“Making Postcards Look Like An Important Document To Get Them Eyeballed”
By: Shannon Cook Fitness Marketer
I get all kinds of postcards in the mail about a wide range of subjects from dentist to medicines to gyms, and I always see the picture on the front and throw them away. So when I decided to do my postcards I decided to make them look like there something very important. I had the unfortunate luxury one time of getting a past due notice from the power company, and that red postcard stuck with me when I was trying to figure out how to get my postcards read.
What would you do if you found a past due notice in your mail box, the first thing you do is put it in the “read” stack. Then you open it to find that it’s not a real past due notice for a utility company, but a past due notice on extending your life. With a headline and body copy that keeps them as interested as watching Barack Obama figure out what to say without a teleprompter, or watching George Bush dodge a shoe like a cat being hit with water from a hose.
So, now with the bipartisan politics out of the way, here’s how you go about this scratch and sniff marketing project.
I start with a red post card stock that tears into 4 postcards. I print ½ the page with my copy on one side and the same copy n the other ½ of the page, this way I can fold the ½ together and tape it so they will have to open it to look inside and the post office only charges me for the small postcard rate.
Then on one side of the back I use a stamped font that you can download off the net, and I write “Past Due,” to look like a past due power bill, so they will be worried enough to open it and read it, but you must keep the curiosity going inside from the past due that got them to open it to start with. For my mailing list I use Info USA, online, where you can select certain demographics and areas around your facility. I recommend not going more than 3 miles from you facility with any mailing list.
For a note: I never use any postcards with a picture on it like a bodybuilder or really fit person, or even a piece of exercise equipment, if you must use a picture make it a unique one and one that directly goes with your message.
Shannon Cook is the owner on Temple Gym in Northport, Alabama and a fitness marketing consultant, you can view my blog at www.fitnessmarketing.TV or contact Shannon at fitnessmarketing@comcast.net with questions
