When it comes to a mail campaign, the direct mail piece that will net you the best ROI (return on investment) has got to be postcards.

Postcards are popular for a number of reasons:

They are easily carried and stored. Postcards can be easily carried from home to store and they can be conveniently stored in mail slots on a desk.

They are cheaper than other direct mail pieces to create and mail. A postcard can be printed and mailed for less than $1 each. Many can be created and mailed for less than 50 cents each, actually, if you do basic printing. This is why they have the best ROI - you only need to make one big-ticket sale of a 100 dollar-item per 100 people you mail your postcards to.

There is no barrier to reading the postcard. Unlike brochures or sales letters that are mailed in envelopes, there is no envelope to get in the way of recipients reading your postcard. Envelopes are the biggest direct mail barrier - many people don't even bother opening the envelope before deciding to throw it away. With postcards, the recipient at least sees your logo and tagline if nothing else when they throw your postcard away. This helps them to remember you later and creates familiarity.

Now, if you're thinking the only occasion for sending a postcard is for a sale, read on to find out four other reasons you can use postcards. That leads to another reason postcards are popular: they have a variety of purposes. Here are some of those purposes:

1. Invitation: Postcards are a great way to invite people to your store or restaurant. Just mail a postcard that looks like a fancy invitation with time, place and price (if applicable). Invite people to try a new product and give them an incentive for going to your store through a discount or free item. Ask your postcard printing company for help on creating an impressive-looking postcard invitation that would rival a nice wedding invitation.

2. Announcement: When you have a grand opening, use postcards to announce to locals when you'll be opening and to give out some information about your company. A postcard can be a colorful way to launch a store.

3. Business card: You can use your postcard marketing just like you do your business cards, instead of handing them out personally, you mail them out to the masses. Put all of your information that's on your business card on a postcard and include an incentive for people to call you. Good incentives range from "secret" information that most people don't know about to a free item for stopping by your store.

4. To drive Web site traffic: If you just created a Web site, announce it through a postcard mailing. Give people a monetary incentive for checking out your Web site or tell them to sign up for your newsletter or for email coupons on your site.

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