The postcard: a quick, economical way to send a message.

• Author: Turner, Jim
• Position: Director Mail Essentials

With consumers' short attention span and the short deadlines for putting together marketing campaigns, postcards can be a way to get your message out.

No other mail format, except perhaps a small self-mailer, can compete with the economies of sending a postcard. The printing costs, depending on the graphic specifications, can be significantly less than a standard mail package containing a letter, brochure and envelope, perhaps by $l00 to $200 or more per thousand.

Lettershop services are lower, too, as there is no collating, inserting or sealing of the envelope.

The mailing also can go much faster because you probably will spend less time designing, writing, printing and inserting the various pieces in a standard package.

While the postcard is fast and relatively inexpensive, it has certain limitations that you must work with. For example, it requires short copy due to the limited space available. There is room only for limited graphics, perhaps a photo or a photo or two along with your logo. And, you cannot include a reply card or application unless you are using a double-card format.

One more disadvantage is that recipients usually recognize a postcard as an advertisement, so they may spend less time examining it than they would a standard letter package.

Designing the successful postcard

Use the postcard for its strengths and design around these shortcomings. For example, use it to promote appropriate products such at a certificate of deposit or money market account or anything not requiring long explanation.

For these products, you can target your audience very precisely by geography, age and even income or net worth. And the copy for simple...