How to Write a Postcard in Australia

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How to Write a Postcard - AU

Postcards are one of the best marketing tools businesses can use to reach out to their customers. However, most marketers today focus all their efforts on digital marketing and they are inexperienced when it comes to direct mail marketing.

Direct mail campaigns drag in an exceptionally high response rate. Unfortunately, most businesses don’t know how to write a postcard or how to implement an optimized direct mail campaign. But, with direct mail campaigns fast gaining traction, marketers can no longer afford to stay ignorant.

So, we have prepared a step-by-step guide on how you can write a postcard for running a successful direct mail campaign. Suppose you are a marketer or business owner considering direct mail marketing for your company. In that case, this guide can definitely help you.

What is The Purpose of Sending Business Postcards?

To most of us, postcards are associated with good memories. As children, sending and receiving postcards was always exciting, and not much has changed. Hence, it is not hard to see why using postcards as a communication channel can benefit your business.

Postcards have an emotional impact on their recipients. So, your customers or prospects are likely to read or at least brush through the postcards they receive. Furthermore, there are several practical advantages to using postcards for direct mail marketing.

You can use stunning images, entertaining comic art, or informative graphs on your postcards. Not only does it convey your message efficiently, but it also helps you grab the reader’s attention without much effort.

How To Write A Postcard For Marketing Your Business?

Writing a postcard is not very complicated. However, most of us don’t use postal mail for our communications anymore, and hence we don’t know how to write a postcard. Most businesses don’t know how to fill out a postcard or where to put an address on a postcard.

An incorrect postcard format can lead to some undesirable situations such as delayed deliveries and return mails. Hence businesses must learn how to write on a postcard before starting their direct mail campaigns.

Below, we explain how to correctly write a business postcard to ensure its easy processing by Australia Post. A proper postcard format can also make the postcards look cleaner and more appealing to the recipients. Here are the steps you need to follow to ensure an appropriate postcard format.

Step 1: Pick a Relevant And Attractive Image For Your Postcard

Perhaps the best thing about postcards is that they can contain attractive images. Although you can choose to send a postcard without a picture, it is not advisable to do that. When selecting the photo for your postcard, you should carefully consider your target audience.

Try to think of the best image that can resonate with your audience and is relevant to what you are trying to sell. Remember that the picture on the postcard will be the direct thing that grabs the reader’s attention.

When it comes to postcards, first impressions do matter. And it would be best if you got it right because your mailer will likely end up in the junk if you don’t.

Step 2: Write The Marketing Message On The Postcard

One of the common questions businesses have when they start on postcard campaigns is where to write on a postcard. Write or print your marketing message on the backside of your postcard. Also, make sure that you align your message to the left side of your postcard, as the right side is for providing the mailing address.

Starting Your Marketing Message

Greeting your target audience is the best way to start your marketing message on the postcard. You can greet the audience with a simple “Hello, Hey, or Hi *name of the customer*” if you want to keep the mail more casual. But, if you are looking for a more professional approach, then begin with “Dear.”

Take The Message Size Into Consideration

After greeting the reader, you can start writing the message on the postcard. When drafting the message for your marketing postcard, always remember that you only have limited space. The last thing you want is not having enough room in the postcard for writing your marketing message.

Signing Off Your Postcard

The last part of your marketing message is where you sign off. A postcard is not complete without a proper warm farewell to the reader. Hence, make sure that you always leave enough room after writing the message body for signing off the postcard.

You can even get creative with your sign off message. Use wordplays that connect to your brand or the product you are pitching to the reader. Employing clever and funny puns in your sign off is a subtle yet effective way to create an impression on your audience.

Tips To Remember When Writing Your Marketing Message

• Always align your message to the left side to maximise the space for your message
• Do not use the front side of your postcard for writing the note
• Use crisp and clear letters or fonts for your message

Step 3: Address Your Postcard

Now that you have the image and the message for your postcard in place, you can move on to addressing the postcard. From the delivery perspective, the address on the mailer is the most vital part of the direct mail process.

Placement Of The Delivery Address

You can understand the positioning of the delivery address on a postcard just by just examining the postcard. Almost all postcards have a straight vertical line passing through the middle on the backside of the postcard. The postcard may also have three dotted or straight lines on the right side.

However, some postcards may not have the three horizontal lines for the delivery address. Regardless, you must always write the delivery address on the right side of the vertical line. Writing the delivery address anywhere else on the postcard could potentially delay your mail or have it returned to you.

Ensure The Validity Of The Delivery Address

The delivery address of your postcard is crucial for sending your mail. It doesn’t matter how good an offer you give or how beautifully you draft the mailer if it does not reach its addressee. If it is possible to validate your address, you should always do that.

An easy solution to ensure the validity of your mailing addresses is to use an address verification system like PostGrid. Using advanced tools like PostGrid accesses the official address database of Australia Post and ensures the addresses are deliverable.

Furthermore, you need to have the full address of the customers, which includes the full postcode, to ensure fast delivery of your postcards. PostGrid system gets you the standardised address for your postcodes, including the postcodes, to ensure an optimal delivery rate for your postcards.

Step 4: Place The Required Postage

At this point, your postcard has everything it needs, including an attractive image, a well-drafted and personalised message, and an accurate delivery address. The only thing missing from your postcard now is the postage stamps.

Postage rates for postcards can vary for international and domestic postcards. The size of your mailer can also affect the postage cost. Make sure that you have the correct postage for your postcard before starting your campaign. Even a tiny variation in postage cost for individual postcards can be crucial for bulk mail.

Placement Of The Postcard Stamps

Unlike other postal mails like enveloped letters, it is relatively easy to find where you need to stick your postcard stamps. To see where you need to attach the postage, all you have to do is flip your postcard to face its backside.

On the back of the postcard, you can find a square shape printed near the space provided for the delivery address. The postcard stamp is usually placed on the top-right corner of the postcard. Hence, even if you can’t find the outlined box printed on the postcard, you can put your stamp there.

Postage Stamps

You can buy your postage stamps from any Post Office or purchase them online if you have the time. An advantage of buying the postage stamps directly from the Post Office is getting an accurate postage rate for your postcards from the Post Office officials.

However, going to the Post Office with a load of postcards is hardly practical when it comes to bulk mail. The best solution for sending bulk mail is to use an automated direct mail system like PostGrid. Systems like PostGrid completely automate your postal mail process, which means it also takes care of the postage of your postcards.

Step 5: Mail Your Postcards

Once you complete all four steps listed above, you are all set to mail your postcard. The mailing process is pretty simple. You can deposit your postcards in the nearest red street-posting box. You can also hand over the postcard at the Post Office directly if that is more convenient for you.

Postal Service You Can Use For Sending Postcards Via Australia Post

Australia Post offers a wide range of postal mail services that you can use for sending your business postcards. You can choose a postal service for your postcard campaign based on your unique needs and preferences.

Following are the postal mail service from Australia Post that you can use for Postcards

• Full Rate Mail
• Acquisition Mail
• PreSort Letters/Charity Mail
• Impact Mail
• Clean Mail
• Reply Mail

It is worth noting that the postcards used in each of these postal services can have distinct characteristics such as size and layout differences. However, most direct mail campaigns use the Full Rate-Mail service from Australia Post.

Postcard Size Specification

As we have mentioned, postcards come in different sizes. The size of the postcard can change based on the postal mail service you use. Suppose you use a specific postal service for your direct mail campaign. In that case, you should be aware of the standard postcard sizes you can use for each postal mail service.

The following table explains the size requirements for postcards based on specific postal mail services from Australia Post.

Postal Mail Service	Minimum Postcard Size	Maximum Postcard Size	Minimum Size Ratio
Full Rate Mail	88 × 138mm*	130 × 240mm	1.414*
Acquisition Mail	88 × 138mm	130 × 240mm	1.2
PreSort Letters	88 × 138mm	130 × 240mm	1.2
Impact Mail	88 × 138mm	130 × 240mm	Any Shape
Clean Mail	88 × 138mm	130 × 240mm	1.414
Reply Mail	90 × 145mm	130 × 240mm	1.414

Automated Direct Mail System For Postcard Campaigns

As you can see, it can get confusing to manage your postcard campaigns while keeping so many things in mind. You need to keep track of the postcard format, different sizes, layout, and varying postage rates. It is impossible to efficiently run a direct mail campaign with this many variables unless you use an automated system.

Thankfully, now you have access to advanced software solutions like PostGrid that lets you automate your entire direct mail process. PostGrid doesn’t just let you automate your postal mail process. It allows you to execute personalised postcard campaigns for your business.

As PostGrid takes over all the processes involved in your direct mail campaign, including

• Personalisation
• Printing
• Mailing

There is little to no scope for errors in your postcard campaign. It also means you no longer have to worry about wrong postage, wrong postcard size/layout, and so on.

Conclusion

Writing a postcard is not a challenging task as long as you know the basics. However, manually writing postcards is not practical when it comes to business postcards and bulk mailing. Hence, most businesses prefer to use an automated system for their postcard campaigns.

PostGrid offers one of the most convenient direct mail automation solutions you can find in the market. It lets you automate all the processes involved in sending postcards to your customers. You can even personalise all your postcards by connecting PostGrid’s system with your CRM.

Using an automated direct mail system also allows you to bypass all the error-prone manual processes. As a result, you can run an optimised direct mail campaign to reach out to your target audience efficiently.

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The post How to Write a Postcard in Australia appeared first on PostGrid.

source https://www.postgrid.com.au/how-to-write-a-postcard/

Address Checker: Validate and Verify Postal Addresses

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Address Checker: Verify Australia Postal Addresses

There are several reasons why companies need to maintain cleansed and updated mailing lists. Some of the reasons are conducting direct mail campaigns, completing orders, sending transactional mail, and so on.

Did you know that 4 in 10 Australians change their addresses every five years?

Moreover, 15% of Australians move every year. Therefore, it is obvious that every year the Australia Post database witnesses tons of address changes, and you need to keep up with them.

Sending mail to unverified addresses is a gamble, but there are high chances that most of your mail items would not get delivered. Misspellings, incomplete or missing details, wrong abbreviations, wrong postcodes, and other such things can result in failed deliveries. Such mistakes are highly common and can lead to huge waste.

An address checker API or software can be the solution to all these problems. In this blog, we would be discussing address verification and how an address checker can make your everyday work so much easier.

What Is an Address Checker to Verify Postal Addresses?

An address checker can help companies cross-check and verify their mailing addresses before mailing anything to them. It is vital to save time and money spent over reshipping items. An address checker can determine whether your mailing addresses are real, correct, and deliverable. Oftentimes, some addresses are real and yet not deliverable or correct yet invalid.

Address checking and verification solutions can help identify addresses that cannot be mailed to. They further help you correct such addresses and make them mail-ready. Hence, you can make sure that all your mail items are delivered to the right addresses without any delays, issues, or confusion.

How does address verification work?

It is a process made up of several steps that are completed simultaneously by the address checker. The initial steps are to address parsing and standardization. Address parsing is breaking down addresses into different address components such as the unit number, building name, street name, suburb, and state. It helps in auto-filling the different components into their respective address fields for better clarity and standardization.

Address standardization can become difficult if addresses are not parsed correctly. It is the process of arranging address components in the right format as per the Australia Post address guidelines. For sending mail through Australia Post, all addresses must be in the right format, or else your mail will never reach on time. Address parsing and standardization are two preparatory steps that help to verify addresses accurately. Though these steps sound easy, doing them regularly and for bulk addresses is extremely time-consuming and hectic.

Businesses should make sure to use an AMAS-certified address checker like PostGrid. The Address Matching Approval System (AMAS) certification is to ensure that all addresses are verified against the Australia Post Postal Address File (PAF). PAF is known to have millions of address records, including PO boxes. Hence, AMAS-certified addresses are up-to-date, correct, and deliverable.

Australia Post Address Verification and Third-Party Solutions

Australia Post offers address validation solutions and access to their raw address database through their data partners, who can also be referred to as third parties. Other than that, Australia Post offers various services that are important for companies to update their mailing lists regularly.

The National Change of Address service is meant to record all address changes during a year. It helps them update the PAF and help citizens get their mail received accurately. The service also benefits companies by notifying them of all the registered address changes. However, residents need to provide their consent for getting their updated details shared with certain companies under the Notify Organisations service. This way, marketers can filter out people who have voluntarily opted out of receiving any mail.

There are certain address checker APIs and software like PostGrid that can offer several helpful features and benefits. PostGrid can help you check and verify addresses in bulk and at point-of-entry. By verifying addresses before entering your system, you can make sure that your mailing lists are ready to be mailed without any delays, which is important for completing customer orders. Otherwise, marketers can process mailing lists with bulk addresses for verification.

It is better to use third-party solutions as you get a better interface to work on, more features, flexibility, and fuzzy matching. Australia Post may not be able to correct misspellings or other mistakes, but a third-party address checker can. PostGrid can replace your wrong street names with the right ones, add missing postcode digits, correct misspellings, and then proceed to return highly accurate addresses.

Moreover, PostGrid offers print and mail automation solutions. Along with verifying addresses, you can actually create, print, and send your mail items anywhere in Australia and abroad.

Why Choose PostGrid’s Postal Address Checker?

PostGrid’s address verification API can be integrated into the company’s CRM, accounting, payroll, and other software to start checking addresses without any technical expertise. It is ideal for bulk address verification as the API can process several requests at the same time. For a company sending out direct mail items on a regular basis, getting addresses verified in bulk can be a strong performance booster.

Manual data entry is prone to errors. PostGrid’s fuzzy matching capabilities can identify addresses and correct them even when there are several errors in the inputs. Another useful feature that PostGrid has addresses autocomplete. This feature can help companies reduce the checkout time on their websites and applications and also improve their user experience. It encourages people to purchase from the brand as they no longer need to type their entire address manually.

PostGrid’s address checker API can combine geocoding and Australia Post’s PAF to return precise addresses just within a few keystrokes.

Additionally, PostGrid allows real-time mail tracking, measuring campaign performance, managing user permissions, taking care of direct mail compliances, and more that makes it so much more than an address checker. It is the all-in-one solution to all your print and mail needs.

Reasons For Receiving Invalid Addresses

Sometimes, even valid addresses can be marked as invalid by an address checker. It happens due to some possible reasons as below:

Fake Addresses

Some people make up fake or imaginary addresses while shopping online or filling up a survey form offline. They either don’t wish to reveal their real address or are just browsing on your website with no actual intention to buy. Either way, your mail deliveries to these addresses are sure to fail. Fake addresses as such are not present in any database and are hence marked invalid.

Incorrect Addresses

The main job of the address checker is to identify incorrect addresses, which it does. Incorrect addresses are always marked invalid, irrespective of whether they are valid but have a minor misspelling. PostGrid can help you correct errors and allow addresses to be marked valid.

Not Occupied and Not Registered Addresses

Any address that is not registered with Australia Post will be marked invalid even if it is correct and deliverable. Addresses that are vacant or not occupied are also shown as invalid.

Wrapping Up

Oftentimes, companies think that they do not need an address checker because they only have to verify a few addresses. However, PostGrid’s address verification API also enables you to verify addresses on-demand and only pay for that. Hence, it is handy, efficient, time-saving, cost-effective, and precise. It is ideal for verifying national and international addresses, whether on-demand or in bulk.

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The post Address Checker: Validate and Verify Postal Addresses appeared first on PostGrid.

source https://www.postgrid.com.au/address-checker/

Standard Postcard Size Australia

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Standard Postcard Size Australia

If you have ever seriously considered using postcard marketing campaigns for your business, then you’d know that postcards can be quite confusing when it comes to their sizes. Australia Post offers so many different sizes for postcards that it is impossible to choose one without prior knowledge.

Even people familiar with postcard and postcard advertising sometimes find it hard to keep up with varying card sizes. On top of it, you may have to use various types of postcards depending on your specific marketing goals.

As a company that lives and breathes direct mail, we know everything about Australia Post postcard sizes and we surely know the right ways to help you with the same. Keeping that in mind, here in this guide,  we are going to share everything we know about standard postcard size Australia Post.

We will also discuss the postal mail services from Australia Post to send advertising postcards. The guide also explains how to optimize the postcard layout for each of these postal mail services. By the end of the article, you will even get an easy solution to all your postcard mail requirements. 

Postal Mail Services You Can Use For Sending Postcards

Australia Post offers several postal mail services that enable its customers to send postcards based on their specific needs. Even though the standard size of postcards remains the same for most services, they usually have different size ratios.

Hence, we must discuss the different postal services from Australia Post and their standard postcard sizes. The most popular postal mail services that you can use to send postcards are as follows:

• Full Rate Mail
• Acquisition Mail
• PreSort Letters/Charity Mail
• Impact Mail
• Clean Mail
• Reply Paid

Full Rate-Mail Postcards

The standard postcard size Australia Post for Full Rate-Mail needs to be

• At least 88 × 138mm*
• At most 130 × 240mm

Apart from having the size mentioned above, the postcard mailer should have a size ratio of at least 1.414*

Optimized Layout For Full Rate-Mail Postcards

The layout for your Full Rate-Mail postcard can change based on whether it is machine addressed or hand addressed. Although the postcard layout of the two does not vary significantly it is worth knowing the difference, especially if you intend to use the postcards for business purposes.

Optimized Layout For Machine Addressed Full Rate-Mail Postcards

Clear Zone: As you can see in the image above, the postcards have some clear zones. The clear zones in postcards are a 15 mm gap on the postcard where you should not write anything. In other words, you should keep the clear zone “clear” of any writing or printing.

When it comes to Full Rate-Mail Postcards, the entire bottom side is a clear zone and has a width of 15mm. You can also see a dividing line on the postcard that separates the address zone and message area. Make sure that you print the address 15mm away from the dividing line and the edge of the postcard.

Delivery Address: When printing the delivery address on a machine addressed Full Rate-Mail postcard, make sure it is below the postage zone. Place the delivery address as far to the right of the postcard as possible. But, ensure the address does not go over the 15mm clear zone on the right edge. You should also ensure that you leave a 40mm distance from the top edge to the delivery address.

Return Address: Usually, the return address on the Full Rate-Mail postcard goes on the top left corner. It is also the recommended position by Australia Post. However, you want to save as much space as possible for business postcards. So, you can take an alternative approach and rotate it vertically. 

You may then place the vertical return address along the dividing line 15 mm away from the address block. Additionally, Australia Post suggests that you place the vertical address at least 70mm from the right edge of the postcard. 

Message/Advertisement: You can print your message or advertisement on the Full Rate-Mail postcard on the left side of the dividing line. However, don’t forget to maintain the 15mm clear zone on the bottom edge of the postcard. You can use this space for advertising or any other printing. Furthermore, you also have the unaddressed side of the postcard, which you can use to its total capacity.

Optimized Layout For Hand Addressed Full Rate-Mail Postcards

Clear Zone: The clear zone for the hand-addressed postcard is similar to the machine addressed one. You have a 15mm clear zone on the bottom edge of the postcard.

Delivery Address: Australia Post does not specify a clear zone on either side of the address block. However, it is standard practice to print faint or dotted lines at least 15mm away from the right edge and the dividing line. Like the machine addressed Full Rate Mail, the dividing line on hand-addressed postcards is also placed 70mm from the right edge.

Message/Advertisement: You can place your statement or advertisement on the left side of the dividing line. However, you can not write or print anything on the clear zone. Australia Post suggests that you use the bottom of the messaging/advertising area for describing a pictorial scene in the postcard.

PreSort Letters/Charity Mail Postcards

The standard postcard size Australia Post for PreSort Letters/Charity Mail postcards needs to be

• At least 88 × 138mm
• At most 130 × 240mm

Apart from having the size mentioned above, the postcard mailer should have a size ratio of at least 1.2.

Optimized Layout For PreSort Letters/Charity Mail Postcards

Clear Zone: The clear zone of PreSort Letters/Charity Mail is different from the one we saw in Full Rate Mail. You don’t need to take the entire bottom side of the PreSort Letters/Charity Mail as the clear zone. The clear zone is specified in a mirrored L shape in this postcard type, as shown in the image above.

It is worth noting that the clear zone near the bottom edge is 15mm in width, and the right edge is 10mm wide. However, neither side of the clear zone goes all the way from one edge to the other. The clear zone along the right edge stops around 40mm from the top edge.

Delivery Address And Barcode: The barcode is the most noticeable difference on the PreSort Letters/Charity Mail postcards from the Full Rate Mail. You can print the barcode above the delivery address. Make sure to place the barcode and the delivery address below the postage zone and as far to the right as possible.

However, the address or barcode should not cross over to the clear zone to the right or bottom edge of the postcard. Additionally, you should also ensure not to place the barcode above 100mm from the bottom edge of the postcard.

Barcode Clear Zone: The Barcode has a separate clear zone so that it does not coincide with the delivery address or postage area. PreSort Letters/Charity Mail postcards should have a clear zone of at least 6mm to the barcode’s left and right sides. Similarly, it should have a 2mm clear zone above and below the barcode.

Return Address: You can rotate the return address and place it to the left of the address block and the “Postage Paid” imprint. If you put the return address like this, it will also be the dividing line.

Another option for printing the return address on PreSort Letters/Charity Mail postcards is the backside.

However, you must ensure that the return address you print on the backside is 20mm away from the bottom edge.

Message/Advertisement: The message or advertisement area of the postcard in PreSort Letters/Charity Mail postcards is on the left side. However, unlike the Full Rate-Mail postcard, you don’t have to maintain a clear zone on the bottom side of the postcard. Hence, you can get more space for printing your message or advertisement.

Additional Ad Space: When it comes to PreSort Letters/Charity Mail postcards, Australia Post lets you use the areas to the right and below the address. However, you can only do this if the advertising or any other printing that you use does not resemble an address.

Clean Mail Postcards

The Australia Post postcard sizes for Clean Mail postcards need to be 

• At least 88 × 138mm
• At most 130 × 240mm

Apart from having the size mentioned above, the postcard mailer should have a size ratio of at least 1.414.

Optimized Layout For Clean Mail Postcards

Clear Zone: The clear zone for Clean Mail includes a 15mm wide area on the bottom of the Clean Mail postcards. Apart from this, there is a clear zone around all four sides of the address block. The width of the clear zone around the address block is 10mm.

However, you can use the clear zone around the address block to approximate an approved colour by Australia Post. Another thing to note about the clear zone in Clean Mail postcards is that it is also present on the backside. The clear area on the rear is 125mm x 20mm in size, aligned to the bottom left corner.

Delivery Address: Similar to the other postcards we have discussed so far, you should place the delivery address below the postage zone. Make sure to move the delivery address as far to the right as possible without crossing over to the 10mm clear zone.

It would be best to place the delivery address at least 40mm away from the top edge. Australia Post also suggests maintaining a 100mm distance from the bottom edge to the address block.

Return Address: Similar to the return address placement in the other postcard layout we discussed, you can rotate it vertically here too. By doing so, you can print the return address in a single line and save some more space for your ad. You can also print the return address on the backside after leaving a clear area of 20mm from the bottom edge.

Message/Advertisement: As usual, you can use the space on the left side of the postcard for printing your message or advertisement. However, keep in mind that Clean Mail postcards have a 15mm clear zone on the bottom edge.

Additional Ad Space: You can print on the right side and below the address block. However, you can only publish pictures or graphics. Furthermore, if the graphic contains any text, it should not resemble any part of the address.

Acquisition Mail Postcards

The Australian postcard size for Acquisition Mail postcards needs to be

• At least 88 × 138mm
• At most 130 × 240mm

Apart from having the size mentioned above, the postcard mailer should have a size ratio of at least 1.2.

Optimized Layout For Acquisition Mail Postcards

Clear Zone: The clear zone of Acquisition Mail postcards is similar to PreSort Letters/Charity Mail postcards. Like in PreSort Letters/Charity Mail postcards, the clear zone also has a mirrored L shape in this postcard type. The clear zone near the bottom edge is 15mm in width, and the right edge is 10mm wide. Like PreSort Letters/Charity Mail postcards, you have to provide a clear zone for the barcode.

Delivery Address: Move the address as far to the right as possible without crossing over to the 10mm clear zone on the right edge of the postcard. Be careful not to place the delivery address more than 40mm closer to the top edge and 100mm distance from the bottom edge.

Return Address: The return address on Acquisition Mail postcards is on the left of the address block and the “Postage Paid” imprint. If you place the return address like this, it will also be the dividing line. However, unlike PreSort Letters/Charity Mail postcards, it does not usually allow you to print the return address on the backside.

Message/Advertisement: The message or advertisement area of the postcard in Acquisition Mail postcards is also on the left side. Here, there is no need to maintain a clear zone on the bottom side of the postcard.

Additional Ad Space: Australia Post also lets you use the areas below to the right of the address block as long as it does not resemble an address. Additionally, you can also use the Acquisition Mail postcard’s entire backside to print your advertisement.

Reply Paid (Domestic)

The standard postcard size Australia for Reply Paid postcard needs to be

• At least 90 × 145mm
• At most 130 × 240mm

Apart from having the size mentioned above, the postcard mailer should have a size ratio of at least 1.414.

Optimized Layout For Reply Paid Postcards

Clear Zone: The clear zones in Reply Paid postcards includes a 15mm wide clear zone that runs along the bottom edge. Apart from this, there is a 15mm clear zone on the left side of the return address block. It is worth noting that you can use both of these 15mm clear zones for printing as long as it approximates an approved colour by Australia Post.

Additionally, there is another 5mm clear zone to the left of the delivery address block, as you can see in the image above. Australia Post also suggests that you maintain a 20mm wide clear zone on the backside of the Reply Paid postcard.

Delivery Address: Unlike the other postcards, the delivery address is not given as much importance as the others. Hence, Australia Post suggests that you place the delivery address block to the top-right edge of the postcard. However, it should not be closer than 50mm from the right edge of the postcard.

Reply Paid Barcode: Another unique element in a Reply Paid postcard is the Reply Paid barcode. You can place the barcode as far to the right of the postcard as you can along the top edge. However, you should maintain a distance of 10mm from the right edge of the postcard.

Message/Advertisement: You can use the remaining portion on the left side of the Reply Paid postcards for printing your message or advertisement.

Impact Mail & International Postcards

The standard postcard dimensions Australia for Impact Mail postcard needs to be

• At least 88 × 138mm
• At most 130 × 240mm

The unique thing about Australia Post’s Impact Mail is that it can be irregularly or creatively shaped. As Impact Mail can come in all kinds of shapes, it is not possible to define the height to width ratio for it.

Similarly, the standard size of international postcards from Australia Post is not a fixed one as it varies from country to country. However, you can get more information on international postcards by calling Australia Post at 13 13 18.

Conclusion

The standard postcard size in Australia can vary depending on the postal mail service you choose. It can be challenging for businesses to keep track of Australian postcard size and identify them accurately for their various marketing/advertising campaigns.

However, there is an effective solution to this problem. Through PostGrid‘s direct mail automation tool, you can easily choose the ideal Australia Post postcard sizes for your business communication. The automated software solution enables you to personalize, print, and deliver postcards.

PostGrid’s automated system prints standardized addresses for your postcards, and hence, there is minimal chance for an error. As a result, you can ensure maximum deliverability for your advertising postcards and help you get the best outcome for your marketing campaigns.

More importantly, with PostGrid, you don’t have to spend a second of your day worrying about the standard postcard sizes for your direct mail campaigns.

The post Standard Postcard Size Australia appeared first on PostGrid.

source https://www.postgrid.com.au/standard-postcard-sizes/

Insurance Marketing Strategies and Ideas

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Insurance Marketing Strategies and Ideas

Do you find insurance marketing complicated? If yes, you are not the only one.

Insurance is a difficult topic for a layman to understand. And, many insurance agents struggle with making people aware of their services or products to get relevant leads.

To overcome this, they need to put in a lot of effort and educate people about insurance. Also, agents can help prospects understand their needs so that they can select the right policy or plan accordingly.

But, it is not simple! So, if you are looking for excellent insurance marketing campaign ideas, you have come to the right place.

In this blog post, we have compiled a list of the most creative ways to sell insurance. Dive in with us to enhance your business communications by adding these ideas to boost your sales, create relationships, and improve your brand image.

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Creative Insurance Marketing Ideas

Here, we have listed the best marketing ideas for insurance agencies. Let’s go through them one-by-one:

1. Level Up Your Email Marketing Strategies

Email marketing is one of the most popular and effective marketing channels today. You can incorporate it into your insurance marketing plans to boost conversions.

Remember, sending regular emails to your customers is not enough because people receive tons of spam emails every day. The chances are, they might ignore your emails or move them to trash immediately after reading them.

It is your responsibility to use creative marketing ideas for insurance agents. Here are some tips:

• Draft attention-grabbing subject lines.
• Share informative newsletters through emails.
• Use strong and upfront calls to action.
• Use email auto-responders to reply back to your clients instantly.
• Create email sequences for your existing and potential clients.
• Personalise all your email marketing campaigns.
• Include an email signature consisting of your contact details.

2. Fulfil Your Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Did you know that fulfilling your CSR duties can be a powerful marketing strategy for insurance companies?

There are many opportunities to gain popularity for your agency while helping others, such as:

• You may sponsor a small show in your locality like a marathon.
• Donate to a nonprofit every time you get a quote. It will convince more people to request quotes and buy insurance from your agency.
• You can conduct your own local charity events.

You can meet other business owners, local community members, and your customers. Also, you can get positive PR coverage in local magazines, newspapers, etc., increasing your brand visibility.

3. Make Your Phone Number and Location Visible Everywhere

Let us start by asking a few questions:

• How many clients have your business number saved on their phones? 
• Does your location rank high on Google Maps?

Agencies may not pay much attention to the aspects mentioned above, but implementing them in the right manner can make a huge difference in your sales levels.

Encourage your prospects and customers to save your contact number—so that they can reach you if they have a billing issue or a query. Hence, they will always have access to your contact details and can refer to someone easily.

Make sure to add your contact information like email address, phone number, website link, address, etc., on every marketing item (both online & offline). Also, printing statements, invoices, and letters on your company letterhead can make a positive impact on your insurance target audience.

4. Focus on Content Marketing to Educate Your Clients

As said earlier, many insurance terms and products are difficult to understand for the general public.

You can use this fact to your advantage by educating your customers. Tell them about the latest insurance products and services available in the market along with their features.

The best way to do that is by developing robust content marketing plans- draft timely whitepapers, press releases, newsletters, etc. You may publish and share them online on your website and social media platforms.

From your agency’s recent accomplishments to trending insurance news, you can share anything to boost your digital outreach. But, be sure to publish valuable and original content only to maintain your brand reputation.

5. Combine Online and Offline Marketing Channels

You can combine your online and offline marketing tools to increase visibility and improve your brand image. Running several simultaneous campaigns allows you to get wider coverage and accelerate conversions.

But, keeping your marketing efforts consistent with your brand is significant. All your online and offline ads should be aligned with one another and give out the same message.

It makes it easy for people to remember you this way. Also, it helps increase brand recognition and strengthen relationships.

Another practice that can help you is printing marketing messages on all correspondence pieces like payment reminders, policy statements, etc. Thus, you can always be ahead of your competitors and keep your audience hooked.

6. Create a Functional Website

Most insurance businesses have websites, but some still don’t possess one. However, it is significant to have a functional and helpful website as it determines your brand authenticity.

Your website should be easy to navigate and look professional. Make sure you have a responsive website that works perfectly well on different devices.   Also, it should allow you to publish and edit your content at any time.

As discussed above, let’s now add another way to boost your effort, which is adding a blog section.  You can post genuinely useful articles on your blog page to solve your audience’s queries.

Let your blog speak about your services and how your insurance agency can help make people’s lives easier. The more value you provide, the more leads you can gather.

Also, work on your landing pages- they are one of the best insurance marketing strategies to connect with a broader audience.

7. Collect and Implement Customer Feedback

Customer feedback does not only help insurance companies serve their clients better but also market themselves.

You can conduct periodic customer surveys to know what they like and dislike about your agency. Then, you can publish all the positive reviews online or send them to potential customers by direct mail.

Furthermore, take care to monitor all online reviews as they can leave a lasting impact on your prospects.

8. Deploy Search Engine Optimization

Having a functional website does help you rank on search engines results pages (SERPs), but only to a certain extent. You can create digital footprints consisting of online reviews, inbound links, business listings, social media presence, content, etc.

If you don’t want to wait for your landing pages to work, you can use pay-per-click (PPC) to rank on Google, Bing, etc.

Also, pay attention to local SEO as most of your insurance products are relevant to specific states and territories. There are higher chances of a prospect entering “insurance agents near me” or “insurance agencies Sydney.”

9. Use Video Marketing

Did you know that 87% of marketers leverage video content to advertise their brands? Well, video marketing is among the top-notch insurance marketing campaign ideas and can do wonders for your business.

You can create your videos once and then use them to sell insurance for many years to come. Hence, it does not need a lot of investment and can fetch you a high ROI.

Here are some ideas for your video marketing strategies:

• Testimonials by existing clients.
• Risk management tips and tricks.
• “About us” or “What we do” videos.
• Tutorials on insurance products.

Remember to share your videos online and share the links with your prospects.

10. Go Old-School With TV and SMS Advertising

Insurance agents might often wonder how to market insurance products. The answer is simple- use all popular online and offline marketing.

TV and SMS marketing can sound too traditional and marketers might doubt if they still work. Indeed, they do and can influence a lot of people to buy from you.

11. Push Your Digital Marketing Efforts

There are several platforms for digital marketing for insurance agents like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.

Insurance agencies should often post online so that their target audience shares these posts or complete the said call to action.

You can post free or paid ads on Facebook and expand your LinkedIn connections. Respond to all your online leads and follow up regularly to close the deals.

Such online marketing strategies are among the most creative ways to sell insurance. You can create your own social media calendar, do collaborations, conduct giveaways, etc.

It is up to you how to make your insurance digital marketing strategy exciting and responsive.

12. Be a Part of Local Events

Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other such business organisations conduct several local networking events. You can be a part of such events by buying a booth, but make sure that the event is relevant to your industry.

These events allow agencies to offer free insurance advice to people. It helps them with their lead generation efforts by solving queries and getting more people interested.

All their potential and existing customers can visit the booth, ask questions, and get to know the company better.

Plus, you can connect with prospects who are already interested in buying insurance. The one-to-one interaction helps you increase customer loyalty and boost confidence.

Apart from these events, you may also host seminars or webinars and invite your target audience to join.

13. Stay in Constant Touch With Your Customer Base

It is crucial to always stay in touch with your clients to increase customer retention. You can solve their queries, offer details about other policies, and thank them for their business.

Even a small gesture like sending a thank-you letter to customers can help you form better bonds and get repeat business.

You can also opt for sending handwritten letters and postcards to your old customers.

It will remind them of your agency, and there are chances that they might buy a policy from you again or talk about you with others. Hence, you can gather some mouth publicity and also get some conversions along the way.

These activities can turn out to be excellent insurance agent advertising ideas that can benefit you in the long run.

14. Provide Value

Insurance businesses can add value to their marketing materials by offering something to their audience. For example, if you send a personalised letter to someone, you can add a 5% discount on their premium.

Or, you can attach coupon mailers while sending something to clients as a sign of appreciation. The objective is to make your audience feel valued so that they continue their association with you.

Several insurance marketing campaign ideas include adding exciting offers that can persuade people to complete the CTA.

Also, make your CTA compelling and upfront. You can add lines, like:

• Contact us today to get the best rates.
• Get hassle-free insurance policies with just one phone call.
• Schedule a free session with our representative by clicking on the link below.

15. Get More and More Referrals

Sometimes, all you have to do to get referrals is to ask your clients for the same. As an insurance agent, you must talk to your clients and motivate them to refer to their friends, family members, and relatives.

Asking for referrals does not cost you time or money, but it can help you increase your sales levels considerably.

So, what can you do to get more referrals?

Firstly, Start by introducing a robust referral program that is easy to understand and participate in. Communicate about such a program with all your representatives as everyone should know how the program works and its benefits. This way, your clients can talk about your program with others and help you get several valuable referrals.

Remember to offer something to your customers for every referral, like gift cards, movie tickets, discounts, etc. These offers can incentivise them to get more people to buy insurance plans from your agency.

16. Know Your Audience

If you are thinking about how to sell more insurance, the answer is clear as a bell –  know your audience. It may seem like something basic, but understanding your buyer persona in-depth can do wonders for your agency.

Some agencies buy insurance leads from third parties, but it is advisable to work with your own leads for a better response.

It helps you target more relevant people that match your customer profile. Also, you can use geo-targeting to focus on specific areas where most of your clients reside.

PostGrid’s direct mail API can help you build targeted mailing lists from scratch based on several demographics and locations. Hence, you can reach out to your customer look-alikes and increase conversion ratios.

17. Use Marketing Automation

Several marketing automation tools can help streamline marketing strategies for insurance agents.

You can automate your activities and save a lot of time and effort. Plus, you can get everything done more effectively. From lead tracking to email marketing, insurance agencies can apply automation to all their marketing and administrative tasks.

In fact, you can automate all the creative marketing ideas for insurance agents that we discussed above. It enables you to get the most out of these strategies and keep tabs on everything.

Furthermore, you can also automate your direct mail campaigns with solutions like PostGrid to get better results at lower costs. Thus, marketing automation can help you:

• Streamline your marketing plans
• Save time and manual effort
• Save agency’s resources
• Boost productivity
• Manage lead nurturing activities, etc.

How PostGrid’s Can Help Optimize Your Insurance Marketing Strategies

PostGrid can help insurance agencies to stay ahead of the competition by connecting with all their prospects.

It allows them to conduct successful direct mail marketing campaigns without any effort. All they need to do is integrate the API into their system and launch targeted campaigns that are sure to attract an excellent ROI.

Find some of our topmost features below:

• 2-business day SLA
• Address verification and standardization
• Zapier integration
• Mail tracking
• Data security and privacy
• Periodic campaign reports
• Dedicated technical assistance, etc.

Also, you can send any number of direct mail items according to your requirements. You can continue launching flexible, quick, and cost-effective mailing campaigns with PostGrid hassle-free at the most affordable rates.

Wrapping Up

Every new prospect you connect with counts a lot in the insurance industry. It helps you expand your network and increase the number of leads in your pipeline.

Thus, insurance agencies should conduct several types of marketing campaigns now and then. They can also combine their direct mail and digital marketing strategies to receive better outcomes.

We hope that the creative insurance advertising ideas listed in this blog will be helpful to you in achieving your marketing motives.

Undoubtedly, automating your direct mail campaigns is on the top of our list. You can create, print, and send marketing collateral like postcards, letters, etc., with just a couple of clicks using automation. Here,  PostGrid can assist you in launching result-driving mail campaigns that can keep your sales cycle running all year round.

You can print and mail anything from marketing postcards to transactional statements through our API. Sign up here to see how PostGrid can transform the face of your offline insurance marketing activities.

The post Insurance Marketing Strategies and Ideas appeared first on PostGrid.

source https://www.postgrid.com.au/insurance-marketing-strategies/