How to design a direct mail postcard that gets responses

The offer comes first

Design is the last thing that decides whether a postcard works. The list and the offer come first. A beautiful card offering 'quality service since 1985' does less than a plain card offering a free furnace inspection before October 31.

Make the offer specific and easy to understand at a glance: a dollar amount off, a free item, a free estimate, a limited window. One offer per card. Two offers split attention, and five read like a flyer someone forgot to edit.

The headline does the selling

Most people decide between the mailbox and the recycling bin. The headline has about that long. Put it in the largest type on the card, and make it about the reader's problem or the offer, not about your company name.

'Book your AC tune-up before the first heat wave' beats 'Smith Heating and Cooling'. The logo and company name still belong on the card, they just do not need to be the biggest thing on it.

Tell them exactly what to do

The call to action should say what to do and by when: call, scan, visit, bring this card in. Put the phone number or web address in large type, near the offer, not buried along the bottom edge in 7 point. A deadline gives people a reason to act now instead of setting the card aside.

• Call (765) 555-0100 by November 15
• Bring this card in for a free side
• Book online at yoursite.com/fall

Build in tracking from the start

If you cannot measure a mailing, you cannot improve the next one. The simplest tracking costs almost nothing:

• A phone number used only on this mailing. Many call-tracking services provide one that forwards to your main line.
• A web address used only on this mailing, such as yoursite.com/fall, that lands on a page about the offer.
• A QR code that goes to that same address, for readers who would rather scan than type.
• An offer code printed on the card that staff ask for or customers enter online.

Design the address side properly

The back of the card belongs partly to USPS. The address block, the postage area or indicia and the space where the barcode prints all need clear room. Keep the bottom strip of the address side free of text and dark art, because that is where the USPS barcode clear zone sits on many pieces.

Check current USPS size and placement rules for your mail class before finalizing the layout, and send the address side to us for a check. A postcard rejected at the post office costs more than one checked in advance.

Size and stock

USPS has a specific postcard price for First-Class cards within a small size range. Larger cards are priced as letters or flats. A bigger card has more room for a photo and a bold offer, so the choice is a trade between postage and impact. Check the current size limits on usps.com. Every Door Direct Mail uses flat-size pieces such as 6.25 x 9 or 6.25 x 11 inches.

Use a heavy card stock that survives the sorting machines, and a gloss or silk finish if the front is photo-heavy.

Mail more than once

People rarely need what you sell the day your card arrives. A sequence of mailings to the same addresses, a few weeks apart, keeps you in front of them when the need comes up. Keep the look consistent so the second card is recognized, and change the offer or headline if the first one underperformed.