23 Sep 10 How to do Successful Postcard Marketing?
There’s nothing like postcard marketing, as it hits the target market directly and that too at a small cost. Nice postcard marketing always brings in great rewards, recurring business, favorable image and high brand recall. Best part of postcard marketing is its extremely cost-effective nature. A good marketing strategy coupled with an excellent design can ensure successful postcard campaign.
Here’s a guideline for running a successful postcard marketing campaign.
Map your target audience and reach them
Mapping the right target audience is the most crucial part of postcard marketing. The marketer should know whom to reach. Once the target audience is mapped, it’s very convenient to figure out their taste and preferences, needs and wants. Thereby communication can be altered accordingly. Recipient can be individual person or a company. Don’t send postcards randomly to a big number of uninterested people. Even if your target group is small in number, stick to it and communicate effectively.
Always try to add an offer
Normal brand advertising is often ignored. People generally respond much better to campaign which contains attractive offers like – free gifts, free samples, free consultation, lucky draw coupons. The word ‘Free’ easily grabs attention of the reader. So always try to associate your campaign with an attractive offer. As for example a postcard saying ‘Get to know your skin type. Call us today for a free expert consultation and guidance’ gets more effective response than a campaign saying ‘Skin Expert, call @ XXXXX’. An offer adds spice to the campaign and draws in huge number of phone calls and email responses.
Use effective words
An effective hard-hitting headline, call to action words and signing off lines like ‘last date of sending entries’ and the like deadlines are must for an advertisement campaign. These words not only grab attention, but also arouse interest and help in purchase decision. An effective headline is soul of a campaign, grabs attention in the first look. A call to action word like ‘Buy now’ guides one towards the end decision and act as incentive. Do not use difficult words; rather stick to simple yet effective words. You can also include a deadline, like till when the offer will be valid. It sets an urgency to react.
Take care of the design
A good marketing campaign is often marred by a poor design. A good design not only grabs attention, but also makes the reader concentrate in the postcard and preserve it for long. An exceptional design innovation can make the campaign instant popular.
Do a test run and repeat if it works
Once the campaign is ready, test it in a small market. If the trial goes fine, launch it all over your market. If it brings good response and revenue repeat it again.
Tags: Advertisement Campaign, Excellent Design, Expert Consultation, Favorable Image, Free Consultation, Free Expert, Free Gifts, Good Marketing, Last Date, Lucky Draw, Marketer, Marketing Campaign, Marketing Strategy, Postcard Campaign, Postcard Marketing, Purchase Decision, Skin Type, Target Audience, Target Group, Target Market
04 Jun 10 What are the various parts of a Print Advertisement?
Print ads are of various types, shapes, sizes and most importantly they are crafted in various ways. It’s the concept, visual and copywriting of an ad which makes it draw thumbs up or face thumbs down. All advertisements strictly work on the principle of AIDA – i.e., it grabs attention first, generates interest slowly, as reader moves towards end of the ad his desire to purchase is stimulated and at the end he is convinced to take action i.e. purchase decision.
Print advertisements typically involve several parts.
Headline
Headline is the most important element of a print advertisement. If it fails to grab attention of the reader rest of the things just go unnoticed. Headlines may appear on the topic or mid or side of the advertisement. Most of the times it is used above the picture, as it’s believed that pictures grab attention faster than the text. The headline may be the strongest part of the advertisement or may be secondary to a strong visual. A perfectly crafted headline could entice lot of interest and excitement about the ad. Headlines can be of many forms – statement, question, issuing warning, testimonial, news sort etc. It should relate to its target audience. It may use emotional or rational or moral appeal to convince the target audience.
Subhead
Generally, subhead comes just below the headline. It is an answer or support to the question or curiosity that the headline evokes. The subhead ideally talks about the product benefit, carries the mood set by the headline and expands upon the headline idea.
Bodycopy
Bodycopy follows the subhead. This part generates the detail information about the product, highlights product features and key benefits, rationally provides supporting facts or quotations, convincingly establishes superiority of the product and stimulates the desire to purchase.
Artwork
There are various types of visual elements of an advertisement. It can be in any form – photograph, hand-drawn illustration, graphics. An ad may have a single strong self explicit visual or many pictures instead of one. Some advertisements may have no visual in it, but carry few visual elements like decorative border or bullets or a shape. Often visuals carry captions below them like ‘Before’, ‘After’, ’20 years ago’. Such captions help the illustrations to put the message across.
Closure
End of the advertisement is not to be ignored either. This is the part which provokes action that is purchase decision. Closing idea should be striking. It should put the motivation to buy. Several closing ideas can be used like – ‘act now’, ‘visit our dealer’, ‘send enquiries, ‘buy now’, ‘hurry before the stock ends’, ‘limited stock, rush now’ and the like.
Contact information
An effective ad should always carry contact information like – logo, brand name, address, phone numbers, road direction, website url etc. Such details are generally furnished towards the bottom of the ad.
Extras
Certain promotional advertisements may also carry extras like – tear-out coupon, free sample attached, business enquiry form.
Print advertisements have always remained a major tool of communication. Print ads have great impact on the target audience as it brings along credibility, long life and detail information.
Tags: Advertisement Ads, Aida, Curiosity, Excitement, Grabs, Illustration, Moral Appeal, Photograph, Print Ads, Print Advertisements, Product Benefit, Product Features, Purchase Decision, Quotations, Reader Moves, Shapes Sizes, Superiority, Target Audience, Testimonial, Visual Elements
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