While social media marketing, blogging, and Etsy-based SEO are all excellent ways to expand your brand and create an online presence that lasts, there’s one relatively ‘old school’ type of marketing that is usually overlooked: postcards. In fact, this marketing method isn’t just making waves through its impressive ROI but its integration into the Etsy platform as well. So, let’s talk about what the Mailfold postcard service is and then go into 8 types of postcards that you can create for your business!
Mailfold Features
- A postcard printing and mailing service
- Directly integrates to your Etsy shop and Shopify website
- Can send postcards automatically to customers
- Uses environmentally-friendly postcards
- Automated mailing options
- Prices range from $0.09 – $1.5 per postcard
- Optional monthly subscription discount
10 Example Types of Postcards You Can Send
1. eBook Access Code Mailer
Although this particular direct mailer requires a bit of extra work, it usually yields great results primarily due to the fact that eBooks offer something for free to your target audience. In fact, according to the Content Marketing Institute (CMI), “eBooks are seen as the most effective content marketing tactic.” When used effectively, eBooks offer instant online engagement and help significantly boost companies’ leads as well.
Canva’s online eBook maker (free) helps to streamline this process of creating the eBook. The main thing to keep in mind as you customize the Canva template is to make it adhere to your shop’s theme, promote your brand in a seamless manner, and provide something actually valuable to your customers. For instance, if your shop sells handmade wedding bands, you may want to create an eBook that helps brides choose the perfect accessories for their wedding day.
Once the eBook is done, it’s all about creating a direct mailer through Mailfold that also incorporates a QR link on it which leads to this book. In the process, you may want to have a sign-up form for your newsletter so that you can also get people on your email list.
2. Useful Information Mailer
This informational mailer is essentially a free gift. For instance, some baked goods sellers on Etsy offer kitchen measurements magnets (but it could also be a postcard. If you sell apparel, you could send your sizing chart. If you sell soap, you could send a list of essential oils and their benefits. The options are endless!
3. Plantable Eco-Friendly Mailer
For this mailer, it’s all about the material used to print it. While Mailfold does offer to send your mailers for you, you can opt to save your designs and go through other printing companies which offer recycled paper that contains plant seeds inside of it. This means your mailer isn’t just informative but can actually grow various plants as well.
For eco-friendly sellers or handmade sellers of garden products, this is particularly on-brand and can be a creative way to encourage your customers to use your products with their seedlings specifically. Above is a great example of a plantable mailer and the plant that it grows likewise.
4. Birthday Mailers
This particular mailer only works if you make an effort to learn the birthdays of your customers. However, if you keep these dates saved, it not only shows that you care about your clients but incentivizes purchases on their birthdays when they more than likely will receive money. This also functions as a great way to get past clients to buy again and to initiate top-of-mind awareness for your shop.
Typically, birthday mailers offer coupons or even free items with the purchase of other products. This is where having a ‘loss leader’ for your brand is highly effective. According to Investopedia, “A loss leader introduces new customers to a service or product in the hopes of building a customer base and securing future recurring revenue.” To offer this product, think of something you can sell that takes little effort to make but can easily encourage new customers to buy from you and do so regularly.
For instance, a custom dog collar brand might offer easy-to-make handmade dog treats to customers on their birthday or with larger purchases to keep them coming back time and time again.
5 . Discounts or Special Events Mailer
Although some handmade sellers don’t immediately consider their Etsy shops to be actual shops, the truth is that they should be treated as such. Having actual special events and discounts that incentivize buying your items helps people view you as a legitimate business and brand.
Start by offering sales during traditional sales periods such as Black Friday sales or spring blowout sales. You can then offer discounts during non-holidays and get rid of older products that still haven’t sold by offering BOGO sales on certain items during various weeks or months out of the year. These discounts and fun offers encourage client retention and help your shop stay relevant on Etsy as well. You can certainly offer these discounts through email as well, but direct mailers have far better opening rates for discounts making them a more viable choice in this case scenario.
6. Existing Customer Discounts
It’s no surprise that customers like to feel special and important. This is where this direct mail tactic comes into play. By making your past clients feel like they are part of some insider secret offer, you make them special and recognized which further adds to their desire to keep buying items from you because they receive customer care that they know they couldn’t get from massive retail stores and brands.
In order to use this tactic effectively, send these mailers only to past clients and make sure it is known on the mailer that this is a special discount only for them because of their past purchase.
7 . Collab Mailer
Post Malone’s career first began and he chose to be a guest on the H3 podcast and the Good Mythical Morning podcast as well. These podcasts weren’t particularly connected to music but they let the artist show his fun and quirky personality which actually helped his career immensely.
This same concept can actually be applied to your brand as well by collaborating with other brands that compliment your own product. For example, if you sell soap, you can partner with another bath & body brand and send mailers together, offering discounts on both shops. This cuts your cost in half and doubles your reach.
10. Mass Mailer Drops
Lastly, mass mailer drops are exactly what they sound like. While Mailfold offers the ability to send to past clients, you can also design direct mail through it and then send it to all kinds of people in your local area. This is a method that focuses more on quantity than quality but is still relatively effective if done correctly. The best way to do this is to focus on areas where you have had multiple sales and then send these postcards out to as many addresses in this region as possible. Or, target your local area and mention in the mailer that you are based in their city.
While you may be concerned about this being illegal, the truth is that unsolicited direct mailers are totally legal and still function as a great mass marketing strategy for countless industries including lawn care companies, car dealerships, charities, and even politicians. So, why not benefit from this traditional marketing strategy as you start out and gain wonderful new clients because of it?
Now that you have eight amazing direct mail strategies that are sure to help you gain new clients and expand your brand, all that’s left is getting started on designing mailers that match your brand identity and persuade your customers effortlessly. In the end, it’s all about being true to yourself and your products so be sure to add a touch of fun as you go.
While social media marketing, blogging, and Etsy-based SEO are all excellent ways to expand your brand and create an online presence that lasts, there’s one relatively ‘old school’ type of marketing that is usually overlooked: postcards. In fact, this marketing method isn’t just making waves through its impressive ROI but its integration into the Etsy platform as well. So, let’s talk about what the Mailfold postcard service is and then go into 8 types of postcards that you can create for your business!
Mailfold Features
- A postcard printing and mailing service
- Directly integrates to your Etsy shop and Shopify website
- Can send postcards automatically to customers
- Uses environmentally-friendly postcards
- Automated mailing options
- Prices range from $0.09 – $1.5 per postcard
- Optional monthly subscription discount
10 Example Types of Postcards You Can Send
1. eBook Access Code Mailer
Although this particular direct mailer requires a bit of extra work, it usually yields great results primarily due to the fact that eBooks offer something for free to your target audience. In fact, according to the Content Marketing Institute (CMI), “eBooks are seen as the most effective content marketing tactic.” When used effectively, eBooks offer instant online engagement and help significantly boost companies’ leads as well.
Canva’s online eBook maker (free) helps to streamline this process of creating the eBook. The main thing to keep in mind as you customize the Canva template is to make it adhere to your shop’s theme, promote your brand in a seamless manner, and provide something actually valuable to your customers. For instance, if your shop sells handmade wedding bands, you may want to create an eBook that helps brides choose the perfect accessories for their wedding day.
Once the eBook is done, it’s all about creating a direct mailer through Mailfold that also incorporates a QR link on it which leads to this book. In the process, you may want to have a sign-up form for your newsletter so that you can also get people on your email list.
2. Useful Information Mailer
This informational mailer is essentially a free gift. For instance, some baked goods sellers on Etsy offer kitchen measurements magnets (but it could also be a postcard. If you sell apparel, you could send your sizing chart. If you sell soap, you could send a list of essential oils and their benefits. The options are endless!
3. Plantable Eco-Friendly Mailer
For this mailer, it’s all about the material used to print it. While Mailfold does offer to send your mailers for you, you can opt to save your designs and go through other printing companies which offer recycled paper that contains plant seeds inside of it. This means your mailer isn’t just informative but can actually grow various plants as well.
For eco-friendly sellers or handmade sellers of garden products, this is particularly on-brand and can be a creative way to encourage your customers to use your products with their seedlings specifically. Above is a great example of a plantable mailer and the plant that it grows likewise.
4. Birthday Mailers
This particular mailer only works if you make an effort to learn the birthdays of your customers. However, if you keep these dates saved, it not only shows that you care about your clients but incentivizes purchases on their birthdays when they more than likely will receive money. This also functions as a great way to get past clients to buy again and to initiate top-of-mind awareness for your shop.
Typically, birthday mailers offer coupons or even free items with the purchase of other products. This is where having a ‘loss leader’ for your brand is highly effective. According to Investopedia, “A loss leader introduces new customers to a service or product in the hopes of building a customer base and securing future recurring revenue.” To offer this product, think of something you can sell that takes little effort to make but can easily encourage new customers to buy from you and do so regularly.
For instance, a custom dog collar brand might offer easy-to-make handmade dog treats to customers on their birthday or with larger purchases to keep them coming back time and time again.
5 . Discounts or Special Events Mailer
Although some handmade sellers don’t immediately consider their Etsy shops to be actual shops, the truth is that they should be treated as such. Having actual special events and discounts that incentivize buying your items helps people view you as a legitimate business and brand.
Start by offering sales during traditional sales periods such as Black Friday sales or spring blowout sales. You can then offer discounts during non-holidays and get rid of older products that still haven’t sold by offering BOGO sales on certain items during various weeks or months out of the year. These discounts and fun offers encourage client retention and help your shop stay relevant on Etsy as well. You can certainly offer these discounts through email as well, but direct mailers have far better opening rates for discounts making them a more viable choice in this case scenario.
6. Existing Customer Discounts
It’s no surprise that customers like to feel special and important. This is where this direct mail tactic comes into play. By making your past clients feel like they are part of some insider secret offer, you make them special and recognized which further adds to their desire to keep buying items from you because they receive customer care that they know they couldn’t get from massive retail stores and brands.
In order to use this tactic effectively, send these mailers only to past clients and make sure it is known on the mailer that this is a special discount only for them because of their past purchase.
7 . Collab Mailer
Post Malone’s career first began and he chose to be a guest on the H3 podcast and the Good Mythical Morning podcast as well. These podcasts weren’t particularly connected to music but they let the artist show his fun and quirky personality which actually helped his career immensely.
This same concept can actually be applied to your brand as well by collaborating with other brands that compliment your own product. For example, if you sell soap, you can partner with another bath & body brand and send mailers together, offering discounts on both shops. This cuts your cost in half and doubles your reach.
10. Mass Mailer Drops
Lastly, mass mailer drops are exactly what they sound like. While Mailfold offers the ability to send to past clients, you can also design direct mail through it and then send it to all kinds of people in your local area. This is a method that focuses more on quantity than quality but is still relatively effective if done correctly. The best way to do this is to focus on areas where you have had multiple sales and then send these postcards out to as many addresses in this region as possible. Or, target your local area and mention in the mailer that you are based in their city.
While you may be concerned about this being illegal, the truth is that unsolicited direct mailers are totally legal and still function as a great mass marketing strategy for countless industries including lawn care companies, car dealerships, charities, and even politicians. So, why not benefit from this traditional marketing strategy as you start out and gain wonderful new clients because of it?
Now that you have eight amazing direct mail strategies that are sure to help you gain new clients and expand your brand, all that’s left is getting started on designing mailers that match your brand identity and persuade your customers effortlessly. In the end, it’s all about being true to yourself and your products so be sure to add a touch of fun as you go.
