Thread: Postcards - Your Advice

I've decided to do a run of postcards to spread all over town to promote my classes.

For those of you experienced with fliers and postcards will you please advise me:

Should I put specific class information on there (class times & cost) or information about my credentials as an instructor?

If my goal is to get potentially 80-100 responses from these postcards how many should I be distributing? 800?- 1000? does that sound reasonable? or will I realistically get response from maybe 1 in 100?

Should I make them specific to my new classes starting or just general to my belly dance business?

I'm thinking to offer a free hip scarf to any dancer that signs up for a full class session and gets one friend to sign up for a full class session as well. Do you think I should print that on the post cards?

What do you guys think?

Thank You!

Shems

Originally Posted by shems

I've decided to do a run of postcards to spread all over town to promote my classes. ...Should I put specific class information on there (class times & cost) or information about my credentials as an instructor?

If my goal is to get potentially 80-100 responses from these postcards how many should I be distributing? 800?- 1000? does that sound reasonable? or will I realistically get response from maybe 1 in 100?

Should I make them specific to my new classes starting or just general to my belly dance business?

I'm thinking to offer a free hip scarf to any dancer that signs up for a full class session and gets one friend to sign up for a full class session as well. Do you think I should print that on the post cards?

I think you really need to start by figuring out WHAT it is you want your cards to do, and what you can afford/what will be cost effective.

Whether to put your specific class times/dates/a special offer you're running right now will depend on whether you plan to use them all right now or whether you want them to have a longer shelf life. If these are something you plan to reprint every session, then by all means, do the specifics. If you want to be able to use the same postcard for six months or more, maybe go more general (offering classes...maybe list locations and where they can get specific class schedule information.) Also, your "special offer" could get pretty expensive...so I wouldn't put that on anything you'll have long term unless you're completely sure you'll want to be still offering it several months from now.

As far as numbers...honestly, looking to get a 10% response is pretty agressive. Expect more like 1% response rate. Direct mail response rates generally are between 1% (prospects) to 5-6% (qualified/client) and general "dropped flyer" response rates tend are lower... more like .05%. Obviously, targeting where your flyers/cards are dropped to reach people who are more likely to be interested in what you're offering helps, but still...do you have a mailing list or group of contacts you can start with to draw people who will be interested?

Just some thoughts....

A good response from a mailing is 3%. First decide if you are looking for business or do you want to obtain students. Don't overwhelm someone with information. If you want to give alot of information do it through a website. There you can have your dance history, performance information, and class schedule and pricing. Good luck!

Postcards should only contain absolute need to know information.

I personally would leave out your credentials if you are hoping to target new dancers, usually more advanced dancers are concerned with that. I would put class dates, times and costs on the post card.
I also think a realistic response would be better targeted at gyms and other fitness centers; not in restaurants and stores, though I would still put them out there.

Your response rate depends almost entirely on how targeted you are in reaching people. I've heard the same info as above: 1-3% for direct mail, depending on how targeted (and current) your list is. How attractive/interesting/well-done your piece is makes some difference, but not as much as your distribution method.

The ugliest flyer on earth promoting a workshop with Aziza will draw more response, if you hand it to belly dancers, than the best-designed flyer if it winds up in the hands of auto mechanics.

So, give lots of thought to how you will distribute.

I like to do simple color flyers with tear-off numbers and put them on bulletin boards at coffee shops, colleges and bookstores. I find it more cost-effective than sending out lots of individual pieces.

I also do color brochures (with a full registration form in them!!) for places that will let me set stacks of info out. I also give these to students who want to refer a friend and bring them anywhere we'll be doing a demo performance. I just ordered my spring/summer brochures this afternoon.

I haven't had any experience with flyers/postcard but I just thought of some ideas after reading the responses.

I think it's probably more cost effective to print a large quantity and use them over 6 months or more. The use of a special offer is a good idea, consumers always want something special, something more. You can perhaps just write something general such as "special offer" or "special gift". Offering a hipscarf would indeed get expensive, you can also offer 1 free class, or 10 % of of session, whatever you want at the moment. This way you're not locked into a promise, that may be a burden.

You could also have the postcard to say "special offer" if they bring in the postcard. You can put a special featureon them, or color code the edges and distribute them accordingly. For example, if you place cards at a gym, have the edges marked with a green marker, postcards in another place blue, and so on. After you have clients responding you want to know where they came from. You can find out from the turned in postcards that for example, a large amount came from the gym. Etc. In the future you might want to concentrate at that place more, or target other gyms as well, and places that didn't work out - don't waste your time.
And if the postcards are in good condition, you can reuse them as well.

Another idea is-- make a general postcard, print 1,000 or them (or more) then make little stickers for the back (in the design make a space) with class times, etc. That way if your classes change in the future, you can easily change the card without printing a new set. I've seen musicians do this to advertise each show (like Raquy and the Cavemen).

Thanks you guys this is really great, helpful information and ideas

I use a DL sized postcard that has a 'general' front cover (photo, contact details, basic 'offers classes in XYZ' and a bit of pretty printing around the edges of the back. Otherwise it's blank on the back, so I can use it for whatever. I overprint my current term class and price details on the back and leave them in coffee shops, or send them out to people who've enquired about classes, or previous students who've gone AWOL. I can also print them up as gift vouchers or use them as note cards, and they fit into a standard DL size envelope. This all means I can get a bulk run of cards printed (cheaper per card than a smaller run of more specific cards) and they'll never date.

Tips if you want to do this: don't get gloss put on the back as some printer inks will slip on this surface. And of course, you need a printer that can feed through postcards.

With regards to bonus offers, I think it's always good to make sure that both you and the customer receive something from the offer. So rather than a giveaway (they receive, you give), what about a discount if they spend extra money? (eg: 'sign up for the full term and receive one class free' or 'sign up for the full term with a friend and both pay a reduced rate').

Shems, just to put it in perspective, we had 1,000 postcards printed for LARaqs.com last February, and between my partner and I we've gone to nearly every belly dance event in Los Angeles for the past year to put them on tables, handed stacks to teachers to give to their students, and even stood outside of workshops to pass them out, and we STILL have some left.

I like the sticker idea, but if you're going to put specific info on the cards, I'd suggest a *much* smaller number of cards. Chances are you'll get tired of the design way before you run out!

I love the idea of having a sticker on the back that has current class information on it...or whatever you need it for. Labels at an office store would be cheap and you could print them on your home desktop printer.

For the front, I recommend something generic...a beautiful picture, phone, Web site and maybe a bullet or two about classes or something. Use a simple font that people can read.

I also love the idea of coloring the edges to see where the postcards came from. That is awesome.

Originally Posted by nasila

Shems, just to put it in perspective, we had 1,000 postcards printed for LARaqs.com last February, and between my partner and I we've gone to nearly every belly dance event in Los Angeles for the past year to put them on tables, handed stacks to teachers to give to their students, and even stood outside of workshops to pass them out, and we STILL have some left.

I like the sticker idea, but if you're going to put specific info on the cards, I'd suggest a *much* smaller number of cards. Chances are you'll get tired of the design way before you run out!

Yeah, we did the same thing with the Intensive postcards. It's a lot of postcards...hahahahha.

All great suggestions. I've thought about making a batch of postcards with info on weddings, bridal showers and bachelorette parties so I can leave a few little stacks behind at reception halls, formalwear boutiques, and bridal salons. We are on the cusp of wedding season, after all.

Anybody have success using postcards to attract the bridal crowd?