If you've never used postcards as an artist, author, or small business owner, here are some ideas on how to use postcards for marketing:
1. Advertise Your Special Skills
I love this postcard by children's illustrator Gina Perry. She sends these out to prospective clients. It's hard to think of a better use of a postcard. A letter, email, or phone call just wouldn't have the same impact as this visual. (Plus, if you're shy, wouldn't you rather send a postcard than stammer a sales speech over the phone?) If I were a children's book editor or agent, this is the kind of cute postcard that I would tack on my bulletin board or share with others in my office.
2. Special Event Invitations
Invite previous customers to your special events: author book signings, jewelry and bead shows, cooking classes. Remember to include all the basics: dates, location, time, and contact info (email, phone, website). This kind of postcard works best if you have an existing mailing listing so you order the right number of postcards. Lori Anderson at Pretty Things offers a nice example she's used for a show.
3. Announce Something New
A new product line or a brand new book are often occasions to mail postcards. (See this fun postcard a student made to announce the book, Hello, Cupcake! or this professionally designed postcard for a beadweaving artist.) If you're traditionally published, your publisher may even give you postcards, so ask before you order your own. In addition to an appealing image, you might want to include a review or a customer testimonial. If you include some kind of special discount code, you'll be able to track how effective your postcard was in getting folks to purchase your item.
4. A Mini Bio and Portfolio
I really enjoyed this post by jewelry designer Ann Nolen who calls postcards her best marketing tool. She says that people don't always want to take a business card, but they're always interested in artists. Often the same people who decline her business card will take a postcard from her with a photo of her jewelry and a mini bio of her on the back. People buy from those they know and a postcard is a great way for others to get to know you a little better! I love receiving postcards in the mail or picking them up at shows or events. True, these postcards are technically advertisements, but often they are so beautifully done with gorgeous photos of jewelry or eye-catching book covers that I end up posting them on my refrigerator. While I do save business cards and some print catalogs, I don't display them.
For me, it's hard to beat a postcard for effective marketing. Yes, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube are great free tools, but honestly, sometimes there is so much noise online that it takes a printed, hold-it-in-my-hands piece to really capture my attention.