The marketing guru types use the term "sticky" to mean developing content that will make consumers want to keep your piece, in this case your printed postcard, on hand where they can get at it again later. "Sticky" like "I'll just stick this right here on the refrigerator, I'll just set this here so I can pass it on to my neighbor or friends, I'll just tack this up on the bulletin board so I'll have it later when I need it." Whatever... as long as they keep your piece out of the recycle bin or worse, the garbage can-- YOU WIN. Being "sticky" is a good thing. Being "good sticky" is your objective here!
Along with listing your address, website, and other relevant "find you" information, consider including things that can help with the "sticky" factor-- things like recipes timed to the season, tips on gardening, the local sports team schedule, or your top ten interesting vacation spots and ways to research getting a great deal if they decide to check out vacationing there. Anything that will generate a buzz in their mind that says "keep me" instead of "toss me" and that will have your customer thinking about the best place to save your postcard rather than if there's anything interesting on it! Hint: Look at your own home and see what YOU save....
Tip for rookies: Make sure that your website URL is dominant along with your phone number and picture somewhere on the piece. Your intended consumer shouldn't have to glance more than casually to find you when they need you. 
This way too, you have a conversation starter when someone runs into you at the grocery store or around town and wants to let you know how well that recipe turned out for them or how well something you printed has worked for them. Customers can always go to your website to see homes you've listed but this way you've given them a reason to go to your website and you stand out from other agents. Its easy to obtain recipes or gardening tips or top ten lists for free from the web. You just need to list the source on your postcard and you are legally allowed to use the information.
On all direct mail promotions, you should focus on your headline. One of the reasons we all toss direct mail quickly is because the piece simply fails to grab us and compel us to look further! Make it very clear what your headline is. A final note on sticky: proofread everything and then proof it again twice more an hour or two later. Along with checking for misspelled words, make sure that your phone number, name, email, and website are always listed on every marketing collateral and that the piece "says what you intend for it to say." If you proof your piece too closely to writing it, your mind will have a natural tendency to skip the words you wrote and focus on what you were thinking when you wrote them. Avoid letting what you "meant to say" trick you into delivering a piece that says it wrong or says it badly but succeeds at being sticky. That would be "bad sticky" and we all know what that gum on the bottom of the shoe makes us feel like....
Do you need to review Direct Mail Secret #1?
Would you like to continue on to Direct Mail Secret #3?
Comments(5)