a couple general tips for effective direct mail postcards.
instead of squeezing a ton of info onto a small card, first minimize the info you include... this is not your entire sales presentation but rather one part of a marketing/sales campaign (make sure to think through the entire campaign and how this piece will fit into your strategy and what you are trying to achieve with it). be clear about what you are trying to achieve with each piece and make them part of an overall planned sales strategy.
larger postcards are easier to read and harder to ignore.
use color, graphics and quality printing..all of these items can increase the chances of your mailer being noticed..the reality is a high percentage will receive a glance and not much more before hitting the trash...use all of the tools available to you to increase the chances that your advertisement will be noticed.
obviously put your company name/logo on both sides of the postcard, keep your branding consistent.
in my experience it is worth the investment to invest in information (lists, etc) that allow you to target specific demographics versus a shotgun approach hoping that the same ad will appeal to all people. taylor your ad for each targeted demographic, (if doing a piece for your own company..take the time and effort to collect data about your clients, what industry they are in, etc so that you can target specific segments of your customer base at strategic times, for example create a piece targetting schools and all of their sign needs and send it out to them 6-8 weeks prior to when they regularly are purchasing signs (back to school, etc) so that you are the company that they are associating with that need versus them searching for someone to fill the need once they begin to think about ordering.
consider strategies that encourage the recipient to retain your postcard, for example..present this postcard and save X% off of your order,'enter this code and save x%', all of these strategies increase your chances of successs and exposure of your company (which are all opportunities for the customer to consider what you are offering, think about your company, reinforce exposure to your brand name..etc).
tips for this piece.
reduce the content, it is overwhelming..people will not read all of it..presenting a wall of words will most likely discourage ppl from reading it...they simply 'tune out'.
an instant sign of a rookie designer is to design to the edge of your boundaries (page/substrate/website/whatever)..it looks less than professional and is difficult to read.
when enlarging text do so proportionately..do not stretch text vertically without enlarging it proportionately horizontally..it can be done successfully by seasoned designers, in certain situations and still look presentable..but most less experienced designers should avoid doing so, in my opinion.
i would rework the content/copyrighting on this piece, i would rework the spacing, and i would NEVER recommend putting the customer's name and contact info out for the world to see..we've had more than one incident on this forum where people have found it necessary to contact the customer and alert them to the thread..as much of a beating as you take on here..no one needs that kind of a beating, imo.
and yes i am available as a consultant to help
