A special event is great way to share new products with your customers and invitational postcards are a great way to invite the masses. However, not everyone who receives an invitation will attend your event. This makes the design of the postcard of great importance. Here are a few tips to reference when planning and printing a postcard.

1. Associate the new product with your company

The key to sticking with customers who may see your card but not attend the event is to clearly display your promotional items along with your easily recognizable logo and name. The best way to do this is for both to be on the face of the postcard, i.e. an image of your product display with the company name immediately below, above, left, or right. If your product is not easily photographed, a headline announcing the product along with your logo/name may be a more desirable option. Keep the design as simple as possible to lessen distractions. Remember, your final design should immediately associate your product with your business even at a glance. Format this section as large as you can so that people get the message even if they aren’t paying attention. This is the most important aspect of an invitational postcard printing.

2. Let customers know how to find the event

The best place to put the event details is on the back of the card, leaving the whole front available for product/name association. When deciding what font to use, simpler is better: easy to read, easy to remember. Try to use only one font throughout the small space, and use bold or larger font sparingly, preferably only for the name of your event, company, and product. Include the location of the event, the date and time the event will start and end, normal business hours, website address, phone number, and business address if different than the location of the event. If there is room, a map can be helpful for difficult to find locations. It is a good idea to reserve about half an inch at the bottom of the postcard for postal use.

3. Design details

Full color is generally the best choice for the front face of the postcard. However, black and white may be very effective depending on the subject matter of your product photo. Leave as little “white noise” in the photo as possible, cropping it to the most dramatic and subject-defining image. Using one large image grabs the viewer’s attention more surely than several small photos. Save fancy filters and lighting for the family photo album. Experienced marketers recommend staying with a standard 3.5 x 5 postcard size.
 
Once your design is complete, you are ready to take your postcard project to printing professionals for any final changes before production begins.