When it comes to design, form should follow function. Postcard design though is a stylish way of communicating your marketing message with your customers. Make sure that your primary function involves creating a strong impact with four color graphics and photographs. Follow this up with a strong offer, and you will get an increased response from your target market.

You can choose to have mailed without an envelope for faster and easier viewing, or you can place it inside an envelope to create more drama and intrigue. You can use postcards to send out information, give away coupons, or for a variety of your other marketing goals.

Here are few things you can do with your postcards:

1. Sale Announcements

These postcards are perfect to keep your important customers abreast with all the store sales and promotions. Sale announcements like posters and billboards can be shown effectively in a single page. And because you can pretty much predict the time the cards land in their doorstep, it’s easier to create a time-limit for these announcements and create urgency.

2. Increase Web Traffic

You can print out hundreds of these offline cards to increase your online traffic. These simple cards are easy to understand and are printed in full color so you can include illustrations that will guide your customers through your web navigation. This is perfect for businesses who want to convert their offline business into an online gold mine.

3. Trade Show Invitation

Many trade show invitations rely on the impact of their cards as a promise of what is to come. You can send these a few months in advance, and a few more times before the big event. Make sure you include teasers into your postcard to build up the buzz and excitement for your trade show or product launch.

4. Prepaid Return Postage

When you’re aiming for a high response rate, make it easier for your respondents to get your postcards back to you. If you’re sending out folded postcards with perforations that can be torn off for the reply, make sure it is printed with a prepaid return postage. You can use this as survey forms and order slips.

5. Seasons Greeting

Customers appreciate special attention given them by their vendors. Let your customers know they are remembered in these special occasions. Your postcards can go a long way in sending them your warm affections as you tell them how much you value their support and loyalty.

6. Variable Data Printing

You can make your postcard extra special and include the actual name of the recipient in the card. Seeing their name will make your customer pay better attention and increase the chances of a higher response rate. You can simply send your database to a printing company and they can print your customers’ names and your message using the variable data printing.

There are many postcard design strategies you can use to increase customer response rate depending on the project at hand. Always remember though that simple cards with direct and easy to understand message are always more successful than complicated ones. The postcard should follow a simple format that is easy to read and follow.

Having a business calls for a lot of decision making especially in advertising techniques. You know for a fact that the success of your business fairly depends on how good your products are and how you let others know of them. Printing services answers to a lot of advertising needs most companies have today.

Without proper advertising campaigns, no matter how good your products are, you will be limited to just a few patronizing customers, which is not good if you are aiming for a big company success.

But with a number of printing services available today, it would be fairly difficult to decide which would be most effective in your advertising. Of course you want to choose the advertising technique that could stand on its own, by showcasing your products and services efficiently.

Here are two printing services that would surely let your products be known to your clients.

Catalogues

Catalogues are offered as a printing service to basically make your products known to clients. Mostly sent through mail, these print outs serve as home shopping guide to your customers. This allows for images, features, and prices of your products to be shown in a number of pages.

This can be effective if you are in the selling or retail industry. And whether you are a company operating online or offline, catalogs is the common denominator that would make you known

Catalogs are especially efficient if you are launching a new product line. For example, spring collection or winter collection.

catalogues can come in various stocks like thick and sturdy 100 lb. Gloss Cover and 100 lb. Matte Cover, or a thinner stock such as 100lb. Gloss Text, and 100 lb. Matte Text which are both lighter.

Sizes range from a small 8.5x 11 folded into 8.5 x 5.5, medium sized 11 x 17 folded into 8.5 x 11, or a large 12 x 24 folded to 12 x 12. The size will mostly depend on how much you need to put in.

Brochures

If you do not have enough budget to have catalogs printed, brochures is another good way to offer your products and services to clients.

Although not as elaborate and thick as catalogs may be, brochures are able to advertize your products even in a single page.

You can emphasize the promotion of certain goods or a particular product line which you want a boost in sales.

Sometimes, advertising need not be long. All it needs is a simple explanation. Here is where brochures are most effective.

Brochures can be handed out and can inform your customers of your products and services in no time. This can be effective if your clients are people on the go.

Brochures can also come in various stocks such as 100 lb. Gloss Text, 100 lb. Gloss Cover, and 100 lb. Matte Text. With a printing service, you can choose to print it on thick or thin paper. Your brochure can also be glossy or not.

There are a range of standard sizes that you can choose from, 5.5 x 8.5, 8.5 x 11, 8.5 x14, 11 x 17, 11 x 25.375, which can all be folded in tri, z, or half folds. Folds make the most of the minimum space that you have. And thus makes your brochures more efficient.

So think of your catalogs and brochure printing services and avail the most you can out of it. Deliver what you are selling right to your clientsâ?? door and make that sale without trying too hard.