for me. I also get post cards from a Dan Kennedy private client all the time, no UV, no color, he tries a different color paper each month, jumbo.

Final word of advice...TEST IT!

Even if someone throws it out, they still have to look at it to know they want to throw it out. So with a postcard, you always get one micro-second to get'em.

That's unless their secretary/assistant, mail room, spouse, office manager, gets their hands on it first and decides your target reader doesn't need what you're offering.

Good Luck
MikeC

Disclaimer: I'm not your target market, thus I can't say for certain what will work. I'm also not repsonsible for any losses you may inccur from any action you take on my postings and/or ramblings.

I'll tell you what Mike... that was some damn good advice!

thanks!

That was tremendous advice...

But Motley-- let me ask you... You mentioned in an earlier post about listening to old Dan Kennedy recordings, is this postcard part of a multi-mailing sequence?

But has DK ever suggested using a post-card as a stand-alone piece to a prospect list that you don't have regular dialog with?

As a matter of fact I've heard him often say that if you are just doing a "one-shot" mailing-- then don't do it! (which I do agree with by the way).

Honestly I think you're like a lot of folks that try to get out of the "Lead generating process" as cheaply as possible-- and I like, DK, think that's absolutely wrong.

So what is the life-time value of one of your customers?

I mean that would determine how much you can afford to spend to acquire a new customer.

I learned the lesson that Dan has preached for years now and that's when you're willing to outspend your competition to acquire customers (provided the amount falls within the life-time value of that customer) then you're going to be presiding over a business that is growing very rapidly!

Most people/businesses want to go "cheap/cheap/cheap" when it comes to lead generation- without regard to the life-time value the one customer represents.

To bring this back to topic, I think that's where some folks could have different opinions on this whole postcard thing. If it was the 3rd or 4th piece as part of a sequence of mailings (again like Dan Kennedy recommends) I would go with a simple postcard.

If you're expecting one single postcard to create an "avalanche" of new customers (the chances I believe are pretty slim) then I would go with as big a postcard as I could mail-- and probably make it a little fancier.

But again, I would be against a "one-shot" mailing.