The Power of Postcards

Printed postcards are easy to produce and cost-efficient. They often achieve excellent results because recipients see your message right away without needing to open an envelope or even an email.

Want to attract new members to your community? Send a postcard!

Next to websites, a well-conceived and implemented direct-mail postcard campaign is one of the best tools for finding your future cohousing neighbors.

Printed postcards are easy to produce and cost-efficient. They often achieve excellent results because recipients see your message right away without needing to open an envelope or even an email. For example, approximately one-third of the people who attended a recent community movie event at HomeTown Village in Aurora, IL, said they learned about the program from a postcard.

What's the best size?

An oversized postcard (5 1/2 tall by 8 1/2 wide) is the most memorable and effective medium. Printing costs are minor compared with a regular 4 x 6 postcard (4 x 6). The postage is higher (37 cents versus 23 cents), but the larger card gives you freedom to convey more information in an attractive format.

What design elements have the most impact?

Clear and compelling photos are much more preferable than line art or clip art. If you don't have photos of your community, you might want to ask the best photographer in your cohousing community to take some shots, preferably with a high-resolution digital camera. Or you might choose to hire a photojournalist from your local newspaper.

If you already have selected a site, you'll want to take some outside shots on your land. You also should get some non-posed action shots of group members during a social event. Tell the photographer that you want flattering, candid images. When we hire professional photographers, we obtain a CD with dozens of electronic images that we can use for future marketing materials such as flyers, brochures or a website.

What should I know about copy and layout?

Select a type size and font that's easily readable to your target audience. For example, if you're marketing to people over 40, you'll want to make sure the type isn't too small. It's better to write less copy and leave some white space between the sentences.

More is not better – a cluttered look can turn people off to your project. You only have a moment to catch the reader's attention, so a dynamic photo and catchy headline will have much greater impact than too much text. Write in active sentences and avoid clichés or superfluous words. Use both sides of the card to convey your message and include your mailing address, phone number, email and website.

What about address labels?

Address labels (or handwritten addresses) appear on the right-hand “back” side of the card, usually adjacent to text and perhaps a small image on the left. If you hire a mailing house, you'll need to leave more space for the address label on the right to make sure it's "read" correctly. If you plan to mail the postcards yourself, you'll have more space to work with on the address side. Mailing parties for 500 cards or less can be a fun community builder.

Where do I go for printing?

Some people have a trusted local vendor who can provide quality service at a fair price. When we create a postcard for communities in other towns, we've found that Kinko's is a highly efficient and cost-effective venue for printing and production. Once the community's marketing team approves the postcard, we send the PDF file to a Kinko's that is convenient to the community. A group member then picks up the completed copies and handles distribution. Working with Kinko's via email allows us to prevent possible snafus and time delays around incompatible software or printers.

How do I find my audience?

An aesthetically attractive and well-written postcard is effective only if it reaches the right people. You'll need a targeted database of potential cohousing members that is up-to-date and relevant. When announcing a large event, you may want to send a postcard to everyone on your list. Other times you may want to send a postcard to interested folks (warm and hot leads) who already are familiar with your project and/or cohousing.

We've consistently achieved good response from the national database of the Cohousing Association of the U.S. We recently completed a regional postcard mailing (California, Arizona, Texas and New Mexico) using the Coho/US database for our “Creating Cohousing: Nuts & Bolts” Workshop in San Diego. Many workshop registrants said they learned about the workshop via the postcard.

You also may wish to consider purchasing mailing lists from magazines with like-minded readers. Postcards from Oak Creek Commons in Paso Robles received a great response from the database of California subscribers for Natural Home and Utne Reader magazine. Readers of Mother Jones and Sierra Club magazine might be other good demographic fits. If you plan to purchase a mailing list, give yourself at least two weeks' lead time to obtain the publication's approval.