Insurance Marketing, Postcards – The 15 top postcard offers/direct mail
By Jeffrey Dobkin
Postcards are excellent direct marketing vehicles. Because of their short format, they’re not great at closing sales, but they’re awesome at flushing out people who are interested, generating inquiries and making your phone ring with very warm prospects.
The “Objective” or goal of all our postcards is to get the reader to call. That’s the way insurance agencies get more business – people call you. The more people that call, the more appointments you close, the more business you write. More calls = more sales. Simple formula, isn’t it?
This is the fourth article in the series on increasing response by creating effective post cards – so congratulations on reading this far… you’re one of the few, as the web is the home of the short attention span theater.
The first article set the goals and objectives of our post card marketing campaign. The second and third articles examined how to write and design post cards that draw maximum response and make your phone ring. This article: 15 offers you can make on a post card to get your phone to ring.
Get Started Today! Click Here for Immediate Access to 26 Sales Letters!
One of the biggest benefits of any direct mail marketing campaign is that it can be well-targeted – only mailed to highly qualified suspects, prospects, and current and past customers.
Postcards can be mailed with precision to a highly focused mailing list. Since postcards can be so selectively mailed to a target audience, unlike most advertising mediums such as newspapers, magazines, trade shows, radio and TV, there’s very little wasted advertising expense.
Post Card Campaign Mailing Costs:
Direct marketing campaigns using post cards are low in cost because post cards are cheap to print, address and mail. A very aggressive marketing campaign – including mailing a postcard every month for a full year – is under $12 to each customer. This cost includes the post card, printing, mailshop services (inkjetting the address and sorting in zip sequence) and postage costs. So if your mailing list of top customers and prospects is 100 people, your cost is $1200 per year. $1200/year to keep in a customer’s mind. $1200/year to contact your customer every month. And if your customer list is 1,000 strong, mailing a post card to each and every customers every month is $12,000. Every other month costs $6,000.
Do I recommend mailing post cards to every customer every month? Nah… I recommend mailing a post card – or letter – to every customer and every prospect every 6 weeks. Cost: $4.50 each customer for the full year to mail to them every month and a half. Reach 100 top customers every 6 weeks = $450.
Of all the direct mail formats, postcards are easiest to handle – no folding, stuffing, tabbing, inserting – just address and mail. And postcards make your phone ring by using the the age-old direct marketing criteria of the right headline, clever copywriting, bright graphics, and an irresistible offer with a solid call to action: “Just pick up the phone and call right now – and get this FREE Offer!”
I did mention you need a great offer to make the phone ring, right? Here are 15 suggestions…
Remember: the objective of direct mail marketing post card campaign?
It is not to sell anything – it’s to have the reader call you.
The goal of the post card is to make your phone ring.
So make your offer sound great, and make “calling for information” sound so tempting and easy the reader just naturally reaches for the phone. Here are some offers to make the phone ring written specifically for the insurance industry. Not in the insurance field? Modify some of these and they’ll work for you as well!
· New types of coverage are available from our new line of providers.
Call now and get our FREE booklet on… Call and see if you’re premiums have gone down!
New this month: LTC discount rates. Call an see our new low rates on…
New: Low Cost Travelers Insurance. Even if you only take one trip a year, our new Travelers Insurance…
· New types of policies are available… Call now to see the very different kinds of policies you can now get…
New: Boat protection insurance
Now: Providing New Tractor Insurance
New: half year policy – why buy a whole year when you just need…
· FREE Upgrade. As our providers change, some new policies offer extended coverage for the same rate. Call and see if you are eligible for an upgrade for FREE! Call now and…
· New Lower Rates: Some rates go up, some just go down. Call us for our free list of cost reductions…
· New Discount Insurance Companies. Our New “No frills” providers now offer ultra low cost bare-bones coverages. Call us right now to see if you qualify for…
· FREE Policy Review. (Make this a wonderful twice-a-year offering, or “On Special Request.”) Call us for a…
· New products are available in Auto, Life, Health, LTC and business protection. Call now for…
· Our New Providers offer better rates, policies and coverage. Call now for…
· More Protection, Less Cost. Selected coverages. Call now for…
· Thanks for your business. We can never say this enough. We appreciate…
· Thanks for your referrals. We always appreciate a few good words from a friend.
· Free Quotes. Always our pleasure to quote. Call us…
· Immediate coverage – Immediate binder. Why wait? if you’re in a hurry and need fast coverage our agents are standing by right now. Call us…
· Immediate quotes on most coverages on your request! Call us at…
· Free Lunch. Yes, we’re buying! Call for…
· FREE Booklet! “11 Ways to Save on Your Insurance!” “How to ask for – and get – a lower rate!” “12 Ways to Lower your Premiums!” Call…
· FREE Analysis! Let me look over your policy portfolio and I’ll show you where you can save money. Get rid of lousy coverage you don’t need. Call 610-642-1000.
· Lower your risk: Call us first for all your insurance quotes.
Direct marketing with post cards is easy and effective, IF you know how.
You need to 1. know what to say, 2. who to say it to, 3. create a very hot headline, 4. make an attractive offer, and 5. blend lively graphics with 6. enticing copy and 7. mail to the right list.
For the complete article – just follow the many links for FREE Insurance Marketing Articles. Thanks.
Jeffrey Dobkin
Jeffrey Dobkin will now take your questions. No, seriously – Call him on it: 610-642-1000 rings on his desk. Write him at The Danielle Adams Publishing Company · Box 100 · Merion Station, PA 19066. Dobkin has written 5 books on increasing response in your direct mail and direct marketing campaigns including the cult classic book, “How To Market A Product for Under $500!” Order on Amazon or better yet download Dobkin’s e-books on his website bookstore, www.jeffreydobkin.com Buy his books, they’re great! And… he needs the money. Just kidding. You don’t have to buy Dobkin’s books. Just send the money.
Did I mention Dobkin has written a set of Awesome Insurance Sales Letters? Over 15 letters written and fully designed to fulfill one single objective: to get your phone to ring. No, they don’t sell insurance. They don’t offer life or casualty. They only do one thing: make your phone ring. They YOU sell insurance. We thought YOU’D do a better job of closing a sale than your letter ever could. So this prospecting letters simply make your phone ring.
You can see a sample letter by clicking HERE, or you can order these letters on our order page by clicking HERE.
Thanks. Questions? You are always welcome to call: 610-642-1000 rings on Jeffrey’s desk.