Boost Your Website Traffic with Customized Postcards

The Power of Webcards

Webcards can be a powerful tool in your marketing arsenal. Here are some ways you can utilize them:

• Send them to clients as a token of appreciation for their business.
• Use them as seasonal greetings for business contacts.
• Distribute them at networking events and trade shows.
• Place them in strategic locations as an alternative to brochures. For instance, if your website sells pet care products, you could publish articles on pet care and ask animal hospitals and veterinary clinics to display your webcards.
• Send them to potential customers before making a cold call. The colorful and attractive design of the cards makes them more likely to be kept on display than a letter or brochure.
• Mail them to your customers to announce special deals, sales, or other corporate news.

Creating Your Own Webcards

Creating your own webcards requires some equipment, software, and skills. You'll need a graphics software program like PaintShop Pro or PhotoShop, a desktop publishing program like PageMaker, CorelDraw, or MS Word, and sheets of blank postcards such as those sold by Avery. A good quality color printer is also essential. Desktop bubble jets can work well when budgets are tight, but don't expect the same quality printing as you would from an offset printer.

Here's a step-by-step guide to creating your own webcards:

• Take a screen capture of your website. For PC users, press the Print Screen button on your keyboard. Mac users can refer to their instruction manual for the appropriate keyboard command. A screen capture will save an image of your screen on the clipboard if you're using Windows, and on the desktop if you're using a Mac.
• Open your graphics software application. Mac users, open the image that appeared on your desktop when you did the screen capture. PC users, open a new file then paste your clipboard contents onto the new file. You now have a graphic image of your home page. Edit and resize as desired.
• Using a sheet of Avery postcards as your guide, lay out a postcard page in your desktop publishing program. Use your creativity to add text or other images if desired.
• Design a back page for your postcards, including your return address and any other message you require. You can also add recipients' addresses.
• Print your front page onto your Avery postcards, using any good quality printer. Then, turn the postcards over, being careful to match upsides; and print the back page.

And there you have it - your very own DIY webcards!