The most high impact, underrated marketing tool available: postcards.

Here are 10 reasons why they are the smart way to market:

1. Postcards provide a one-on-one campaign that guarantees 100% exposure of your message to your audience. Whoever handles your postcard will be exposed to its message -- instantaneously -- whether they're trying to read it or not.
2. Put your business card up at community, school, church and shopping centre notice boards.
3. It goes without saying that advertisements that get read bring in more responses than those that don't.
4. It takes as long to decide whether to toss a postcard in the rubbish as it takes to decide whether to toss a junk mail envelope. The difference is that the junk mail envelope will probably not be opened, while the message on a postcard is delivered without the recipient having to do anything. Curiosity combined with instant readability all combine to make sure that the message is seen —even if it is not consciously registered.
5. Postcards are inexpensive. There is no envelope to print, no brochure to write, design and print and nothing to fold and stuff into an envelope.
6. It is cheaper than sending any other piece of mail —other than email. But email is fast becoming ineffective, because it is overused.
7. No competition. Postcards can be mailed directly to a precisely targeted audience that will see your message. An ad in a magazine may and may not be seen by your particular audience as it competes for attention with numerous other ads and articles.
8. Postcards are cost effective. A magazine ad will cost you a lot more per viewer than a postcard will, yet a magazine ad cannot guarantee 100% exposure to your target audience.
9. Unlike exposure in other media, postcards can be sent under the radar: your competition will probably never know that you've been promoting your business in this way.
10. Marketing studies have documented the strange fact that people keep postcards they like ... sometimes for a day or so and sometimes for years. They stick them up on fridge and cupboard doors or on pin-up boards in their offices. The card, however, does need to be exceptionally beautiful or funny or inspiring to become coveted.

Postcards are versatile. Use them to:

What you need to know:

1. Do full colour on the one side and black and white or black and spot on the reverse. Reason: You don't want to "talk" to people with equal intensity on both sides. One side must be striking enough to stop them in their tracks.
2. Even if you sell many different things, promote only one at a time: one product, one audience, one unique benefit —You can always state in a oneliner on the reverse that you sell that and the kitchen sink, too.
3. Advertise your best, most outrageous offer on the postcard. Be brief and to the point.
4. Don't just send one ... send a campaign of repeat communications ... at least three consecutive cards or more one or two weeks apart. Then start the routine again: sending a series of postcards one or two weeks apart. Repeat the same routine a third time round ... and watch the orders roll in.
5. Invest in a UV varnish or aqueous coating to protect the card and to give it a quality look and feel.

Here's what we can do for you: