In part one of this article on increasing the response of your direct marketing postcards, we discussed creating a great headline to drive readers into reading the rest of the postcard text. 

This objective was accomplished by creating an unusually G-R-E-A-T headline using the Jeff Dobkin 100-to-1 Rule: write 100 headlines, then going back and picking out your best one.  Hey, I didn’t say you’d like it, I just said it was effective.

To continue: here’s how to drive readers further into the copy of your direct mail postcard to fulfill your postcard’s objective.  You do know what your postcard’s objective is, don’t you?  Or… do you?

So at first glance your reader instantly reads your headline.  Bam.  Kapow.  Zzzip.  Your reader was instantly dazed, dazzled and driven to continue reading.  Yes, just like that.  And all in under 2 seconds, and man, I just love that onomatopoeia. Yea, I bet you didn’t think I could spell it.  What?  Oh no you couldn’t spell it, either.  OK, I looked it up.  At least I’m honest.

Readership Survival and your direct mail: Sustaining Readership

OK, compelling headline, but don’t lose your reader now. To sustain readership, use bold sub-headlines.  You know, the two or three mini-headlines scattered throughout the body text to break the copy up into smaller copy segments and digestible bits.  Bold, large type that’s not quite as large as your headline.

Today’s fast-paced, short attention span skimming readers will pass over smaller type to read the bold subheads before going back to read the body text.  So now you know: Man, those subheads also need to be G-R-E-A-T.  The secondary success of your direct mail postcard depends on it.

Rule 8: Set the correct objective of your postcard’s subheadlines: to further increase readership

And, just like the subheadlines in all direct response advertising, your postcard subheadlines are NOT the place to sell your product, either.  Your subheadlines are the place to further increase readership.  That’s the only objective of tightly focused subhead copy: keep the reader interested, keep him reading.  Man, direct response copywriting is tough.  But if you do it correctly, it can also be responsive.

Your postcard’s subheadlines create a fascinating but short story line of brief bits, bullets and bites of boundless bulleted bullsh*t… er, information.  Sorry, I got caught up in my own alliteration. 

Subheads in any direct response marketing vehicle need to continue to fascinate your audience.  These transitional lines make the push that compels readers to read the smaller-set text of the body copy.  If your subheads are created correctly, readers will continue with the “tiny type of the body text” — you know, the type us older folks can’t really see without bifocals.  So, you’re that old, too?  And the body text is the meat and potatoes of your postcard, say hallelujah.  We’ll talk about the body copy in a minute.  OK, minute’s up:

Rule 9: Is the body copy the place to finally sell, sell, sell in your postcards?  No, it isn’t.

The body copy is the last holdout, the final frontier for selling on your postcard.  And… do you actually sell anything here?  Nah.  This is still NOT the place to sell your product. 

What?

“EXCUSE ME!” said the client, his breath smelling of a mixture somewhere between kerosene and the hoagie he had for lunch. I just love it when my clients eat well.  “I paid good money for the creative, the printing and the mailing.  What’s this guy talking about?  When does the postcard sell my product?  Isn’t that what direct response and direct mail is all about?”  Sorry.  I quietly restate Rule Number 9 to myself.  And… I now invoke rule number 10.

Rule 10.  The entire direct mail postcard is not the place to sell your product either.

I turn on my client (wow, that has a few variations of interpretation) and state:  “That, my friend, is exactly and mistakenly correct!” I reply, broad smile on my face.  Even though he wasn’t correct, I always like to make paying clients feel good, here in a bold statement that has no meaning.  “The postcard does not sell your product. YOU sell your product. The postcard is not the place to sell your product at all.  It’s too short.  There’s not enough space to close a sale.  So its a lousy place to try.  But… it’s a great place to ask for a phone call.

Rule 11.  Your postcard is the place to ask for someone to call you.

And that, my friend, is the objective of your postcard campaign: to generate phone calls.  Many phone calls.

If I send you a postcard and you call me, damn – that post card worked really really well, didn’t it?  It did its job, 1000% successful.  Couldn’t ask for anything more.  Well, I could but my wife would get mad.  And now that your direct mail postcard worked by generating a phone call, it’s time for you to do your job: go on, sell me your product. 

How to get someone to call you in direct mail.

While you can get high response rates by making great sales offers to your own hand-carved, hand-tailored mailing list, I’ll state a direct marketing generality here: To get the maximum number of readers to call, offer something for FREE.

Face it – when you wrote your postcard, you kept bitching “Oh, there isn’t any room to sell anything to anyone!”  And, “How can I sell anything I only have room for a tiny 250 words of copy.”  Frankly, I’ve heard less complaining from a baby with a heat rash. 

It’s a good thing I was listening, though – because you were right.  First time this year, isn’t it?  The limited space of your direct mail postcard really isn’t enough space to sell anything.  And frankly, it isn’t the right place to sell anything, either.

Rule 12. Set your Direct Marketing Objective correctly.

Remember, all direct response writing is drafted to fulfill a specific objective.  What?  Yes, I said this earlier – you probably slept through that class.  Just like in college.  Ahh college.  Best 9 years of my life.  So, what is the objective of your post card?  If your card works perfectly, what happens next?

There is only one objective of your postcard and it’s this: to make the reader pick up the phone and call you.  That’s all. If the reader makes the call, the postcard succeeds.  If he doesn’t, the postcard fails.  If the reader calls, YOU sell your product—that’s your job.  It’s right there in the rule book.

Rule 13.  Offer something for FREE

The final thought on the best way to make the reader call: offer something FREE.  And here’s the last piece of the direct response puzzle, what to offer: a FREE Booklet.  Fulfillment cost is well under a dollar – and it can work better than anything else in its price range. 

Would you like to see how it works? 

Call us right now and get our FREE Booklet “The 10 BEST offers  to increase response from your postcards!” Call 610-642-1000 for your FREE Booklet!

Kind of makes you want to pick up the phone, doesn’t it? That’s how it works.  Do you know how many people called us to get this booklet?  Lots.  But you don’t have to call – because in the third and final article in this postcard series, I’ll tell you exactly how to create the best offer to maximize response and get more phone calls from your direct mail postcards.  And get more response from any of your other direct marketing offers, too. Any questions?

Jeff Dobkin will now take your questions.

Need More Business? Why struggle: If you’d like to easily get more customers and kick up the response you get from any direct mail program, visit [Jeffrey Dobkin’s website] at www.dobkin.com and read more FREE articles — learn other fast and easy ways to make your direct marketing more effective – and yet lower your cost. Read more FREE articles [Direct Marketing Articles] at [http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-tips-articles/postcards-improving-readership-1646586.html

Over all the years people have been doing marketing, they have come up with a lot of different ways to get the message out. Some of them differ in purpose and form, but all of them promote a company or company name.

However, I do not see people using very much variety in their marketing. I see the same styles over and over again, and while I know that is the case because those styles are popular, it does not change the fact that you risk getting lost in the crowd if you are not careful.

The world of custom printing is a very large one indeed, and something you should be aware of. A good businessperson goes into the market place with everything at his or her disposal, and if you want to be able to get ahead, you need to know what you are able to do.

I do not intend to cover every inch of what custom printing can do for you, because I know I would come up short, but here are a few suggestions for those who are not sure what they have open to them.

Door hangers are a nice way of getting your message quite literally to a person’s door. You hand the ad on a doorknob on people’s homes. By going door to door yourself, you achieve a cheap form of direct mailing.

Greeting cards are not used nearly enough. They can be like business cards or they can be like postcards depending on how you want to do them, but no matter what they offer an invitation to come in. People are rarely given such a formal invite to a store, and it will make an impression when they do receive one.

Table tents are able to give people some information at whatever locations you want to put them. For those who do not know much about table tents, just go to a restaurant and odds are good you will have one on your table. Put some in your waiting room, or anywhere else, you can, to provide people with whatever information you want to.

If you have a lot of experience with a specific subject matter within your field than have some booklets printed. Talk about what you know, and make sure people understand just how much of an expert you are in your field.

Maybe printing off a calendar might be just what you need to get your name in more people’s homes. When given a free calendar people are going to be encouraged to take it, and more likely to put it up on your wall. Every time they look at the date they have your company name right there in front of them.

In addition, these options here are just a drop in the bucket when it comes to what custom printing can do for you. Research the field and find something that fits your needs. I think you will be surprised by just how much is really out there.

Know more about the custom printing technologies used by businesses for their marketing and advertising campaigns.

Katie Marcus writes information about printing company and printing technologies.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-tips-articles/do-you-know-what-options-you-have-1600326.html

Before You Begin Writing

Before you write a single word of your message, you need to figure out your audience and your goal. These are critical steps, because later you’ll be using words to bridge the gap between your audience and your goal.

Start with your audience. Make a list of the things that might be important to them. Then narrow it down to what you think is the most important element. Use that item for your headline and all throughout your copy.

Professional Experience Not Required

Persuasive writing is more about human understanding than writing skill. The most successful copywriters didn’t get to where they are by being literary wizards. They got there by understanding what motivates people, and being able to write to those emotions.

The most effective marketing copy uses clear, simple language and avoids complexity altogether. Complex language just gets in the way of emotion.

Pick up any Sharper Image catalog and see what I mean. These catalogs sell extremely well for three reasons. They have neat products. They have great photos of those products. And they have straightforward descriptions that aim for the reader’s emotions.

One Idea Per Postcard

You won’t have a lot of space on your postcard, so don’t spread your message too thin. One fully developed topic is a hundred times better than five half-developed topics.

By focusing on one product (or service, or idea, or topic), you can develop it in a way that is more likely to generate a response. You could mention the primary benefits, give a testimonial or two, show some photos, make a strong offer and provide a call to action.

But you can’t do all that while covering several topics. So save the multi-topic approach for your brochures and website.

People request brochures, but they don’t request postcards. For that reason, they give postcards a lot less attention. A quick glance may be all you get. So keep your postcard focused and to the point — one idea per postcard.

Use Strong, Clear Headlines

Headlines can make or break a marketing postcard, depending on how they’re used. Remember, you want to capture your prospects’ attention based on their initial glance. A glance is all you get, so don’t waste it. Tell them right away what you’re offering and what it can do for them.

Sell the Next Step

Before you can begin writing your postcard message, you need to figure out the next step in your sales process. If your goal is to convince the reader that your product or service is superior to all others in its class, your postcard will probably come up short. That’s a lot to ask of an 8″ x 5″ piece of card stock.

People will learn about the quality of your product or service by experiencing it firsthand. They won’t learn it (or believe it) from a single postcard.

There is a sales path to be followed, and the marketing postcard is the first (or sometimes second) step along that path. That’s the job it should perform — moving the reader forward in the sales process.

For example:

* If you’re selling software, the postcard could point to a free 30-day trial available on a web page somewhere.

* If you’re selling your real estate services, the postcard could mention a free report about area schools.

* If you’re in the financial services industry, you could use postcards to invite people to a money-saving seminar.

Write Naturally

When creating your postcard marketing message, try to write in a natural tone that reflects the way you speak. That doesn’t mean your message should be full of slang, but that it should sound like one person talking to another (not like a professor lecturing a class).

Test, Rewrite, and Test Again

Eugene Schwartz, the author of Breakthrough Advertising, said it best: “There are no answers in direct mail except test answers.” Following the best practices of postcard marketing will put you on a base level of success. But to rise above that level, you have to test every aspect of your postcards – and that includes the message.

Sonu is an Expert In Postcard Marketing, postcard advertising and direct mail marketing. His proven strategies have helped thousands of businesses double their sales with postcard marketing.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-tips-articles/postcards-can-be-an-effective-part-of-your-marketing-program-1377819.html