Is it just me or does anyone else get excited about checking the mail? At least when you know it's not the time of the month for bills, I get a little excited every time I go out to check the mail. I guess it's the anticipation of not knowing what's waiting for me. ?Who's been thinking about me?? is what I want to know.



These days, everything is turning electronic, from personal letters to postcards. For marketers, many might start to shy away from sending the traditional postcard in favor of e-postcards. But other than saving trees (which you could do with recycled paper stock) and cutting down on printing costs, printed postcards seem to take the cake when it comes to marketing effectiveness. But postcard printing isn't that expensive, especially when compared to all the other marketing methods and materials out there.

So what do printed postcards have that e-postcards don't? Here are a few advantages that come to mind.

You can't delete a printed postcard. The major advantage of a postcard over other direct mail pieces is that there's no envelope to get through. With e-postcards, you have to get past the junk mail filter and then the person has to click through the email to get to the e-postcard. Many times, e-postcards get deleted without even being opened. Even if someone throws away your printed postcard, they had to look at it to see who it was from, which means they probably saw your logo, which means they'll recognize your logo the next time you see it.

You don't need electricity to view a printed postcard. You don't need a computer or any kind of ?reader? to get a printed postcard. You just need some daylight. This is especially important for marketers targeting older generations that aren't too keen on computers and technology in the first place.

You can hold a printed postcard. When you feel something in your hand, you know it's real. A printed postcard has more power to convey to the recipient that whoever created that postcard is real. Someone took the time to design it, write copy and mail it to you. Specifically to you, with your name on it. That makes a big difference because printed postcards feel much more personal that e-postcards. People tend to purchase from businesses they feel a personal relationship with.

You can take it with you. If a printed postcard contains a coupon, it's easy for someone to throw it in their purse or in their pocket as they walk out the door. An e-postcard has to be printed to be redeemed at a brick-and-mortar store. This can be somewhat of a pain for people that don't have printers or people that are in a hurry to get out the door. It may not be worth it to them to turn on the computer, wait for it to boot up, find the e-postcard, print it out and shut down the computer before finally being able to leave. Printed postcards portability makes them a winner.

That's not to say the e-postcards can't be effective. If you only have an online store, then an e-postcard might make more sense. The key to using postcards effectively is to target them to customers that are most likely to respond, whether that's in printed form or electronic form.