Postcards can drive a high volume of traffic to your web site and they can generate a large number of sales leads for you. They're highly effective, easy to use and cost very little.

A PERSONALIZED FORMAT WORKS BEST

Avoid postcards that look like a magazine ad printed on a card. You'll get a bigger response if you keep your message brief and format your postcard to look like a personal message. Your prospect can't resist reading a postcard formatted this way for several reasons.

1. It's delivered already opened and ready to read.

2. The message is brief and easy to read.

3. It looks like a personal message.

Personal message postcards are also effective for business to business promotions. "Gatekeepers" who screen the incoming mail in many business and professional offices will usually pass them through to your prospect. And because the postcard is smaller than the other mail it's usually put on top of the boss's mail pile. That almost guarantees your prospect will read it.

I've used these postcards successfully for everything from developing customer leads to recruiting senior executives. They always produce a big response for a very low cost.

FOLLOW 3 GUIDELINES TO MAXIMIZE RESULTS

You'll get the maximum number of responses to your postcards by following three simple guidelines:

1. Personalize the message on your postcard. Include a date and a greeting like you would in a letter. You can use "Dear Kim" when you know your recipient's name or something like "Dear Homeowner" or "Hello Doctor" when you don't.
   
2. Keep your message brief. Don't clutter your postcard with too many words or your prospect won't read it. The most effective postcard announces one major benefit and asks the recipient to take an action to get more details.
   
   For example: "You can lose 13 pounds in the next 2 weeks without dieting. Call me today at 123-4567 or visit abc@domain.com and I'll prove it to you."
   
3. Always send postcards by First Class Mail. It costs only 21 cents in the US. To qualify for this special 21 cent postage rate, your postcard must be at least 3 1/2 inches high by 5 inches long but not over 4 1/4 inches high by 6 inches long.

IMPORTANT: Use a real 21 cent postage stamp. A postcard sent with a real stamp generates more replies than the same postcard sent with postage applied any other way.

TIP: Get self-adhesive rolls of 100 stamps and use them with the automatic dispenser sold for about $15 in most office supply stores. It makes the job of putting stamps on your postcards quick and easy.

EASY TO PRODUCE

You can have your postcards professionally printed by a print shop or print them yourself on your computer.

One cost-effective method when using your computer is to print 4 postcards on an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of standard index stock paper. Then cut each sheet into quarters to produces four 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" postcards. 100 sheets will produce 400 postcards for about 1 cent each.

For small quantities print your postcards individually on the 4" x 6" blank index cards available from any office supply store.

Personal message postcards are simple and inexpensive to use. They achieve almost 100 percent readership and generate a high rate of response. Use them the next time you want to drive traffic to your web site or generate sales leads for a very low cost.