How do you approach your postcard design? Do you tend to be overly concerned about telling your customers everything about your product or service, in the hope that it will result in sales? If so, we recommend you relax and take a lesson from Hollywood.

Selling a Movie

Have you ever rented or streamed a movie or gone to the theatre and you didn’t know very much about any of the films that were presented?

How did you choose?

Imagine you knew nothing about movie but you looked at the poster and it said “A married man has an affair with a seductive woman. He ends it but she doesn’t. Then he discovers too late that she’s a psycho, as she takes steps to get him back, including breaking into his house and assaulting his wife. The wife ends up killing the psycho. The man is left to salvage his marriage.” (That’s the plot of Fatal Attraction, by the way.)

Would you go see the movie? Probably not. There’s no reason to; the poster told you everything.

The actual poster for the film showed a torn photo of stars Glenn Close and Michael Douglas in an intimate moment with copy that read, “On the other side of drinks, dinner, and one night stand lies a terrifying love story.”

You’d be more likely to go see it based on that, though…right?

Selling with Postcards

Movie posters don’t usually provide a summary of the movie’s plot; rather, they contain just enough information to arouse interest. In this case, it’s interest in the kind of movie experience the potential viewer wants to have: action, romance, comedy or whatever. It all comes down to the ticket buyer’s self interest: “What’s in it for me?”

Like a movie, you only need say enough about your product or service to appeal to the customer’s “What’s in it for me” interest.

This can be explained in the sentence “Don’t explain products/services; emphasize their benefits.”

Figure out what it is about your product or service that fulfills the “What’s in it for me” for your customers and emphasize that.

This can be different, depending on what your product or service is. If you sell something that people are familiar with, like insurance, dental services, or pizza, then you’ve got to emphasize what makes you different than your competitors and why it makes you better.

If you sell something that people are less familiar with or which is new in your market, you may have to do a little explaining about what it is but you still want to devote most of your postcard space to what it does for the customer.

Not a Close but a Step Closer

The last thing to mention is that, unlike a movie poster, you’re not shooting to close someone with a postcard. You’re seeking to arouse their (self) interest and move them closer to a sale. So your card should have a call to action that moves them along—to visit your store or contact you by phone or online.

You don’t have to go to Hollywood to produce a “blockbuster.” Just log on to www.prospectsplus.com/pei to create professional-looking postcards (using your own design or our customizable templates) and fully targeted mailing lists. Then mail them out…all with a few mouse clicks.

Or you can call Opportunity Knocks 1 (866) 319-7109 and our design and marketing superstars will create great-looking, high-response postcards that will customers lining up around the block (or around the clock).