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.

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Imagine yourself in a very small metal room with 10 other people. The doors close and you have no way of escaping this room for a minute or two. While locked in with these strangers you are exposed to various commercials for different products appearing on a video screen right in front of you. The doors finally open, and you are allowed to leave.

Sound like a nightmare (or Marketing Executive’s dream, perhaps)? Well, it’s actually reality; it’s your experience if you use an elevator in any one of a few hundred buildings across the United States.

Captivate Network has installed over 3,000 flat-panel video monitors in elevators across the country. Business professionals use these elevators every day and while in that big metal box with nothing to do, a video screen flashes to life and sales pitches fill the room. After all, what are they going to do? Haul up 60 flights of stairs? Likely not.

This mix of “marketing through a necessity” isn’t restricted to affluent business-people inside of office towers, however. The television network Comedy Central has placed over 500 advertisements in bar bathrooms in order to promote one of their new shows. Talk about a captive audience! When nature calls, advertisers listen …

Advertising above urinals might be a rare occurrence, but the trend of advertising and transportation is becoming more evident and technology is playing an ever-increasing role. If you’ve ever been on a subway or seen a bus, you’ve no doubt seen a billboard as well. Cars are often plastered with graphics for any given local company or even a simple bumper sticker with a website. And now, in over 400 taxicabs in New York City, the passengers are treated to a video monitor as the meter runs and they are transported to their destination.

Does the concept of captive marketing frustrate you almost as much as sinking a little white golf-ball into a tiny hole 400 yards away? Then you should avoid the nearly 25,000 golf carts across the United States outfitted with video monitors touting all sorts of products to help increase your frustration and mock your futility ENHANCE your game.

So how do you escape all of this advertising if you just can’t take it? Next time you’re golfing, just walk. Take the stairs instead of the elevator or ride a bike instead of taking a cab.

And if you’re in a bar at 1:00AM and you’ve got to go?

Well, they pretty much got you on that one!

Direct Mail Marketing: Is It Your Choice?

Direct mail marketing is a system of marketing that is directed at specific people. In direct marketing, the advertisement is directed to a specific individual. This is unlike marketing that is open ended such as a billboard or a television commercial. Direct mail marketing is a very effective means of communication in virtually any environment and for most businesses. But, there are some things to be wary about when it comes to direct mail marketing.

One of the benefits of direct mail marketing is that you can measure your success. If you send out direct marketing materials to 100 people and 50 respond, you can see just how well your marketing has worked. Where as in banner advertising there is no way to judge how many people saw versus how many reacted to your marketing technique. This can help you to measure your success rate quite simply.

But, there are a few things to protect your business from when it comes to direct mail marketing. For one thing, many people hate to get junk mail. And in this we mean email and postal services. Spam is quite common on the web. There are even laws and regulations regulating marketing techniques that employ the use of spam or spam like marketing. Steering clear of such avenues is quite important.

So, should you invest your advertising budget in direct mail marketing? It is quite necessary in most cases to consider the use of this type of marketing. And, regardless of the hassles, it is one of the most beneficial ways to advertise.

There are also many information portals now devoted to the subject and we recommend reading about it at one of these. Try googling for “direct mail marketing” and you will be surprised by the abundance of information on the subject. Alternatively you may try looking on Yahoo, MSN or even a decent directory site, all are good sources of this information.

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