Direct Mail

[Michele Rushworth]

I didn't include any price information on my card. I'd like it to have a long useful life and my prices could change at any time. I wouldn't want someone to expect a price that was printed on a card they kept from two years before, or from a card that I put out on a table somewhere two years after it was first printed.

A compromise might be "Prices start at ...."

[John Reidy]

Mike

I chose not to include pricing information as I believe that is something that should be discussed in closing the sale. I will not hesitate to give out a beginning price but too often it needs to be qualified.

[Melinda Roeleveld]

I didn't put anything about prices on my postcard. I did say, "For addional portrait samples, visit www.melindaroeleveld.com. " That was my main purpose---to get people on the website to see all the possibilites. I'm still waiting for the phone to ring :-)

[Mike McCarty]

I was talking to Modern Postcard about purchased lists. They indicated to me that for a list of families in my little burg which have a combined income of over $150,000, homeowner - single family dwelling, and with home valued at $775,000+, the number of available contacts that fit this demographic profile was 939.

I asked if they might take off the "single family dwelling" indicator, because I thought that there were oodles of condo owners in this area that would be nice to include.

Having dropped this criteria he came back with the number 1008. This is curious to me. Sarasota is nothing if not littered with million dollar condos, yet he only picked up 69 more hits.

I'm dubious about these lists but don't know of another effective way to do it.

[October Reader]

Mike, I don't know much about this listing business but I sorta think it's categorized under "fulfillment" industry. Judging from the volume in my mailbox everyday, I'd think there would be quite some competition out there, maybe even in your local area.

What about getting the cards from Modernpostcard and find a suitable local fulfillment company to do the rest ?

[Mike McCarty]

What about getting the cards from Modernpostcard and find a suitable local fulfillment company to do the rest ?

There is a certain logic to that. I'll be getting some local quotes. I'm always in the mood for local fulfillment.

[Michele Rushworth]

I wonder if the list services don't capture information on people who aren't full time residents of a particular area. These high end condos may be just winter homes for people who might show up on a database of Cleveland instead of Sarasota.

[John Reidy]

As you have probably already learned, you can shop around for lists without committing. There are several list services on the internet where you can enter your criteria and get a total number of addresses.

Try shopping around and see what consistency's exists.

[Mary Sparrow]

Heidi, I hope that you stopped getting rude calls about your cards.
Have you gotten any positive feedback?

I am happy to say that I mailed out only fifty a couple of days ago and already had someone call to have a head and shoulders done of their toddler to be followed by a larger one in a couple of years...I feel quite sure this is someone that probably wouldn't have thought to call without the nudge of the card. So at the very least, this little investment seems to have already paid for itself.

[October Reader]

Congratulations Mary!