A marketing postcard is one of the most basic pieces of direct mail that you can create. It’s small, requires no folding or assembly, and can include just about any message you want to deliver.

However, the simplicity of a direct mail postcard can be deceptive. You might be tempted to put too much information on that small space, and your customers might be visually overwhelmed. Let’s take a look at the parts of a direct mail postcard.

The card itself can be simple matte card stock or a glossy white. A postcard can be printed in single color or full color. Your graphic design service can help you to decide what types of paper and printing processes are right for your project and your budget.

The address side of the postcard has several requirements that have to be met in terms of address information, postage and the intelligent mail barcode. These requirements will dictate how you lay out the addressing information, but there may be additional space on this side that you can utilize for your message, but keep it simple.

The media side of the direct mail postcard is all up to you. There are no requirements for addressing and such, so you have a blank canvas to work with, which is both a blessing and a curse. Think about the reason for sending this postcard: if it is a notification of an event, put the event details clearly on this side of the postcard. If you are sending a coupon, use the whole area for the coupon so your customer doesn’t have to cut anything out, and the details are large enough to view and understand quickly. Be clear about your message and provide a way (via phone, web or email) for the customer to get more information.

Image – © DavidMSchrader – Fotolia.com

Email is one of the fastest ways to get a message out to a prospect list, but can have a lot of quirks in development.  As an example, say you’re sending a postcard mailer to your direct mail list.  While you could theoretically personalize the content, the postcard itself is the same size and shape, is delivered the same way (via US Mail), and is read in the same way by all its recipients.

On the other hand, an email can be delivered via computer, tablet, or smartphone, viewed in a half a dozen or more different web browsers, and your prospects may limit how they receive graphics in their email. As a result, your message could end up being viewed in ways you never expected.

This is a great reason to use bulk email marketing services when you want to deliver an email message to your customers. A company that specializes in developing and sending email can do the following:

• Design an email message and layout that will be viewed by the maximum number of people.  This means that the content is compatible with a wide variety of browsers and mail programs, and will still provide the message effectively on smartphones and to customers who choose to receive text-only emails.
• Deliver your message using mechanisms that won’t label your message as spam.
• Help you to maintain your email list to minimize bad addresses and to make sure your messages are consistently read.
• Help you to collect statistics on how effective your email messages are and work with you to improve their effectiveness.

Bulk email marketing can be used in so many ways, from standard advertising to trigger emails and simple thank you messages.  Using bulk email marketing services can help ensure that your email is read and acted on.

Image – © fuzzbones – Fotolia.com

We have super exciting news to share today regarding what’s contained in this official press release.

The Ballantine Corporation has created an SEO and social media agency division called Ballantine Digital. In a nutshell, we provide full-service SEO & social media solutions to mid-sized companies looking for increased search engine rankings & social visibility.

Ballantine Digital will be run by Ryan Cote who has over 10 years of SEO and online marketing experience. Ryan has helped Ballantine.com (at the time of this writing) achieve over 400 top 20 rankings on Google for targeted keywords.

Adding social media marketing services to the mix was an obvious choice because of its ability to increase online visibility and brand awareness. Plus, it’s playing a growing role in effective search engine optimization.

If you want to chat about SEO and/or social media for your company, please call Ryan at (973) 305-1500 x206 or via email at ryan@ballantine.com.