Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Direct Mail for Solopreneurs: Postcard Example

One reason you need to include direct mail in your marketing mix as a solopreneur: Most of the trends I see for email marketing are negative.

Of course, email marketing should always have a place in your toolbox. But don't put all your eggs in that email toolbox (to mangle a metaphor). Just because it's efficient to push "send" and zap out a message at no cost to 5 ... 500 ... or 5,000 names, doesn't mean it's also effective.

Let's put it another way: How would you send your mother a birthday card, by email or real mail? How about your spouse -- would you send him/her an anniversary card by email or real mail?

I thought so.

Treat your prospects and clients the same as any other VIP in your life. When the message really matters, send it by real mail (in addition to email, phone, in person, video, etc.).

Now, if you're like most solopreneurs, you've got a big objection in mind when it comes to direct mail: Cost. And the time it takes to mail stuff. Okay, that's two objections.

Well, I get that. Time and money are the two constraints on much of your growth as a solopreneur.

So here's an easy answer to both those objections to using direct mail: Postcards. They're cheap and fast to deploy.

You print and mail them for less than 50 cents with a service like Click2Mail. Or spend a bit more and do them yourself.

Like the UGLY postcard I wrote and mailed below, from a hotel room in Dallas ...


It helped cement a sale for $7,500 to a busy prospect who had ignored two emails from me the week before. Sure, it's butt-ugly and my handwriting is awful. But the message was 100% personalized and relevant to this prospect.

He got the postcard on Monday and signed up 24 hours later.

Now. Big caveat: No small ugly postcard -- or big beautiful postcard -- is enough to make a sale for $7,500 (or even $75) in 99 cases out of 100. But a postcard can be that one tap of the hammer that splits a big rock.

As a solopreneur, you have a family and/or a livelihood to support every morning you turn on the lights and fire up your computer. You're doing a serious job and you need serious tools.

Direct mail is a serious tool. And postcards are seriously simple. That makes postcards, done right, what I call a Marketing Multiplier -- a simple tool that delivers big profits.

There's a box of 11 Marketing Multipliers waiting for you now. Try them Free here.