Start up businesses that have neither have an existing client base or an extensive marketing budget can get creative with postcard printing. There are so many diverse ways you can use this handy direct-marketing material that will surely win your customer’s approval and win you potential clients.

Step 1: Create Your Own Mailing List

Although you can get a mailing list from a printing company, creating your own mailing list can be a fun and productive networking idea.

• Ask for referrals from your friends, neighbors, the mail man, the local grocer, the barber shop, or the person you sit beside with at the bus. Letting them know that you’re starting a mailing list is a good conversation starter that can lead to giving you advice and insightful tips about your business. It can also give you a lot of leads.

• Work the yellow pages. Whether you’re working on a business-to-business campaign or not, you should let other businesses know about you. Look for those businesses who sell related products or services. This will open up partnership possibilities in the future.

• Attend clubs or meeting for your specific trade. These groups often have business directories, have trade shows, or sponsor related events. You can use these activities to your advantage.

Step 2: Designing Your Personal Postcard

There are many design templates you can use from online printers, but these tend to look too much like advertisements. With postcards, the idea is to humanize interactions to show that you offer personalized services.

Show your local flavor. You can use a popular local figure to endorse your products, use a popular park or landmark as a backdrop for your photo shoot, or find a way to associate your product with the local industry. This makes your products more familiar to your customers.

Step 3: Getting Printed

Any standard printer will do. Online printing companies are a convenient and inexpensive way to get printed. You can simply order online, upload your designs, make payments and wait for them to deliver. They also offer cheaper services than many offline printing companies.

Step 4: Copy Writing

• Leave the backside blank, or just have it lined with guides. Even if it entails plenty of time and effort, hand write the message on your postcard including the name of the recipient and the address. You should also use a stamp instead of an Indicia or the postal mark for bulk print. The special attention adds more value to your postcard.

• Use a friendly and casual tone in your card. You can use the initial card to introduce yourself and announce your store opening. Let them know what services you offer and why you decided to go into that business. You can talk about a particular unmet need that drove you to put up the store. And remember to close with a request or call to action.

Postcard printing is a cheap and effective way to get your marketing momentum going. You can follow up your postcard with brochures, phone calls, or other advertisements. The important thing though is that you start early and introduce your start-up businesses.