Postcards...
People on vacation send millions of them home every year because they're a colorful, inexpensive way to easily send a quick, attention-grabbing message.

Postcards...
Smart business people should send them to potential new customers for all the same reasons - and one more important one: no matter what, the recipient will see who you are and what you're selling, because there's nothing to open. Your message is all there to see.

And when you think postcards, think outside the 3" x 5" box (ok, rectangle).

You can create postcards as large as 8-1/2"x11" -- and every size in between. 6"x9" is a nice piece of real estate to print your message on. Yes, you'll pay more postage for "jumbo" size cards, but the impact can definitely justify the upcharge.

There are plenty of postcard printing/addressing/mailing services online, and I recommend using one. Many offer "free" or low-cost design/layout services too.

There are three good reasons to do it all under one roof: 1) you have a single point of contact, 2) by using the postcard house's mailing permit number, or indicia, with a pre-sort bar code - to make the post office happy -- the per/card postage can be as low at 18-19 cents each, and 3) that means you have a lot less work to do.

An important note about mailing lists: mailing lists come in many different formats, so be sure to know in advance what format you can or will get. Computer files, self-adhesive, and Cheshire rolls are the big three. Then make sure your mailing house can handle whatever format you prefer, and that there's enough room on the postcard for it.

As a matter of fact, ask a lot of questions of your postcard printer/mailer. They have a lot of great technology, but don't tend to be too talkative. And if you don't ask about things like "dpi (dot-per-inch) requirements," "paper weight," or "lead time," your job could be in for trouble. Indeed, many companies have automated the process so much, you never have to talk to a live person. That's OK once you know the ropes, but don't do that your first time.

The last nice thing I'll mention is, with today's 4-color printing technology, full color post cards are not much more expensive than one-color. So you can get a lot of bang for your buck.

If direct mail can work for you, postcards can make it work big time...for a small investment. You might even "Have a great time" making new customers.