Direct mail isn’t just used by local businesses. Startups across a variety of industries use direct mail postcards for different purposes. Some use it for acquiring new customers, while others use it to reengage existing customers. We’ve rounded up a few postcard examples from popular startups that do direct mail well. If you’re looking for tips on how to design a postcard, check out one of our prior posts about how to design a postcard that converts.
Dollar Shave Club – Minimalist and Intriguing
This popular subscription razor company uses cost-effective 4×6 postcards to ask existing customers to update their payment information because of some issues with the current payment information on file.
Design feedback: This design shines in its minimalist approach. It’s literally just a cardboard box and several words. The light gray background compliments the white border well so the only thing your eyes focus on is the text. The copy also works well because while the goal of updating payment information is important to the company, they make the focus about the customer. It’s intriguing enough to get me to want to turn it over.
Square – Busy with Benefits
Square provides point-of-sale software and hardware to businesses. This campaign seems to be sent to businesses to entice them to try Square’s card reader which would let them accept credit cards from a mobile device.
Design feedback: The colors and imagery are nice, but this is a lot of copy in a small area — it’s only a 4×6 postcard. Generally, it’s best to be concise. The main headline here, “Your free card reader is waiting,” is almost lost in all of the other copy. Square did, however, do a good job of highlighting benefits over features.
Opendoor – Clean and Personalized
Opendoor is a new way to sell your home online with just a few clicks. This campaign was sent to homeowners who could become potential customers that sell their home to Opendoor.
Design feedback: It’s clean and uses illustrations as its supporting imagery. The biggest takeaway here is that Opendoor actually used its own data to personalize the postcard to the specific recipient. Personalizing postcards just like email can significantly increase your conversion rate. Lastly, there’s a clear call to action.
BarkBox – Attention Grabbing
BarkBox is a subscription service for dogs. Their branding is fun which translated well to this cute postcard. This postcard was sent to get prospective customers to signup for the service.
Design feedback: The imagery showcases the product well and features a dog in a sweatshirt. What’s not to love? For dog owners, their target audience, this is sure to catch their attention. It also prominently features their logo.
Maidpro – Concise and Appealing
Maidpro is an on-demand cleaning company. This was part of an Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) campaign to all of the residents in a local area. These sorts of campaigns can be an effective way to acquire new customers if you have a product or service that has mass appeal and your target customer is based on geography rather than specific interests or demographics.
Design feedback: The layout itself is great. It has a concise headline and a high quality supporting image that matches the benefit — enjoying more personal time this summer.
It is always good practice to look at postcard examples like these when planning your campaign, and paying close attention to the imagery, copy, and calls to action. We also have more helpful tips on writing good copy here on our blog, as well as suggestions for effective use of postcard templates.
If your company is new to direct mail, but has been curious to experiment with it, give Mailjoy a try. We’re a self-service tool to send personalized direct mail campaigns in minutes. You can also discover other postcard examples and free postcard templates here.
