Postcards Can Be Effective “Trash”

When sifting through your mail on a daily basis you cannot help but notice the number of postcards that you may get.  Although they can be annoying and overwhelming, they can be quite effective in delivering their message when being thrown away.

When you consider the types of direct mail you get, you rarely open the pieces that are contained in an envelope, unless the marketer has done an effective job at making the envelope compelling enough to open.  Most of the time this is not the case and the envelope just gets discarded before being opened.  While postcards are most likely going to get discarded as well, at least they will be viewed while the person is in the process of sorting what is trash and what is not.  The advantage the postcard holds is that the person may “accidentally” read your message and get pulled into your campaign because it is printed right on the card.  Even if your postcard is boring looking, the reader does not have to take that extra step of opening anything as in the case of a letter or envelope.

I am not suggesting that all direct marketing should be done via postcard and sales letters contained in envelopes are not effective because they all have their place and strategic advantage.  It is just that most of the time postcards can be viewed ad a waste and ineffective while my argument suggested that not to be true.  Let’s not forget that a postcard can be done on a tighter budget compared to a letter campaign.

So long live the Postcard!