Combine Postcard Marketing with Your Online Marketing Strategy
by Michael Reid

The most successful marketing strategy is one that combines the best aspects of online marketing with the best of offline marketing. And there are few marketing methods as compatible with Internet marketing as postcard marketing. Integrating postcard marketing with your online marketing strategy can be a great way to boost your business.

Letting people know about your business Web site

You cant set up in cyberspace and expect customers to just come to your business Web site. You have to let them know you are there. And, while there are people who look online, there are still plenty of others who are not as Web savvy as you would like them to be. For those folks, you need an offline marketing strategy to get them to your business Web site. This is where the postcard comes in. Put your Web address on an attractive postcard to create interest in your business Web site. Postcard marketing is uniquely compatible with online marketing:

• Postcard marketing is low cost. You can generate several thousand for a relatively small amount of money (http://www.designsnprint.com/ is offering 5,000 for $170 right now), and they are inexpensive to mail. They are a low cost way of generating Web traffic.
• Postcards arrive at the home or business, in a place where a computer is readily available. This makes it easy to simply take the postcard immediately to the computer and enter the Web address.
• Postcards are small, and even if the customer is not near a computer, it is easy to slip into a pocket or purse. They arent awkward or annoying. It is just as easy (often easier!) to carry a postcard around as to find a trash and throw it away.
• The small size of postcards makes them ideal in a variety of situations. They are convenient as reminders on fridges and corkboards. When a customer needs something, your business Web site is right there, ready to serve him or her.
• Additionally, postcards are easy to pass along. Prospects who look at your business Web site can then easily give the postcard to a friend, advising him or her to visit your site. Two for the price of one.

Using postcards to direct customers to your business Web site

A well designed postcard will lead prospects to your Web site, and these prospects will be the most likely to buy. Here are three things you can do to create a postcard marketing campaign that will send people to your business Web site:

1. Presentation for a good first impression. A postcard doesnt look like an ad. Thats why people like them. If you present your postcard in a more "friendly" manner, you will be more likely to encourage more visits to your business Web site. A "signature" at the end, or an actual name, helps customers feel more interested.
2. Generate interest. Because postcard marketing uses such a small medium, the idea is to generate interest in receiving more information from your business Web site. Think of a major benefit you offer, and highlight that. But dont try to close the sale on the postcard. Just pique the interest of the customer so that he or she will visit your business Web site to learn more (and close the sale there!).
3. Encourage immediate action. Feature a special sale or promotion if the customer responds before a certain deadline. That way, the customer visits your business Web site NOW, rather than waiting and possibly forgetting.

Postcard marketing can be an integral part of your Web marketing strategy. They are an effective and low cost way to generate interest in your business Web site.

Michael Reid - marketing/promotions Small Business Promotions, Inc http://www.designsnprint.com

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