Your website is awesome. Your SEO and PPC are optimized; you’re just waiting for the orders to roll in.

You’ve built a strong opt-in email list, and created profiles on all the right social media channels. But your landing pages, though productive, are not delivering the conversions that you need to live in the manner in which you’d like to become accustomed. It may be time to bring direct mail back out of the marketing toolbox.

Inbound vs. Outbound Marketing
SEO, PPC, social media and email marketing (when done correctly) are reactive mediums – Commonly referred to as inbound marketing, whereas the Lead Finds You.

Direct mail is a proactive medium, sent out to a targeted audience. Also known as outbound marketing, whereas You Find the Leads. These two mediums can be effectively integrated. While the strategies may seem different, their objective is the same- to drive prospects into the sales funnel.

The Postcard is the easiest and most cost-efficient offline vehicle to get your message seen. The direct mail postcard is ideal for bridging the gap between inbound and outbound marketing. There’s no envelope to open, and, with the right design, the initial 0.37 seconds the recipient scans it should be enough to gain their interest, and hopefully get them to act. If they’re not able to visit your site right away, they can hold onto the postcard until the time is right. And, even if they’re not interested, they may still share it with a friend, a relative, a neighbor…

The problem is clutter – folks being bombarded with thousands of messages every day. How to make your message stand out?

Old School Marketing Breaks the Clutter
People don’t read anymore – they scan. They make decisions about what they see in a fraction of a second. A website’s homepage or landing page is quite similar to receiving a postcard in the mail – viewers spend one second to decide if they’re in the right place, or should hit the back button.

Perhaps the best thing about direct mail is that there are lists of every kind imaginable. People who drive 2004 Volvos, people who smoke cigars, people who donate to museums…if you can define it, there is almost certainly a list for you! Selecting the right list is the most important part of your mailing. A good List Broker can help you immeasurably. Merging a great list with an attractive design and a compelling offer can be highly productive.

Elements of a successful postcard are very similar to elements of a successful eblast.
Your postcard should not be subtle. You’re spending good money to create and mail it, and you want:

1. HEADLINE-
A BIG, appealing headline with a supporting graphic. Don’t make anyone guess what you are selling!

2. COLOR-
You want your postcard to stand out from the stack of mail in your recipient’s hand.

3. HIGHLIGHTED TEXT-
Make your key points BIGGER, bolder, more colorful – to show the viewer where to look.

4. TALK BENEFITS-
Don’t Talk Features – Talk Benefits. The recipient is wondering, “What’s in it for me?”

5. WHAT’S THE OFFER-
What are you selling, and what’s the incentive? A discount? Free shipping? A whitepaper? Don’t hide it!

6. CALL TO ACTION–
Click Here Now. Enter this code. Respond by Date. Make it easy to respond!

7. SHOW YOU ARE REAL-
Provide your company name, logo, address, and contact information (including your web address). This reassures wary prospects. Since this is a postcard, you can provide most of this as the Return Address.

8. MEASURE-
Send responders to a landing page. If you just send them to your homepage, it’s impossible to know they arrived there from the postcard. Make sure the landing page reflects the message of the postcard, and your company’s brand, too.

What Else?

• The branding of your postcard should mirror that of your website, emails, and landing pages, etc.
• Provide a unique promo code for each prospect. When they enter the code, you know who received the piece (they may not be the actual respondent, though). Or, if you know a bit about the recipient (for example, any demographics or psychographics), you can use a PURL (Personalized URL) in the postcard to drive them to their own customized landing page. PURLs really grab the eye of the recipient, and keep them engaged, and that’s a good thing!

• Capture their data quickly. Make them provide an email address to get the incentive (i.e., whitepaper) – but don’t ask for a lot of information that will discourage them (“why do they need my fax number?”).

Postcards are an excellent contact method for helping prospects find you online and can represent an important lead source in your marketing mix. To learn more about postcard marketing, and how they can supplement your online marketing program, contact OpenMoves for a free consultation.