Check out the following tips on using newsletters to promote your business:

Your newsletter should contain an introduction about you and your company. The introduction should be done in a professional yet personal tone so as to build confidence between you and your readers. Treat your reader like a real person. Talk to them in a tone you normally use when talking to your friends. A personal approach is always more effective than using a very formal tone of voice.

The originality and value of your newsletter’s content is very important in keeping your subscribers’ interest. Not providing fresh content in your newsletter might drive them to lose interest, stop opening your newsletter, and eventually unsubscribe. The last thing you want is to lose your subscribers because it will be more difficult to convince them to subscribe again. Thus, make sure that you spend enough time and effort to provide your newsletter subscribers with fresh, unique and valuable newsletters regularly.

When your subscribers e-mail you to ask a question, clarify things, provide feedback, make a suggestion or request more information, be sure to respond to them attentively. When a subscriber takes his time and makes an effort to contact you, it is your chance to prove that you’re a company that they can trust. Never miss the chance to reply to a subscribers e-mail.

Usually, an e-mail account has its own spam filter to help filter out unwanted mails. Sometimes, even if a person has personally subscribed to you, the newsletters may accidentally be filtered out into the bulk mail folder. One way to avoid this is to ask your subscribers to be sure to include you e-mail address to their contact list. This way, your e-mails will not be automatically treated as spam and you can assure that your subscribers will receive your e-mails or newsletter on time.

Your subscribers will not have the patience to read your newsletter if your headlines are bland, boring and uninteresting. Make sure that your headlines will grab your readers interest quickly and will make them stop a few minutes and read the full content of the story. Of course, be sure that the content of your newsletter lives up to what your headline offers.

One way to make money from your newsletter is to include appropriate links to your affiliates. For instance, if your newsletter discusses giving gifts for a special occasion, you may want to include links to a flower-delivery affiliate or a gift-store affiliate. Just remember not to include too many links in your newsletter e-mail as to make it look like an annoying promotional e-mail.

Designing postcards for advertising is a serious task.  Yes, it is fun and exciting but let’s not forget that the success of your postcard marketing campaign will largely rely on how well your postcards are presented.  Poorly designed postcards will surely be neglected.  On the contrary, a postcard with an attractive and catchy design is sure to win the recipient’s heart.  In this article, let’s talk about some important aspects in designing and printing your postcards.  

Designing Your Own Postcards

A lot of home based business entrepreneurs choose to take over the designing of their postcards.  This is understandable as many of these home business owners are also artists in their own rights. Theses shop owners often sell products that they designed and created themselves.  Thus, for many of these sellers designing postcards for advertising should be an easy and enjoyable task.

The most important thing to remember about designing postcards for advertising is to create a catchy message and match it with an equally captivating photo or image.  By combining these two elements, you should be able to come up with a postcard that will get attention.

Another factor to keep in mind is to focus on just one message.  Postcards have a limited space and you’ll want to make sure that there’ll be enough white spaces left on your card.  Overcrowding a piece of card with too many texts or photos is surely not the best way to go.  You’ll want your recipient to be able to read your message easily and grasp what you’re trying to say. 

Don’t forget that your main purpose is to encourage the recipient to take a positive step after receiving your card.  The best way to achieve this goal is to focus on one message at a time.  If you want to invite a recipient to visit your online shop, then focus on that message.  If you want a recipient to try your newest product, you’ll have to create a separate postcard for that.  Focus is the key and that’s what every marketer should work on.

Printing Your Postcards

Is it okay to print your postcards on your own?  If you’re sending a small number of postcards to a bunch of people, doing the printing yourself can save you costs.  If you were able to create a great design, then the printing job should be the easiest part. 

Don’t forget to purchase your materials in bulk to save money.  Shop around first and compare prices before placing your order.   Check out office supply stores or craft stores for schedules of sales and take advantage of these events to cut back your expenses.

However, if you plan to launch a postcard marketing campaign on a larger scale, you may want to consider hiring the services of a professional printing company.  A lot of printing services offer package deals that include both the printing and mailing of the postcards.  By availing combined services, you should be able to save more from the printing and mailing costs.

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Two of my favorites are Pomodoro and Covo, and my friend Joe has come to both with me. At Pomodoro, they make fun of me for asking for more Parmesan after I’ve eaten down to the portion of the rigatoni that’s not under a cheese blanket, and at Covo, they know I’ll order one of three things every time and that I’ll want to sit outside no matter how cold it is. One night, Joe and I went to another restaurant down the road from my apartment called Largo for drinks. "Do they know you here, too?" he asked. "No!" I snapped, "I’m at the deli next door every day and they’re owned by the same people, but I’ve actually only been here two or three times." So we get our drinks, drink them and two more, and soon enough the bartendress is vacuuming and closing out the register. We’re the only people left and we’re wondering why they haven’t asked us to pay. "Hi there - can we pay?" I ask. "Oh…well, that guy over there is my manager, and he says you’re next door all the time, so the drinks are on him." Of course Joe looks at me incredulously and says, you get free drinks at the place you’ve "only been a few times"?

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Even internet marketers find the usefulness of promoting the business offline through postcard marketing.  Why?  Because not everyone has the time to surf the web and not everyone is aware that your business exists online.  That is why, promoting with postcards is also valuable even for online business owners.  Postcards help them generate more traffic to their business website.

If you have a business, have tried marketing with postcards?  If not, let’s talk about some suggestions you can do to make your postcard marketing a success.  If you’re already marketing with postcards, make sure that you do not forget the following tips:

Use the right mailing list.
Sending your postcards to the appropriate market will surely generate positive response.  If people are genuinely interested in the products or services you offer, they will surely take the time to read your postcard and check out your website.  On the contrary, inviting people to check out your site will be a waste of time if they don’t have any interest in what you offer.

Where can you find the right mailing list?  One way to collect mailing address is to get recommendations from your existing clients.  Ask them if they have friends or relatives that they know would also be interested in your products or services.  If you only get a small number of referrals, you can also buy a mailing list from a reputable mailing list broker.

Focus on your goal.
As an online business, the goal for sending postcards is to invite more people to visit your website.  Therefore, don’t try to sell your products or services in your postcards.  Postcards can only contain short, concise messages.  In this case, use the postcards to encourage recipients to check out your business online.

Compose an effective message.
In connection with focusing on your goal, compose a message that will reach out to your reader’s interest.  Why should they check out your website?  What will they get out of it?  One great way to encourage people is to offer a bonus, a discount or a freebie for the first visitors of your site.  People love to receive gifts so they will more likely take the time to visit the site.

Personalize your message.
A personal message generates more response from customers rather than a strictly promotional message.  Don’t make your postcard look like an ordinary print ad.  Instead, try to appeal to your reader’s hearts and make them feel special. 

Use a captivating image.
A heart-warming photograph or a funny picture will say more than what words can.  Take the time to choose an image that will perfectly illustrate what you want to say or what you want the reader to feel.  Beautifully-designed postcards are kept for a long time and achieve more response.

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“The business-to-consumer portion of our business has been growing significantly over the past few years, and this acquisition provides a good opportunity to continue that growth and add some capabilities that we didn’t have,” said Jeff Winter, director of sales and marketing at Schmidt.

Business-to-business marketers, which used to make up a significant portion of card decks, are increasingly switching to Internet search, explained Winter. On the consumer side, however, marketers are increasingly “using direct mail as a cost-effective tool to drive store traffic,” he continued.

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Where can you find the right mailing list? 

There are different sources of mailing lists which you can turn to.  However, not all mailing list companies offer the same price for a database.  In addition, not all mailing list brokers distribute the right names and addresses.  Some mailing list brokers may include some false addresses or non-existent names on the list just to complete a database.  Thus, it is very important to ensure the reputation and background of your mailing list source before buying a mailing list.

There are mailing list companies that provide not just the name and address of possible prospects.  Along with the addresses, there are databases that include other details about the list such as the income level, age, gender, occupation, e-mail addresses, etc.  A database that contains this additional information will be a tremendous help in creating a profile for your target audience.  As expected, this type of mailing list can cost more than a simple name and address list.  Nevertheless, if you haven’t exactly defined a target audience, a mailing list with demographic details will be a great help in your postcard marketing campaign.

Choosing a mailing list

Before choosing a mailing list company, make all the necessary inquiries about its services.  For instance, ask how often does the company update  its list.  What are the sources it uses to complete its listing?  Make sure that you’ll be getting an updated mailing list to ensure that the names and addresses on the list still exist. 

Tell the mailing list company exactly what is your target audience.  For example, if you only want women at the age of 30 and above in your list, be sure that the mailing list company will be able to provide it for you.  If not, you might be given a mailing list with both men and women with younger people included.  Thus, you might be paying for a mailing list without getting much valuable prospects.

Request a database format like Excel or Access which can easily be used to print the names and addresses directly from the database.  This will save you time when printing the postcards.

Selecting the right mailing list will determine the response you will get from your postcard marketing campaign.  An effective mailing list will help you reach out to the people who are genuinely interested in the products and services you offer.  Obviously, if you’ll be marketing your products or services to the people who has the need for them and wants them, you have more chances of acquiring customers and getting the sales you want.

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“The kid could speak four European languages,” said Schneider, a Weymouth resident and history instructor at Bridgewater State College and Suffolk University. “All I could think was: why doesn’t this kid have an American buddy or pen pal that he could converse with?”

The youngster’s determination convinced Schneider to purchase several pictures, but his encounter with the boy left him awestruck by the enormous poverty in Southeast Asia. 

Schneider walked away with a sinking feeling. He believed that the boy should have been attending school and buying the postcards was not going to help the youngster in the long run.

“I began to think about ways we Americans, regardless of our political views, could cooperate and get in touch with that kid in Cambodia,” Schneider said.

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One of the first things that should be considered is your target audience.  Where would you send your postcards to?  Defining your target audience is crucial to the result of your postcard marketing campaign.  Just like with any marketing tactic, trying to promote your business to the wrong crowd will most likely be futile and unsuccessful.

Defining Your Target Audience
Who is your target audience?  Of course, they are the people who have genuine interest in your business.  They are the people who have the most potential to buy the products or services you offer.  Trying to sell your business to people who have no need or interest on what you’re selling would be pointless.

How can you define your target audience?  First of all, you need to know the profile of your target audience.  For instance, are they individuals or are they business owners themselves?  Are you trying to sell your products to a retail business or to individual customers?  What is the income level of your target audience?  What are their interests?

Knowing your target audience will help you decide what type of marketing strategy you would need to get results. 

Where can you find a mailing list for your target audience?  One way to obtain a mailing list is to buy from a reputable broker.  If you have a listing of customers in your database, you can use them as well.  You may also ask referrals from your existing customers to widen up your list. 

Appealing to Your Target Audience
Once you’ve defined your target market, you can now focus on creating the right postcards for your audience.  When putting together a postcard design, always focus on your goal.  What would you like your postcards to accomplish?  Do you want people to visit your website, go to your store, or try a new product?  Postcards can only get across one message effectively.  Trying to sell all your products at once would be an ineffective way of using postcards.

Because many businesses use postcard marketing, try to come up with a unique design for your postcards.  Use an image that will best capture the message you want to convey.  But don’t forget to use a text message that clearly emphasizes what you want the recipient to do. 

Make your headline as interesting as you can.  Try to capture your audience’s curiosity and attention right from your headline.  Follow it up with a message that will convince the reader to take action.  Don’t forget to use straight-forward call to action statements instead of using ambiguous lines that can be confusing for a reader.

Lastly, sending a postcard once will not guarantee getting a response from your target audience.  Most successful businesses have found that sending postcards at least twice or three times generate better results in the long run.  Thus, be consistent and do not give up easily just because your postcards didn’t generate sales the first time.

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