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/
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