A picture may be worth a thousand words, but an effective postcard design is worth a thousand prospects.
The design of your postcard is almost as important in eliciting a response as getting a good list – it runs a very close second. Much as in deciding on a list, there are definite rules you should follow when designing a postcard.
Based on what I said earlier about the quantity of mail determining your income, you could literally slap together a postcard on your own printer, send it out consistently, and still make money. However, there is more to direct mail marketing than the bare minimum, and eventually low quality will start to affect your campaign. Since you are reading this book, I take it that you want to know how you can utilize direct mail to really grow your company. And that requires far from the bare minimum.
Do you want your direct mail postcard to end up in the trash with the rest of the unread mail? Studies show an effective direct mail campaign should generally draw a .5 to 1 percent response – but this depends on the industry. The percentage could be more.