Know-How Exchange : Advertising/PR

I think you've asked too broad a question to get really good answers.

I've used post cards to help promote two books (to libraries), a new membership company, a few retail businesses, and an Internet-based service start-up. Each one was so different from the others that I'm not sure there is a really simple answer to your question.

It's kind of like asking, "How do you make a good dinner?" The answer, of course, is, "It depends." The answer to your question depends on your target audience, your brand positioning, the industry, competition, pricing strategy, and perhaps half a dozen other factors.

If all you want is eye-candy and 50 well-chosen words to express your positioning to whomever sees the cards, go to the websites of any of the large card printers and pick from their portfolio. Better still, save your money. Generic messages like that are worthless.

To answer the question you're asking, you need to start with a clear definition of your target audience, a carefully articulated product/brand positioning, and a really solid understanding of your unique selling proposition, value in use, and the needs, wants, beliefs, and mindset of your audience.

Postcards are a medium -- no more or less. Good marketing starts with positioning the product or service to fill an important consumer/customer need. When you have that, expressing it in a postcard is something any good copywriter/art director can do. And, of course, the best creative is specific to the product/market, not a general "fill-in-the-blanks" approach.