While browsing through free postcard templates, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the options. You’ll find designs that are sleek and simple to those that are loud and exciting. Choosing the right design for your marketing efforts is not always an easy task, but it’s a very important one if your want your campaign to be successful. Here are a few tips to keep in mind so that you choose a design that’s not just professional looking, but effective as well.

1. Size Matters

Yes, you guessed it, bigger is better. The larger the postcard size you decide to go with, the more people you will likely reach. There is nothing like a jumbo sized postcard to grab someone’s attention as they are flipping through their mail, and make them take a second glance.

But besides for it’s attention-catching effects, a large postcard will allow you more space to get your message across. The flip side of this is that if you do decide to go with a smaller sized card, you will need to be even more concise than usual, as too many words will appear to long and squished for anyone to want to bother reading them.

2. Less is More

If bigger is better when it comes to the size, the opposite is true when it comes to choosing from marketing postcard templates. You want to have a striking image that catches the attention and invites a second look, but at the same time you need to resist the temptation to go overboard with the design.

Even a large postcard is too small to be cluttered, be it with extra words, or too many images. You’ll want to keep it to some clean, crisp images, or use a powerful photo instead. Limit the words on the front to a carefully selected few, that invite the recipient to turn over the card and read the rest.

3. What’s the Occasion?

Of course, a good design really depends on why you’re sending out cards in the first place. For example, if you are announcing your engagement, wedding, or another affair, most Save the Date postcard templates are right on track. A photo of the two of you coupled with the words “Save the Date…” and the date are all that’s needed on the front of the card. On the back, you can write a personal message with the details, and it’s a perfect informal invitation that can be kept on the fridge till the big day rolls around.

If you are sending out these cards for your business, then you might want to have something more industry specific. You can find blank postcard templates for just about every field, from construction to beauty. These cards can be great to announce the opening of your business or a big sale, or just to touch base with customers who you haven’t worked with in a while.

Keep these tips in mind, and you’ll have a much easier time navigating the big bad world of direct mail postcard templates. Don’t lose sight of your goals, and you’ll be able to click past all the designs which aren’t quite what you need, and find the one that will achieve the goal you have in mind.

When you’re planning a direct mail marketing campaign, the first thing on your mind is likely to be where you can find a good but cheap postcard printing company that you can rely on. Fortunately, the internet offers a wide range of printing companies that you can choose from, most of which offer much lower prices and more services than their brick and mortar counterparts.

The reasons behind this are obvious. Without having to pay rent for a storefront or hire sales personnel, there are less costs involved in running the business and that money saved can be offered back to the client in the form of lower prices. Additionally, many online postcard printing companies offer more than just printing. You can use one of their postcard templates, create your own postcard design using an online designing interface, or upload an image that a graphics designer has created for you. You can even pay them to address and mail your postcards, leaving yourself with nothing more to do than click away at your mouse to get your postcard marketing campaign on its feet.

Using these discount postcard printing and mailing companies is not only easy, it’s extremely cost effective. You’ll find that the various services are rather competitively priced, and on top of that many offer regular sales or coupon codes. It can also be a cinch to split test the effects of which postcard size yields the best results for your company, so that in future campaigns you can get the response you are looking for without having to pay for a larger sized card than you really need.

Of course, many people will choose to use a custom postcard printing service in their neighborhood, and that can also be a good choice. There is something about dealing with a person you can see and hear that engenders trust, and building relationships with other business owners can be important, depending on what line of work you are in. You may also want to print postcards on a barter system, where you have your cards printed up in exchange for a service you provide to the printer.

But for most people, the ease that ordering online offers, combined with the savings, makes it an easy decision. And there are enough full color postcard printing options available online that you can easily find the one that has not just the right template (if you choose to use one), but just the size, price, and turnaround time that you are looking for.

When it comes to having your own postcards printed up, one of the first things on your mind is likely to be having a striking design. While you can always hire a designer or use an online postcard design program to do it yourself, many people prefer to use a free postcard template instead. This way, you know you’re getting a professional looking design that will look good, without having to pay extra or rack your brains trying to be the designer that you’re not. And with the wide variety of business postcard templates available online, it’s super easy to go this route.

Most companies which offer cheap postcard printing will have a wide range of templates available for you to use, usually arranged by topic. You can browse according to the industry that you’re in and find one that works for your campaign. From simple designs to extravagant creations, you can be sure to find a postcard design template that is just what you’re looking for.

One thing to keep in mind is that not all postcards are shaped the same. It helps to know what postcard size you will be ordering before you get started, as some designs may only come in certain sizes. Choosing one of the more common sizes, like a 5×7 or 4×6 postcard template will likely give you the widest variety of designs, but even if you are going for a larger or wider card, you should be able to find plenty of blank postcard design templates to choose from.

But you don’t have to limit yourself to the options that a printing company has online. You can find templates that are meant to be used with different computer programs, such Adobe InDesign or Microsoft Word. For many people, a postcard template for Word is the best choice, as it is a program they are used to using and feel at home with.

One benefit to using a Microsoft Word postcard template is that you have more printing options. You can usually save your finished designs and upload them to be printed by an online printer’s, or you can print them yourself. If you are just planning on printing a small quantity of cards, this can be the best and least expensive option.

When designing your cards, the front of the postcard is not the only important part. Make sure that you also work with a USPS postcard template, which will show you where the stamp or bar code will go and will designate the correct amount of space for the address to go. This will ensure that your message gets across without being covered up or printed on, and that the cards can be properly addressed. The last thing you want is to go through the trouble and expense of designing your cards and having them printed up, only to find out that many of them don’t reach their destinations, or if they do, arrive with a hard to read message printed on them.

When it comes to postcard advertising, one of the most important factors is how effective your postcard design is. The beauty of a postcard is that it can attract attention quickly and get a message across almost instantaneously. While opting for a bigger card will usually yield better results, the design is much more important than postcard size alone.

There are three ways you can have your postcard designs done. You can hire a graphic artist, use a postcard template and modify it for your business, or you can design your own postcard. There are pros and cons to each option, but many people opt to go with the third.

When you hire a graphic designer, you know you’re having a professional job done, and one that is suited to your business’s specific needs and clientele. You have the benefit of working with someone who has been trained in how different aspects of design affect the overall impact of the final product, something that can be very important if you are trying to achieve a major response to your direct mail campaign.

That being said, you will pay a lot for a professional for custom postcard design. Another option is to go with postcard design templates. These are pre-made graphics that are available from a variety of sites online. One nice thing about them is that they are offered free of charge by many companies that print postcards, so you can browse through the selection of postcard templates, find the one that suits your fancy, edit the text, and pay. Viola! You can have your postcards ordered in less than twenty minutes flat, and get something clean, crisp, and professional looking without paying any more for it.

There are definite pros and cons to using a free template, and much depends on the reason you are ordering postcards. If you are planning on sending them out to remind your patients to come in for their yearly cleaning, or as season’s greetings or birthday wishes cards, then you can probably find a postcard design template that accomplishes your goal perfectly. There is no need to go out and out to have the best design ever, as something simple, tasteful, and attractive will do the job well.

On the other hand, if you are trying to attract new customers, revive old ones, or get everyone into your store for a major blow out sale, then you probably won’t find something powerful enough in a free, or even paid, template collection. To achieve an important goal with postcard marketing, you need a design that is unique, eye-catching, and memorable, something that most templates just aren’t. Your options are to hire a designer or to do it yourself.

While a designer will give you the benefit of training and experience, sometimes that’s not really what you need. Very often, a savvy business owner, who has a good understanding of his clientele and what motivates them, will have a pretty clear picture of what the finished product should look like, but the designer will have a difficult time bringing that idea into reality. But just because you don’t know your way around Photoshop doesn’t mean that you can’t design a postcard that will blow your clients away. There are many companies which offer simple to use, free programs that allow you to design postcards online and then have them printed and shipped out to you.

Out of these three options, most people prefer to go with the last. If you can have the image you’ve set your heart on printed up with a just few clicks of a mouse, then why not? Online postcards design programs offer people the chance to get exactly what they want, without having to settle for less, deal with a designer who doesn’t quite understanding what you’re asking for, and without even having to pay more.

When it comes to ordering postcards for your business, size matters.  With a large variety of standard postcard sizes for mailing, plus custom dimensions, determining which postcard size is right for you is a matter of considering both your budget, and what you’re aiming to accomplish with this mailing.

4″x6″ – This is the standard postcard size USPS will mail at postcard rates.  Ordering any larger sizes means that you will be charged at regular letter rates.  Since these are the smallest standard postcards that you can order from a printing company, you will not only pay less for shipping, but for the actual cards themselves.

5″x7″ – This is the second most popular size, after 4×6 postcards.  Whether you need to get in some more text or you just want something that is less likely to be overlooked in the daily mail, this is a great option.

4″x9″ – This option will cost you about the same amount as a 5×7.  The main difference is that it is a different shape, being a shorter, wider rectangle, rather than a typical but larger postcard.  These cards are known as “Rack Cards”, “RIP Cards”, and “Push Cards”.  They are very versatile and are great for marketing.  They can also be set up in a display instead of just being mailed out.

5″x8″ and up – These postcards come in a wide range of sizes, including 5.5″x8.5″, 6.8″x7.5″, 6″x11″, and 8.5″x11″.  One thing that they all have in common is that they are sure to get their recipient’s attention!  Depending on the response you are trying to get or the amount of information you need to convey, a jumbo postcard size might be just the thing you are looking for.  Since more paper is used for these, they will obviously cost more, but discounts are available, especially when you buy in bulk.

When you are ordering with marketing in mind, there is no reason that you need to stick to the typical postcard size.  Large cards can be extremely effective in eliciting the response you are looking for.  Postcards can be used for a wide variety of purposes in a business, from just letting your client’s know you are thinking about them, to reminding patients about annual check ups, to announcing a sale, special event, or even to encourage people to come visit your website.

In the event that you are just working on building brand or company recognition, sticking to the official direct mail postcard size with a 4″x6″ is a budget-friendly and often effective option.  If you are trying to see which size will elicit the best response for the least money, then consider doing some split testing to see which one works best for you and your customers.