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3 Postcard Design Elements Most Business Owners Forget

3 Postcard Design Elements Most Business Owners Forget

Most people don’t realize that I personally review and often suggest edits on a handful of our clients’ postcard designs.

Why? Well, for one, I started my career as a graphic designer and genuinely enjoy it, but more importantly:

Your postcard design will either grab your prospect’s attention or be ignored. And your campaign’s success matters to me.

So your postcard needs to not only look attractive when it’s grabbed from the mailbox, but it needs to do this:

Your postcard must communicate that you’re a trustworthy, professional business, AND it needs to tell them how your product or service can either:

  • Solve a problem for them
  • Provide them with something that is needed or wanted
  • Or make their lives easier or better somehow.

I’m always going over the importance of the 10 elements of successful postcard design, but recently I noticed that there are 3 elements which often get overlooked.

BUT:

By using these 3 often-overlooked elements, your even more likely to get an amazing response.

Keep reading if you’re ready for more calls and business…

1. Use reviews to help 73% of consumers trust you more

According to a BrightLocal survey, 73% of consumers trust a local business more when they see positive reviews. I’m actually surprised this percentage isn’t higher honestly!

Think about it:

When you see a business’s reviews, and they’re positive, you’re more likely to try them out, right?

Have you ever searched for a restaurant online and saw a bunch of 1-star reviews with customers complaining about unfriendly staff and slow service? Most of us have experienced that.

So here’s my question:

If you’re planning a date, which of these two restaurants would you choose?

example ratings of restaurants on google

My guess:

You’ll book the one on the right.

68 reviews with an average 4.8 star rating — I’d definitely eat there!

Now notice this:

example of restaurant reviews on google

293 reviews with an average of a 4.4 rating versus 68 reviews and 4.8 stars.

Which restaurant would you likely choose?

Probably the one with a whopping 293 reviews — Restaurant 3! Even though it has a slightly lower average star rating than Restaurant 2, 4 TIMES the number of people have eaten there and took the time to review it.

This is called “social proof.” Social proof is a newer term used in marketing that means what others say or do affects your behaviors, including purchase behaviors, whether you’re aware of it or not.

social icons

So what does social proof have to do with postcard design?

Google has trained us to recognize that when you see 5 little golden stars in a row, you know immediately that you’re looking at a business review.

And it’s no secret that your prospects use Google to find things AND reviews to decide whether to try a business.

Just check out these statistics:

  • Over 88% of Americans use the internet
  • Google is the #1-used search engine
  • 68% say positive reviews encourage them to use a business
  • Review stars increase how many people click on your website by 35%

In other words —

You can use the power of Google right on your postcard!

Just add a simple 5 star-review graphic element to your postcard design and create more credibility — like this:

Notice how the stars draw your attention to read the review?

Take a look at this postcard WITHOUT the stars:

dental postcard review with no stars

Not as eye-catching, right? Those little stars drawn you in to read the review.

Plus, get this:

Star ratings are the #1 factor used by consumers to judge whether a business is credible or not.

Meaning —

Your marketing NEEDS to use star graphics!

So make sure your postcard design features a review with an easy-to-spot star rating, and you’ll create more credibility with your prospects, thereby encouraging them to try you out!

I’m sure you have at least one 5-star review you can pull from the internet! If you don’t – grab an amazing testimonial a client gave you and use a 5-star graphic with it!

Onto the next one…

2. DON’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!

Just joking…

Because that’s my point:

You need to tell your prospects EXACTLY what you want them to do.

So often I hear from clients that they want to generate brand awareness with their postcard campaign. But that’s a COMPLETE waste of money!

Your postcards need to generate your business revenue — period.  

You need to think about the steps your prospect will take when they receive your postcard, meaning:

  • Your postcard design first will catch their eye
  • They’ll decide they want to learn more
  • They’ll flip over your postcard to keep reading
  • They’ll read your special offer

And then what??

They’ll read your call-to-action.

A call-to-action is a simple directive on your postcard that essentially says:

HERE’S WHAT TO DO RIGHT NOW.

Which means you need to know exactly what action you want your prospects to take when they receive your postcard and read your special offer. What do you need your prospects to DO in order to actually become a real lead, so you can turn them into a new customer for your business?

Glibly saying “visit us online for more information” will not cut it and is tantamount to saying, “Good-bye lead!” Consumers today already know they can go to your website for more information.

Since more than 90% of people who read your postcard’s headline will also end up reading your call-to-action, it needs to not only be a direct statement, but it needs to tie into your business’s strategy for creating a new customer.

Here are a few effective ones you can use:

  • Call today for your FREE quote
  • Visit our website to book your reservation
  • Call 555-555-5555 to start saving money today!

Why do these call-to-actions work? They overtly connect you with your prospects so you can talk to them and close them as new customers for your business!

businesswoman on the phone

On your postcard design, your call-to-action should be easy to see.

Like this one in bright green:

effective postcard design with bright green call to action

Choosing a color for your call-to-action that exists nowhere else on the postcard design (like bright lime green) will draw the readers’ eyes involuntarily to the call-to-action so they can take advantage of your special offer…

In other words:

Your call-to-action and special offer go hand in hand. The call-to-action should be under or very nearby the offer ideally.

So make sure your special offer is something your prospects will jump at.

FREE report: 128 special offers already PROVEN to generate leads

And remember this:

If your call-to-action involves prospects calling your business, your receptionist needs to be ready.

Don’t let prospects’ calls go to voicemail…

Give your receptionist a to easily gather all the vital information of the caller —

Including which marketing your prospects received (one of the easiest ways to track your marketing!).

3. Show people where exactly you’re physically located

If your business requires people to come to your location to be serviced, use an image of a map on your postcard so prospects don’t have to think, but can just look and see where you’re located.

Here’s an example:

effective postcard design with location on a map

I love this example because the map image is right above the 2 special offers. It’s also easy for prospects to see where they can just pop in, so they’re more likely to do just that.

Which is especially helpful if you’re one of these businesses:

  • Dentist
  • Chiropractor
  • Gym
  • Automotive
  • Retail
  • Salon/Spa
  • Dance Studios
  • School or school programs
  • Day Care

So there you have it! Here at PostcardMania, we design anywhere from 300-400 postcards each week and now that you know these 3 design elements, here’s what I’ll leave you with:

When you include as many on your postcard as possible, the more likely it will generate leads for you — especially if you mail consistently.

For example:

An Indiana dentist mailed postcards to people with these characteristics:

  • Residents in Indianapolis
  • Median incomes of $50,000+

Here’s their design:

effective dental postcard design fronteffective dental postcard back

Check out their:

  • Star ratings
  • Call-to-action with the contact info (ph and URL) in a completely different color
  • Multiple special offers
  • And a map image!
dental postcard frontdental postcard back

Dr. Hall launched an aggressive campaign and ended up mailing 55,000 postcards over several months.

At the same time, he ran matching Google ads — using DirectMail2.0 — so area residents not only received his postcards on a consistent basis, seeing Dr. Hall’s marketing in their mailboxes for months, but they also saw his online ads all over the internet, thanks to the genius of Google.

Just check out his results:

  • 304 calls (using call tracking)
  • 156% increase in new patients
  • $132,000 in revenue
  • A return on investment of 633%!

Dr. Hall’s campaign’s success wasn’t just about his postcard design…

He mailed consistently, which is a HUGE REASON his new patient numbers started to look like this:

hall family dentistry new patients per month graph

Not to mention:

Indianapolis residents saw his ads all over the internet for months on end. It’s almost like his marketing was everywhere.

You can watch his case study video here.

I hope these design tips helped you! If you haven’t already, download my 10 postcard design elements and hang them right by your desk for easy reference so you don’t need to go looking for them when you’re ready to plan your marketing.

And if you need any help at all with your marketing, we’re here to assist you with postcards, graphic design, and even integrating digital ads into your direct mail campaign using Everywhere Small Business.

Best,

Joy

P.S. Check out the quality of our postcards by requesting your FREE sample pack here. We’ll deliver them straight to you!

FREE DOWNLOAD: 10 Opportunities to Perfect Your Postcard Ad

 

3 Comments

  • These 3 elements were extremely useful, especially for a novice like me. As soon as our retail space is ready, we will be doing a campaign with your company.

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