Now I confess that I sometimes suspect, well in fact know, that many of these articles are not “real” articles  but ads disguised as articles! The printed word in news has changed dramatically over the years and most are now, not news but ads written as news…AOL is particularly bad about this. Staff or itinerant writers expounding on “news” with their own personal agenda….sort of like a politician huh? But this particular article, whether written to promote VistaPrint or not, does contain some valuable information, and one that we have promoted personally-do not overlook traditional methods of promoting your business!

We have mailed out postcards to our clients for years! And the results have always been better than a “bought list.” It is  easy to get lazy and rely on the convenience and cost savings of the Internet but if you have a client list, you need to read this and absorb it. More later on artist postcards for marketing!

Entrepreneur’s Journal: Done Right, Mailers Can Get Results
Posted Mar 14th 2010 5:40PM by Tom Taulli
In my columns, I usually focus on new technologies that can help boost your business. But sometimes the old-fashioned approaches can still work quite well.
Yes, this includes mailers.
OK, it’s true that people still throw away much of their mail (and, it even looks like the U.S. Postal Service will cut back on its deliveries). But if a mailer is done right, you can get a nice return on your investment.
Take a look at the case of Joan & Ed’s Deli. In business for more than 30 years, the restaurant had built a list of 2,000 frequent customers and wanted to provide them gift certificates. By using a mailer, there was an impressive return of over 800% and the response rate was 11%.
“Until recently,” said Mindy Sanderson, who is the marketing manager for Joan & Ed’s Deli, “we almost ended our mailer program. The reason was that the response rate was low.”
So what changed? Sanderson used a third-party provider: VistaPrint (VPRT).
With its online tools, she was able to easily design a professional mailer. Next, VistaPrint managed the mailing, using discounted rates.
“It can be time-consuming when putting together a mailer,” Sanderson said. “But VistaPrint made things very easy. Just handling duplicate names and bad addresses was a big help.”
Sanderson realized that she needed to design a mailer that would catch the attention of the person picking up the mail. To this end, she used strong colors and a clear message. “Using words like ‘discount’ and ‘money off’ can be effective,” Sanderson said.
It’s also important to give the mailer a personal touch. So, Sanderson put a picture of the husband-and-wife team of Joan & Ed’s Deli on the mailer. “Having your logo on the mailer can also be helpful,” she said.
So far, Sanderson has plans to have two mailers per year. Although, she wants to eventually expand things by using email offers and perhaps even social media. But, there is little doubt that traditional media can still make a difference.