In theory, postcards sound easy. After all, the amount of space you need to fill with graphics and copy is minimal. But that minimal space is exactly what makes creating postcards tricky. You want the postcard to catch your clients' eyes, but you also need to allow room for quality content that will cause your recipients to respond.
How can you do that? Editing. Not only of content, but of graphics. The more focused your message, offer, and graphics are, the better. Keep these tips in mind to help keep your postcard focused:
• Use simple images on the front of the postcard.
• Make your point and remove the fluff.
• Limit your content to one product, service, or event.
• Make a very clear and direct call-to-action.
• Consider making your offer on the front and back of the postcard to ensure visibility.
• Keep your font size readable.
• Include a finely-honed headline that identifies your audience, describes the primary offer, and explains the main benefit of the offer.
• Don't be afraid of white space.
Although creating a standard-class postcard provides you with a larger canvas than a first-class postcard--up to 6-1/8" x 11-1/2" x 1/4" thick versus 4-1/4" x 6" x 0.016" thick--your objective and your focus should remain the same. You only have a few seconds to pull your reader in. Make every word, and image, count.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
AMiable Solution #23: Design Challenge #3: When you don't have graphics
Most of the marketing we receive includes at least two colors if not more, photos, and/or graphics to visually draw us into the piece. But what happens when we don't have fancy photos of our products or colorful graphics showing the success of our services? Can we distribute text-only material and expect it to succeed?
We believe the answer is "yes." Although content always trumps graphics when it comes to making a sale, having strong copy is especially important when your readers have nothing but copy to look at. The trick is to make your text-heavy promotion look as open and inviting as possible. The following tricks can help you do this:
• Allow as much white space as possible: don't be tempted to jam-pack the space with text
• Use color to emphasize text or guide readers through the page
• Treat type as graphics by using big drop caps at the beginning of sections
• Create interest by inserting quote boxes amidst columns of text
• Keep paragraphs short
• Create visual interest using simple shapes
Still need a little extra something? Try scanning, at a high resolution, a patterned or textured sheet of paper and using a colored percentage of it--no more than 5% or 10% to avoid muddying your text--behind or near your copy.
We believe the answer is "yes." Although content always trumps graphics when it comes to making a sale, having strong copy is especially important when your readers have nothing but copy to look at. The trick is to make your text-heavy promotion look as open and inviting as possible. The following tricks can help you do this:
• Allow as much white space as possible: don't be tempted to jam-pack the space with text
• Use color to emphasize text or guide readers through the page
• Treat type as graphics by using big drop caps at the beginning of sections
• Create interest by inserting quote boxes amidst columns of text
• Keep paragraphs short
• Create visual interest using simple shapes
Still need a little extra something? Try scanning, at a high resolution, a patterned or textured sheet of paper and using a colored percentage of it--no more than 5% or 10% to avoid muddying your text--behind or near your copy.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
AMiable Solution #22: Design Challenge #2: Big order forms in small spaces
If, like most people, you've left the order form for last and now find yourself trying to cram too much form into too little space, we have a few suggestions for you:
1. Inkjet the recipient's name, address, and source code directly onto the form. This saves your client time and hassle, but it also saves you space: you can inkjet the information smaller than most customers can write it.
2. Don't ask for information you don't need.
3. But don't exclude essential information—including the offer, toll-free number, company name and logo, mailing address, total price, applicable sales tax, shipping and handling charges, premiums, offer expiration date, minimum orders, delivery time, the payment methods you accept, Canadian and international charges, directions for order placement, etc.—for the sake of space.
4. Play the numbers game. Balance the benefit of leaving the lines for items ordered blank versus pre-populating the information (except, of course, for quantity). If your mail piece includes only a handful of products, you may actually be able to save space by filling-in all of the product names—in at least 10-point type—yourself instead of leaving large enough "fill in" spaces for clients to enter the product names themselves.
5. Be careful not to use a small font size. While it may allow you to cram more of your order form into a small area, it won't likely leave your customers enough room to write, and it may frustrate them if they find the font size difficult to read.
6. Offer a QR code and an alternative or two for clients without code-reading devices, including a personalized URL (PURL) and a toll-free phone number.
If you still have trouble fitting all of the necessary elements into the available space, you're probably better off revising the layout or design to accommodate the order form. Despite being the most neglected part of the piece, it's the most essential one.
1. Inkjet the recipient's name, address, and source code directly onto the form. This saves your client time and hassle, but it also saves you space: you can inkjet the information smaller than most customers can write it.
2. Don't ask for information you don't need.
3. But don't exclude essential information—including the offer, toll-free number, company name and logo, mailing address, total price, applicable sales tax, shipping and handling charges, premiums, offer expiration date, minimum orders, delivery time, the payment methods you accept, Canadian and international charges, directions for order placement, etc.—for the sake of space.
4. Play the numbers game. Balance the benefit of leaving the lines for items ordered blank versus pre-populating the information (except, of course, for quantity). If your mail piece includes only a handful of products, you may actually be able to save space by filling-in all of the product names—in at least 10-point type—yourself instead of leaving large enough "fill in" spaces for clients to enter the product names themselves.
5. Be careful not to use a small font size. While it may allow you to cram more of your order form into a small area, it won't likely leave your customers enough room to write, and it may frustrate them if they find the font size difficult to read.
6. Offer a QR code and an alternative or two for clients without code-reading devices, including a personalized URL (PURL) and a toll-free phone number.
If you still have trouble fitting all of the necessary elements into the available space, you're probably better off revising the layout or design to accommodate the order form. Despite being the most neglected part of the piece, it's the most essential one.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
AMiable Solution #21: Design Challenge #1: QR Codes
Whether you're just now experimenting with QR codes or you've been on the QR code train for some time, deciding how to use them is just the first step. Determining how to incorporate them into your direct mail campaign is another.
Unlike the rest of your direct mail design, which demands a particular order (teaser, offer, then order form), QR codes have no set rules for their placement: they can appear on the cover, in the middle, or on the back mailing panel. No matter where you choose to include your QR code, however, there are certain considerations you should keep in mind:
• Make the location fit the purpose. If you're giving consumers an option to place an online order, renew a membership, make a donation, etc., through the code, place the QR code on or near the order form. If you're using the QR code to link invitees to a map, place the QR code near the event's location information.
• Surround the QR code with plenty of white space. This will help ensure the code scans cleanly.
• But be sure to include a strong call to action. Don't just throw a QR code on the page and expect consumers to automatically take interest. Be sure to tell them what to scan the code for and how they'll benefit from doing so.
• Make it readable. There are no hard-and-fast rules on size, but your QR code should be at least 1" by 1" for greater readability.
• Keep it in the clear. Don't place a QR code on a curved surface, in or on a fold, or too close to a spine. You risk creating scanning issues for your clients if you do.
QR codes, like any other element in a direct mail package, should be subject to much testing. Track your response rates along with the location of each code to see which placement location works best for you.
Unlike the rest of your direct mail design, which demands a particular order (teaser, offer, then order form), QR codes have no set rules for their placement: they can appear on the cover, in the middle, or on the back mailing panel. No matter where you choose to include your QR code, however, there are certain considerations you should keep in mind:
• Make the location fit the purpose. If you're giving consumers an option to place an online order, renew a membership, make a donation, etc., through the code, place the QR code on or near the order form. If you're using the QR code to link invitees to a map, place the QR code near the event's location information.
• Surround the QR code with plenty of white space. This will help ensure the code scans cleanly.
• But be sure to include a strong call to action. Don't just throw a QR code on the page and expect consumers to automatically take interest. Be sure to tell them what to scan the code for and how they'll benefit from doing so.
• Make it readable. There are no hard-and-fast rules on size, but your QR code should be at least 1" by 1" for greater readability.
• Keep it in the clear. Don't place a QR code on a curved surface, in or on a fold, or too close to a spine. You risk creating scanning issues for your clients if you do.
QR codes, like any other element in a direct mail package, should be subject to much testing. Track your response rates along with the location of each code to see which placement location works best for you.
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