Bulk mail credit card offers, magazine subscriptions, insurance solicitations and penny stock hawkers all get the briefest attention before being trashed. But postcards add another dimension to the view-and-toss sorting process. Readership can be quite high, instantly. Because it's all right there, right in front of the reader -- in his hand. Postcard readership is actually defined by how great the creative content is for your card. The fate of your card starts in the hand of the mailer, which I believe is you, isn't it?
This "glance readership" is the less than two seconds spent on reading your headline, one second on topic, one second on copy and the blink of an eye on graphics ... unless they're really dazzling.
So your potential reader is now standing there with your card in his hand and that, my friend, is where the rubber meets the road. Here's where you need to force the reader to read the card: You need a compelling headline, followed by intriguing copy and great, great graphics. Spend a little more time and money here and what happens? The reader actually reads the card.
Now some nitty gritty ...
"Glance readership" is 100 percent based on your headline hook, appropriateness of the subject to your audience, layout and graphics and certainly the value created in your offer. Wrap all these elements together and your postcard is now presented in a fast, two-second bite. Visually, it's the print version of flipping channels on TV. Its audio equivalents are the sound bites you hear on the evening news or promos for the shows on MTV (which, come to think of it, appear to be written by the same writers).
While each postcard reader has his or her own mental preference files that compels him or her to stay tuned into your card, some commonalities exist. It's up to you to reel them in.
