How to Start Making Marketing Postcards

Here are a few easy steps on how to get started with postcard printing for marketing purposes. Remember these steps when you start to print postcards for direct mailing.
1.  Once you decide to start using postcards, first ask your colleagues if they have had any experience with postcard printing for marketing before. Learning from other’s experience can really help the learning curve when you want to create your color postcard. Take notes as you listen to their advice.

2.  Read up on related literature regarding direct mail marketing and postcard making. Gaining “textbook” knowledge about postcard printing will let you familiarize yourself with all the new terms you will encounter. This will also supplement the wisdom that you gained earlier from colleagues.

3.  Look through various postcard printing companies and compare their services, capabilities, quality and price ranges. The best way to do this is to look for online printing companies since you can compare their qualities readily side by side using multiple windows. Online postcard printing saves you time in searching for available local printers.

4.  Decide on your budget once you have chosen a postcard printer. Consider the number of copies you want to print, their quality, color and their size. Also decide if you are going to hire a designer to make the postcard design, or if you are going to use color postcard templates from the postcard printing company.

5.  Create your design. Using your favorite graphics design software, create your postcard design. If you chose to hire a professional, this is the time you tell him/her what you want to see and have them create your concept. Make sure that you set the design in a few standard formats. These formats are 4.25”x 6”, 6”x 8.5”, and 6”x 11”. Take note that only the first set of dimensions (4.25x6) can still be mailed first class. All other dimensions might be charged a higher postage rate.

6.  Review your design by showing it to a few trusted people who’s opinion you value. Let them critique your design and listen to their feedback. If there are any important points that are brought up, integrate them to your design as you go back and make adjustments.

7.  Finally, send your adjusted postcard design your postcard printer for production. If there are any other problems, the printer should inform you about it now. If you want you can have a postcard printing sample sent to you before you let them start printing. Once you give the go ahead all you need to do is wait and receive your full color marketing postcards.