101 Postcard Ideas...#2: Custom Note Cards

What's the difference between printing a large postcard and folding it yourself, and buying pre-folded cards? For starters, you'll pay roughly 40% more for pre-folded cards, though you get the envelopes for "free". Those envelopes, people, are cheap; you can get note card sized envelopes at Office Depot, 100 for about $10.00.

Another difference is that with a large postcard you can print in full color front and back of the card (that is, the folded front and back), and you can stick your logo or some other fun message on the "back" as well so you don't have to mess around sticking your business card inside.

For some people, having them pre-folded is totally worth the price. If you need time more than money, great - go for it. But if you're on a budget, this postcard can give you a bit of relief.

Onto the savings! If you want thank you notes, special promotion cards, or even gift cards that look slick and professional, start with a good design, print them on large postcards, and fold them yourself.

In the poorly worded but truthful example at left, this is how I typically submit a file via Vistaprint.com, but the same principle applies at many printers. You make a vertical image for the colored/outside, and the inside is flipped so your note text will print on the backside of where the logo is shown on the outside.

When you get your cards, it's pretty easy to fold them yourself after you get used to the process; I suggest "scoring" the fold first with a tool or object laying around the house because your fold on the outside will be much crisper and your paper won't "break" when it's stretched for the fold. Instructs at left!

Brain Dump of Delicious Headers

I've been doing a lot of postcards lately, and that usually means coming up with a tag or header (plus the content, but that's another story) that makes...sense, and if it's snappy it's all the better. I like snappy. There's probably hundreds - I won't claim millions - of ways to introduce a personal chef service.

I do 100% personal chef subjects in the postcard arena currently, so my brain can sometimes get stalled on finding something new and different. This brain exercise post is therefore therapy and a little bit of fun. What would you put as a header on your postcard? Here's a Big Dump of Possibilities, without giving it much more thought than that:

An hour commute, and you still have to make dinner
Make dinner time fun time
Relax - we've got dinner covered
Household chores got you down?
Dinner without lifting a finger
Who needs cooking? We do it for you!
Healthy meals made simple
Delectable dining made simple
Home-cooked meals made simple
Healthier meals in a snap
Want more free time?
Mouth-watering meals in minutes
Does your diet make you feel guilty?
Eat right starting today
Reconnect with dinner
It's easy to eat well when we do the work
When's the last time you planned dinner?
Got a few minutes? Need more of them?
Dinner is easy as 1-2-3!
Heat, eat, and relax!
Need more thyme in your life?
You need more thyme!
What's for dinner?
Need a helping hand in the kitchen?
Fat, salt, and corn syrup isn't food!
Stress-free meals, stress-free evenings

OK, this isn't as fun as I thought it would be. It was more fun spitting out "Do you demand better dining?" when the piece was for Dinners on Demand. I don't really pull stuff out of a hat...I at least try to fit the focus of the piece, considering the business name, anything else on the chef's site or brochure or whatnot. Anyway, it doesn't hurt to write stuff down. Hope you had fun instead.

Ready to Rumble? Postcards vs. Rack Cards

I've just recently had some instances where folks are confused about the difference between a rack card and a postcard, so here it is in a nutshell:

Postcards
Postcards are cheap and plentiful. These are "throwaway" items you can give away or mail like candy (OK, candy is cheaper, but if you want to promote healthy dining, candy sends the wrong message). If you're on a budget - a pretty tight budget or you just like to save money - mailing might run you into a great deal of postage expense.

This brings the question: So why bother with something I have to mail?

The answer is: You don't have to mail them. (see the article below, 101 Postcard Ideas)

Now that that's out of the way...if you're not able or don't want to print a more expensive piece, you can do a lot with postcards. They're glossy and pretty (usually on one side, which is plenty nice), you can make your message short and sweet or more detailed as the need fits, and you won't hurt much when people toss them out. Let's face it - most people, no matter what you're selling, will throw away your materials.

Sizes: 5.5 x 4.25", 6 x 4", or 8.5 x 5.5". Glossy front, matte back. You can also get 2-sided glossy and 2-sided color at different places, but you'll pay more for it.

Vistaprint.com and 48hourprint.com do excellent jobs in the postcard department, and their prices are very, very good.

Rack Cards
Rack cards are display pieces, the next step up from a postcard. They're usually double-sided glossy and color, and therefore are more expensive to print (but still less expensive than brochure printing; you can get 500 racks for about $160 vs. 500 brochures for $350 ). Rack cards can serve as simple displays with a large splash of graphic and a few words on the front with more details on the back, or they can serve as your mini brochure without the expense of a full 6 panels of information.

Sizes are 3.5 x 8.5" (1/3 of a horizontal 8.5 x 11 sheet), or 4 x 9", which gives you a bit more room to state your business.

101 Postcard Ideas...#1

If you're on a budget and need marketing materials, you can't beat a postcard for flexibility, but you have to decide how you're going to use it before you design it.

As Chef Margaret Personal Chef Service and Into the Pan, I've mailed postcards in the past, but currently I use them as "throwaways" at networking meetings, give them to business partners as informational pieces, put them into giveaway bags at various events, and display them at trade show type events.

When I say "throwaway" I mean exactly that. Most people will throw your marketing materials away - er, I mean recycle them - no matter what they are. Would it make you more comfortable if they're throwing away your expensive brochure, or your "cheap" postcard? Don't get me wrong on the "cheap" - I refer to the price only. A glossy postcard done right looks fantastic!

Because I don't mail them out I can utilize the back to a greater degree; I prefer to focus on one or two ideas rather than try to incorporate all my possible services onto the small space. In the example shown, the front, or colored side describes my "dinner" chef service, and the back side describes my Mini Chef. It is in fact verbose because I use it as a little mini brochure about dinner service. Not every piece you print has to be short and sweet, and short and sweet - in my area everyone thinks a personal chef is a caterer - would not have served my purpose for this card.

If you did the same, you could still mail them out; you'd have to buy some appropriately-sized envelopes and stick it inside. That seems sort of a waste to me.

Postcards are extremely budget friendly, so for the cost of a more expensive single item, like a rack card, for example, you can design and print two or more separate postcards, one for giving and one for mailing.

A postcard is sized (approx.) 5.5 x 4.25", or 6 x 4"; it depends on where you get them printed. Glossy front, and matte back. Online printers will tell you what size(s) they offer; a local printer will print whatever size you want. It all depends on how much money you want to spend, and online printers have the best price. You can also get a half-sheet size, or 8.5 x 5.5". They use more paper, so they'll be a bit more expensive.

Ask yourself some questions before you go to print:

1. What is the purpose of the card? Educational/informative or call to action?

2. Are you promoting a specific service, a special deal or special day?

3. What size? Does it need to stand out in people's Great Mail Piles? Handing it out to your dietitian or personal trainer partners? Using it as a counter card at the local hair salon or organic store? Does it have to fit into a specific space?

4. How many do you need? If you have a bunch of "leftovers", can you use them in another way or do you have to toss them?

Ta daaaaaaa! It's the foodie wallet of my dreams!

It's nice to have a blog; I previously posted I would be making myself a cool wallet with chicken and pepper fabric, so it pretty much has to get done or I'll have egg all over my face, eh?

After thinking and thinking about it - mostly thinking I was going to royally screw it up then have to start all over again - I just buckled down yesterday and sewed my little heart out. It turned out pretty good! Not that there's any kind of perfection going on, but I'm pleased it's a useable wallet (!), and I learned a lot about sewing it, so the next one I make will be easier and better. I'm definitely not going to make money sewing, but it's fun and even with my poor skills people are impressed that I give it a shot.

OK, so check out the outside (top right!), when it's closed. See that closure? That's a felt chicken The Precioussss made me because after I was all done with the stinking wallet, I ironed the velcro on THE WRONG SIDE of the stinking closure. Just brilliant! But I'm sorta glad because I got a neat felt chicken to add to the whole aura of it. Very cool!

The inside of the wallet (right!) has 3 pockets for all my...Visas, obviously, and the right has a pocket big enough to stuff a goodly amount of business cards. Behind those most outer pockets, there's a divided pocket to hold cash on the left (since I don't carry much of that anymore, I just need a small pocket) and my license and other stuff on the right. You can't see it here, but the inside right pocket has a big fat tomatillo on it with the word "tomatillo". It's very cute.

That big, roomy area is for what I really have issues with - where to dump receipts. I can flatten them out real good in the big pocket (left!). Also, I made a mini card holder (right!) to keep my license and stuff in, because I switch bags a lot and now I can just grab this little holder, stuff a credit card in, and I'm on my way. The mini holder fits in the bigger wallet.

Wow-wow-wow! I feel like I accomplished a lot here. Plus it's nice not to have to look at an unfinished project anymore. I have so many...one thing at a time!

Wowie Zowie! An Octopus Chef!

Holy cow - is this cool or what?? The Precioussss (that's my darling offspring) has made me an octopus chef - well, technically it was just the octopus because she wasn't looking forward to making the hat part, but she did make me a little wooden spoon out of Sculpey. I made the hat out of a bit of leftover curtain. The Precioussss is awesomely talented, but she has no ambitions there. Not that I'll be complaining when she's reached her goal of being a housewife with lots of kids. Nope - not me!

Our 'pus is crocheted. I plan to get a bunch of different little things to hold in his other tentacles...another fun thing to kill time with, searching for the perfect utensils and tiny pans. Luckily, I know a place that has all kinds of nifty stuff like that. That would be The Jewelry Kitchen. Check it out, they've got tons of really groovy cooking jewelry.

Delicious Business Cards

OK, let's say you can't afford to have me create your logo and business card. Your budget is a big fat zero for graphic design, even by uber-reasonable me. What ya gonna do?

Normally I send people to Vistaprint.com for such things. They do a decent job and their cards aren't overly flimsy (but are just on the edge of it; still, you can't beat the price). However, 123print.com has a much better graphic selection in the food/restaurant category. The two at left are pretty cute and they have 18 pages of selections, from nice photos to simple drawings. Compare that with a measly 5 pages at Vistaprint. Sorry, Vp, you've got some catching up to do.