Copyright 2004 Bob Leduc
http://BobLeduc.com

Modern, low-cost business postcards can drive a high volume of traffic to your web site, generate a flood of new sales leads, or promote any other business activity you want. They are easy to use, cost very little and produce results almost immediately.

Brief And Personal Works Best

Keep the message on your postcard brief. Announce a major benefit. Then ask the person reading the postcard to visit your web site or respond in some other way to get more information.

Set up your postcard to look like a personal message instead of a sales promotion. Prospects cannot resist reading a postcard if looks like a brief personal message - even when they quickly recognize it as a business communication. This happens for several reasons.

1. Your message on a postcard arrives already opened and ready to read.

2. It creates the feeling of reading a note from a friend instead of reading an advertisement.

3. Your brief message cannot be overlooked - even by people quickly screening their mail over a wastebasket.

Nearly everybody will actually read your postcard ...intentionally or unintentionally. Therefore, you will get the maximum number of responses.

Simple And Low-Cost

You can print postcards with your own computer for about 1 cent each or have them printed professionally for about 7 or 8 cents each.

One cost-effective method when using your computer is to print four postcards on an 8 1/2 x 11 inch sheet of standard index paper. Then cut each sheet into quarters to produce four 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 inch postcards. 100 sheets will produce 400 postcards for about 1 cent each.

For small quantities, print your postcards individually on the 4 x 6 inch blank index cards available from any office supply store.

Reduced Postage Rate

The current postage for mailing a postcard in the US is just 23 cents. That's almost 40 percent less than the postage for sending a letter - yet the Postal Service processes postcards the same as First Class Mail letters.

To qualify for this special postage rate, your postcard must be at least 3 1/2 inches high by 5 inches long but not over 4 1/4 inches high by 6 inches long. The paper thickness must be similar to an index card. All office supply stores carry paper designated as 67 pound card stock. This is ideal for postcards and it meets the thickness requirement.

Non-Us Advantage: Business postcards used outside of the US do not enjoy a reduced postage rate. But, non-US business owners tell me their postcards are very cost-effective even without a reduced postage rate. Since postcards are rarely used for business purposes outside of the US, they attract a lot of attention and generate a high rate of response.

Hidden From Competitors

Postcard marketing enables you to conceal your marketing efforts from competitors. Nearly all other advertising uses mass media where your competitors hear or see what you are doing - and copy it.

Postcard marketing is personal. Only you and your prospects are aware of your strategy. And only you know how effective it is. When competitors become aware of your postcard marketing program, they will not be able to evaluate your activity. And they will not know how to copy it.

Postcards achieve almost 100 percent readership and generate a high rate of response. Use them to drive traffic to your web site, to generate sales leads, or to promote any other business activity you want. You can create and send postcards within a few days of deciding to use them. And you will enjoy the results they produce in less than a week.

Credit:
Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales. He just released a New Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards ...and launched *BizTips from Bob*, a newsletter to help small businesses grow and prosper. You'll find his low-cost marketing methods at: http://BobLeduc.com or call: 702-658-1707 After 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV

Related Information:

NBA Benefit Provider - PostcardMania

NBA Resource Article - Postcard Marketing Your Small Business

NBA Resource Article - Marketing to Special Interest, Minority, and Affinity Groups

Reprint of this article does not constitute an endorsement by the National Business Association; the article is for informational purposes for our members and viewers of our Web site.