Mom-and-pop establishments are retail stores, bakeries, grocery stores, drug stores, bookshops, clothes stores, restaurants, and other retail shops which are independently run. They’re usually family-owned businesses passed on from one generation to the next or have family members running the entire operation. If you own a mom-and-pop establishment, you may want to go for postcard printing as a form of advertising. It also pays to establish an online presence, but this is best combined with printed advertising materials.
What To Do and Not to Do When Self Advertising
What’s good about self-advertising using postcards if you own a mom-and-pop establishment is that it is effective without being pricey. To make the most out of your self-promotion using printed marketing materials, here are a few things to remember:
- Do your research when choosing which print shop to go with.
There are many online printing service providers offering either digital printing services, offset printing, or both. The printing process used will be based on the volume or your order, or the availability of the printer. When choosing between different print shops, always check on the quality of postcard prints they offer. Also check on the quality of customer support that they have, and compare different printing packages.
- Do use a casual tone when writing your postcard copy.
Formal language may be suitable when promoting law firms or corporations but for independent businesses, opt for a more casual tone. Postcards have more space than business cards but less space than flyers, making them the perfect advertising medium. Keep the message short, casual, and succinct since you only have limited space.
- Do not aimlessly distribute your marketing postcards.
One of the biggest mistakes that you can make when mailing out postcards is aimlessly distributing them. You won’t only fail to send the right message to your target market, but you will also be wasting your hard-earned advertising bucks. If you are selling women’s products, for example, there is no need for you to mail postcards to every household because not all of them have members included in your target market. For this, you can narrow down your mailing list based on demographics like gender, household income, household size, occupation, whether they are homeowners or renters, etc.
- Do not forget to include a call-to-action.
Lastly, always include a call-to-action. Whether you want the recipient of the postcard to give you a call, visit your website, or sign up for a mailing list, this should be made clear in your copy. Also include a promo code with a deadline, if you can, so that you can get better response rates.
By knowing the things to do and avoid when self-promoting your mom-and-pop establishments, you can maximize the response rate of your postcard marketing efforts.
