The 8 Biggest Advantages of Marketing Postcards

At first glance, postcards may seem like an antiquated marketing strategy. After all, today’s real estate agents, business owners, freelancers, and other professionals have access to a host of effective digital marketing and advertising strategies. But the reality is, postcards are more than just an effective marketing strategy in the modern world; they’re one of the best.

Why is it that marketing postcards work so well, and what’s the best way to use them effectively?

The Biggest Advantages of Marketing Postcards

These are some of the biggest and most important advantages of marketing postcards:

1. They’re inexpensive. Thanks in part to the abundance of online postcard printing companies, postcards are less expensive than ever. If you’re only ordering a few postcards, the math may not work out, but the more you buy, the lower the price per unit becomes. Even if you’re spending money on a great design and the process of mailing the postcards, this still works out to be a highly cost-efficient strategy – and one capable of yielding a high ROI.

2. They’re highly accessible. It takes skill, experience, and familiarity to design the best possible marketing postcard. The more expertise you have, the better your finished product will be. But at the same time, postcards are accessible. They’re easy to understand, they’re easy to purchase, and they’re easy for even newcomers to experiment with.

3. They offer versatility. There’s no one “right way” to use marketing postcards, making them incredibly versatile. You can target audience segments at different phases of the buying cycle. You can use them for a wide variety of different industries (and possibly every industry). And you can experiment with different design and copy strategies to maximize your results.

4. They reach people the internet can’t. It’s easy to assume that through digital marketing strategies and the connective tissue of the internet, you can reach everyone in the world. But that’s simply not the case. Some people don’t use the internet at all, and many people who do use it intentionally avoid popular platforms like social media. Accordingly, marketing postcards have the potential to reach audiences that online marketing strategies can’t.

5. There’s minimal competition. Over the years, interest in marketing postcards has somewhat dwindled – but that’s actually good news for you. So many companies have overlooked the cost-efficiency and accessibility of postcards that there’s less competition than ever. That means it’s easier for you to stand out, get noticed, and ultimately get the results you want.

6. They’re trackable. These days, technology allows us to easily track postcards, so we can measure and analyze how our customers behave when they receive them. You can figure out how many of your postcards arrived at their destination, how many of the receiving customers visited your website, and much, much more.

7. They integrate with other marketing strategies. Remember how we stated that postcards are versatile? They’re also flexible when it comes to integrating them with other aspects of your marketing and advertising campaign. You can use them in conjunction with search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) ads, social media marketing, traditional ads, and almost any other strategy.

8. They force concise messaging. Finally, postcards offer a limited amount of space. While this could be considered a disadvantage, it actually has some utility; it forces you to keep your messaging concise. Oftentimes, this means you’ll be forced to distill your message to the simplest and most direct terms, which can increase your effectiveness.

How to Use Postcards Well

Of course, even with all these advantages, it’s possible to use postcards poorly. These tips can help you get the most out of your investment:

  •         Find the right source. There are many different postcard companies out there, offering different levels of quality and different prices. Do your research to find a company with experience in your niche – and with a selection of products that work for your brand.
  •         Know your audience. Much of your strategy depends on your ability to target the right audience and reach them with the right messaging. Don’t neglect your market research and craft a tailored message.
  •         Measure everything. Take advantage of every method of tracking and measurement you can. The more data you have to work with, the better you’ll understand your results and the more you can grow.
  •         Experiment. Try to experiment with different sizes, designs, headlines, and other variables. Running experiments is the fastest and most efficient way to determine what works (and what doesn’t).

With proper planning and investment, marketing postcards can be one of the best tools in your marketing arsenal. Keep learning and improving to tap the full potential of this important piece in your toolkit.