The Postcard Marketing Checklist - 29 Questions to Ask Before You Begin

Direct mail postcards can help you reach out new customers and get recurring business from your current customers. But if you want to achieve the best results, you need to ask yourself a lot of questions before you conduct your first mailing. Here are a few to get you started.

The Big Idea

Before you send out a single direct mail piece, you need to have something worth promoting in the first place. So ask yourself the following questions:

• Do I have a reason to send these postcards?

• Will people learn about something useful or interesting through this mailing?

• What's going to make my postcard different?

• What value do I plan to bring?

• How can I make my recipient's say "Wow, I'm glad I got this"?

The List

To get the best results with a direct mail campaign, you need to target the right people. This is where the mailing list comes in. Here are some questions to ask as you put together your database of names and addresses:

• Have I obtained my list from a reputable source?

• If using my in-house list, have I checked it for accuracy, duplication, etc.?

• Does my list match my message? Is my message relevant to my list?

• Have I segmented my list in some way (by location, purchase history, age, etc.)?

• Is my list as current as possible?

The Headline

People will read the headline of your postcard before they do anything else (aside from looking at the photo). Studies have shown this time and time again. Some people will even decide whether or not to continue reading based solely on the headline, and they'll do this in a matter of seconds! This is a big burden for a small group of words, so you need to ask the right questions when putting those words together:

• Does my headline identify my primary audience in some way (directly or indirectly)?

• Does my headline offer a benefit? Does it suggest the value of what follows?

• Is it written clearly, so people can understand it upon first glance?

• Is my headline honest? Can I back it up?

• Is my headline interesting? Does it use powerful, active words?

The Message

If your headline does its job, people will keep reading to see if the postcard offers anything of value. In other words, they'll try to find out if they should keep it and respond to it, or just toss it in the trash. So ask the following questions when you develop the body content:

• Does my message pick up where the headline leaves off?

• Does the message reinforce the value suggested by the headline?

• Does it identify a problem and offer a solution?

• Does it build up to (and lead into) my offer?

The Offer

If you are sending a postcard without any kind of offer, you should think twice before sending it. You could end up wasting money. Why? Because consumers expect a direct mail piece to offer them something of value -- a coupon, a discount, a free trial, a sale, or some other kind of special offer. So ask yourself the following:

• Is the offer specific and relevant to the reader?

• Does it have enough of a perceived value to generate a response?

• Is it different from / better than what my competitor's are offering?

The Design

In direct marketing, first impressions are everything. Imagine somebody sorting through their mail over a trashcan, and you'll realize the importance of making a good first impression. This is where everything comes together to get the reader's attention. Here are some design-related questions to start with:

• Is my design professional in appearance? Will it reflect well on me?

• Does my postcard's layout make it easy to read?

• Does the design support the message I'm trying to convey?

• Is my postcard eye-catching? Will it "burst" out of the mailbox?

The Tracking

The only way to know if you direct mail campaign is working is by closely monitoring the results. This is the first step to measuring the return on your investment, and it's also necessary if you want to compare one campaign to another. Here's what you should be asking:

• Have I considered the technical details of how to track responses?

• Do I know what elements I want to test (headline, offer, etc.)?

• How will I modify my postcard if it doesn't get the response I want?

Believe it or not, these aren't the only questions you should ask when launching a postcard marketing campaign. There are more. Nobody ever said it was going to be easy! But you can take comfort in the fact that if you answer all of the questions on this list, you'll have a much greater chance of direct mail success.

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