Advice and thoughts for advertising with postcards

[tlcdoula]

I wanted to share an idea with you and then get your thoughts on something too. First of all I thought about doing a mailing to promote my hypnosis business, but then also decided I would do the same thing for my childbirth education work (not sure if I want to take on private doula clients again, but I might after the first of the year). Anyhow, let me ask your advice and then you will understand more of what I am talking about (sorry if this doesn't make sense LOL)

As you all know I started this hypnotherapy business and I would really like to get it going well, so that by summer or at least by the time Faith starts school in the fall I can quit daycare or lessen my numbers very, very low, or something (not exactly sure, but all I know is that I want my hypnotherapy business going better than it is).

So Brad says he would like to do mailings to people (mass mailing type thing - your typical junk mail that people hate). He created an awesome brochure for me and wants to mail that to people with an introductory letter. So he wants to mail this stuff in an envelope labeled to the person or current resident (i.e. addressing it Michelle Hardy or current resident). I told him that is a bad idea because whenever I see something like that I know it is junk mail and I usually toss it right in the garbage without opening it (am I the only one that does this? He seems to think I am, but since he never opens mail I am thinking he is clueless). I explained that if I do open it then I might peek at it, but usually don't even pull it out of the envelope and completely inspect it.

So my thought was to have postcards printed with my name and contact information on the front in the style shown below and then on the back I would have something like "Want to change something about yourself?" Then list things I could work with them on and then on the bottom have "Call Hardy Hypnotherapy today" and have the phone number. So here is the style I liked (I actually have regular postcards printed up like this and they are beautiful!! I got 250 postcards for $29 - all of them printed with my information on the front and back.)

So my thinking on doing something like this is that the postcard is very bright and you can't miss noticing it. It is something that will stand out in one's mail and it won't involve having to open it. By the time the person realizes that it is addressed to current resident they will already see the bright colors of the postcard and it might peak their interest. Plus in our area we have stuff like this in our mail all the time from relators, and the funny thing is everyone I have talked to has said "yes Shorewest does that" so everyone knows the name of the relators that do it too!!!

What do you think?

Now like I said I thought this could be a great idea for doula work, childbirth education, etc. as well. Dh just went online to this one site where you can put in a street name and it will come up with the names of the people that live on that street and their address. So for 250 postcards it would cost me $29 plus postage. I think it is a great way to get your names out there.

So let me know what you think about my dilemma above and also the idea for getting your names out there?

[DL]

Michelle,

I like your postcard idea better than something in an envelope. I think it could work well for you! Btw... I also throw junk mail away without reading what's in the envelope! So....if you're weird, I guess that means that I am too!!!

As for an idea for doulas..... I live out in the boonies, so getting my name out there like that might be a little more difficult....I don't know. Something to put into the "consideration box", so to speak! Thanx for sharing your idea!

[Pambug]

I really like the postcard idea. I always throw away mail that has my name or current resident on it without opening it (I guess that makes me weird as well. We should start a weird club or something ). Sometimes I'll open up a flyer that catches my eye but anything that comes in an envelope goes in the trash. Also, postcard stamps are cheaper than regular postage so that's something to think about.

[Babies_Bellies_Boobies]

i like the postcard idea, but that specific one, while nice, and pretty professional looking, isn't really that bright imo.

[tlcdoula]

LOL - ladies I guess we are all weird then. It is so funny because the women I talk to about "junk" mail all say the same thing - they pretty much always throw away the envelopes without looking at them, but the men I have mentioned this to have said they open it. Isn't that weird how the sexes are so different?!

As far as the look of the postcards - I think you truly have to see them in person to see how absolutely gorgeous and standoutish (okay not a word LOL) they are. I bought some for my doula business to use as reminders for appointments (when I was taking on private clients) and when I got my office I kind of tossed them in the corner of my desk and everyone who has come in has seen them and said they were just beautiful. Of course those people who have come in for hypnosis asked why they said 'TLC Doula and Educational Services" on them and then I had to explain

Of course there are also many other styles that I can choose from too in all different colors. Maybe with each mailing I should try a different style and see which one generates the most responses. Wouldn't that be interesting to study?! LOL

[AussieDoula]

This an old thread, but I wanted to comment that I have ordered postcards in the past but used them in a slightly different way...

On the front was a beautiful picture of a pregnant belly and sunflower, then on the back it was blank. Right down the bottom in small text to one side I had my name, contact details, and a short description of the picture (which actually said something to the effect of "A Doula can help you have a shorter labor, etc etc blah blah" the usual statistics).

These postcards were then set in small bundles all over town at coffee shops, maternity stores, and even the Chamber of Commerce/Visitor's Center. This cost me nothing except printing fees and the time to distribute them. I didn't have to pay for stamps, and they functioned like a business card (in my mind, doubling their exposure right off the bat since at least two people would definitely see them - the sender and the recipient).

The bonus was that only those interested would take/receive one, so I was not adding to that huge pile of junk mail or wasting my money and efforts mailing them to people who may have thrown them in the trash without even looking at them (very depressing to think of your bright new postcards ending up in landfill). Besides, I figured that maybe as many as 70-80% of the people I would have sent postcards to were outside of my target audience anyway if I were to just bulk mail them to everyone on the same street. This way, I created the perfect look for my ideal clients and let them decide how effective it was.

I will be getting these again to use when I start my Doula business anew in a different city - everyone loves the free postcards at the coffeeshop! My new ones will include something like "mention this postcard for 20% off" to gauge how many clients I am actually getting this way (which I do with all of my advertising efforts so that I can calculate my return correctly).

[scarborogal]

I just recently bought make your own post cards at Staples and printed up some for a show I did. I put my logo on the shinny front and a blurb on the back about giving 20% if you sign up before March 2008. It was 9mths from the date that I used it.
It also included my name phone number, email address, website and service area.

I really quite enjoyed using them. I'll see if I can attach what I did.

K.

[Annie]

I have been putting my postcards at various locations for a couple of months now. It has been benificial to me.

Does anyone know where can I find the site referred to in which you put in the street and it brings up a listing of people for that street?

I do mail outs for the realtor's office I work at. We get our mailing list for that from the town though.

Thanks,
Annie

[serenitybirther]

I have been putting postcards in chiro. offices, dr. offices, coffee shops, etc. and it really does work! One HUGE word of advice, vistaprint.com. You can get 100 free postcards at a time. You can upload your own design or use one of theirs (they have some decent ones). They are wonderful! If you sign up for their mailing list they e-mail you with free offers all the time. It is really NOT a scam! All you pay for is shipping (my last order of 100 postcards, a stamp-to stamp my books so no one keeps them, my own post-its, and 250 business cards...$15. of shipping. That's it!) It is definitely worth checking out!