Imagine that you're looking at a pile of messages. You see letters sent third class, and ditch them quickly. You discard blatant promotional pieces. Still, you are swamped by E-mails, faxes, and unopened personal letters. Then you spot another item-a personal post card, handwritten. You read it first.


Surprising? Not really, because we know that everything else can be mass- produced. Even our personalized letters don't stir immediate interest, for receivers know that these, too, are likely to be generated in volume. So the post card stands alone as a "this one's for you only" method of written communication.

Sending personal post cards has become a popular-and productive-way to keep in touch with clients, prospects, vendors, friends, and your networking group. Let's see why.

Post cards are inexpensive. Even when you put your photo on one side and your company information on the address side, you don't have to spend much to buy 500 or 1,000 cards. More good news: Postage is twenty-one cents, versus thirty-three cents for a letter.

Post cards don't require many lines to look complete. Although you might have to come up with five paragraphs to fill a letter's page, you'll have room for only two or three sentences with a card. Obviously, you can write more cards daily.

Post cards carry a welcomed informal touch. "Oh," we think, "how nice of Joe to drop us a note." Especially if Joe was on the road, even out of the country.

Post cards can serve more than one purpose. My publisher printed my card, with a photo of the book's cover on one side, along with the publisher's 800 number. So even as I'm sharing a few words with an acquaintance, I'm publicizing my book.

Because the message isn't covered, several people will read the card before it reaches the recipient. Postal employees, receptionists, secretaries, and co-workers aren't snooping when they read an open message.

When somebody receives a post card, he or she is more likely to pass it around the office, as they wouldn't do with a letter. If they consider the card clever, they might display it on the workplace bulletin board.

Clearly, with the help of a creative printer and a moderate budget, we can improve our marketing through a personal post card that (1)says we're thinking about the recipient (2)gives a short message (3)advertises our products/services.

If you haven't given this marketing tool a try, I encourage you to. You'll be amazed at the rapport you will build by sending two or three cards a day.

Bill Lampton, PhD.

Bill Lampton, Ph.D., helps organizations achieve CPR - Cooperation, Productivity, Renewal of mission. He is the author of The Complete Communicator: Change Your Communication, Change Your Life! For information on his keynotes and trainings call 352-438-0261 BillLampton@ExpertSpeaker.com or www.ExpertSpeaker.com

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