Postcard Marketing Blog | PostcardPower

It's okay to tease

Monday, November 7, 2011, 5:43 AM

When you're mailing promotional postcards, you may be tempted to reveal everything about your business -- especially if it's your first campaign. You've probably received postcards like this. They're jammed with information, product features & benefits, store hours, multiple headlines, slogans, and loads of other text. When you write a postcard like this, it might seem perfectly informational to you, but your prospective customers are only seeing one thing: a big messy ad.

The solution? A unique, irresistible tease.

You don't need to close the sale with your postcards. You just need to motivate people to take the next step. So, instead of cramming every detail onto the card, try to tease your recipients with an idea or promotional message instead.

Let's look at an example.

A new hair salon has opened up in town, and they are mailing postcards to everyone in the area to let them know. The postcard lists all their services ... coloring, styling, men's cuts -- the whole shebang. It has a whole paragraph about the salon's staff, who have years of experience and training, including one stylist who once cut the hair of Lady Gaga. Very impressive, but there's one thing missing: a reason to call RIGHT NOW.

Most people who receive this postcard will not need a haircut immediately. So they will likely trash your card, forget about you, and go to their regular salon when they eventually do need a cut. To avoid this scenario, the hair salon could have created a tease to entice people to respond immediately -- even if they currently need a cut.

A better callout: "Make an appointment today to see how you could get a year's worth of hair styling for FREE!"

Or ... "What does Lady Gaga have to do with the grand opening of ABC Salon? Visit ABCSalon.com to find out and make an appointment!"

Get the idea? There's no need for a bunch of extraneous details. If you can get the prospect to respond immediately, you can hook them in, make your business more memorable, and sell them on the other great stuff later.