Personalized Postcards
Personalized postcards: a different picture and message for every recipient
Postcards whose graphics and words change from one recipient to the next: the name, the offer, the photo, the map, the nearest location, all printed in one run instead of one card for everybody.
Most direct mail is one card printed thousands of times. A personalized postcard is thousands of cards printed once each: the press changes the text and the images from one piece to the next, drawing each from the recipient’s line in the list. The family with a teenager sees a car; the retired couple sees a garden; the household across town sees a map to the location nearer them.
It is how we prefer to mail, because a card that speaks to its reader gets attention that a card for everybody does not. Anything in your list can drive it: name, neighborhood, last purchase, age, the store they use. You set the rules, which picture and which offer for which group, and the design carries them through.
What is variable data printing?
Digital printing that changes the content between pieces without stopping the press. Each card prints from a template whose fields fill from the list: a text field for the name, an image field that picks one of several photos, a code field that gets a unique value. Because nothing stops between pieces, a run of a thousand different cards prints as one job.
What can be personalized on a postcard?
More than the name. The fields that move response most are the ones that make the card about the reader’s own situation.
- The recipient’s name, in the headline as well as the address block
- The street or neighborhood: “your neighbors on Maple Drive”
- The offer, chosen by age, spend or time since the last visit
- The photo: a different product, home or family for each group
- A map from the address to your nearest location
- A unique code, so each response traces to one card
Does personalization raise response?
Mailers who test it usually find it does, and most of the gain comes from relevance rather than from the name. Seeing their own name is pleasant; seeing an offer that fits their life is what makes someone act. That is why the rules matter more than the fields: decide what each group should be shown before deciding how to print it.
A personalized card starts as a design with versions in it, and postcard design services build both the card and its rules.
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Answers
Personalized Postcards: questions people ask
What is a personalized postcard?
A postcard whose text or images change for each recipient, printed from your list in one run. The name, the offer, the photo and the map can all differ from card to card.
Can each postcard have a different image?
Yes. You supply the images and the rule for choosing them, such as one photo for families with children and another for households without. The press picks the image for each card as it prints.
Do personalized postcards cost more?
They are quoted with the job, and the quote shows the design work for the versions on its own line, so you can weigh a personalized card against a single design before you choose.
How do I track which postcard got a response?
Print a unique QR code or offer code on each card or each version. When someone scans or quotes it, the response traces back to the version, and with a code per piece, to the household.