One of the most popular promotional items right now is the postcard. The front of the postcard holds the artwork from the front cover the book. The back of the card has the normal white space for the address on the right half of the card. On the left side of the card where the salutations normally go, you include information about your book. At the very least print the publication date, the title and author, the ISBN, price, and a condensed version of the dust jacket copy. Ideally, the text on the card should tell the potential reader everything needed to make a purchasing decision.

It used to be a novelty to get postcards announcing an author’s new book, but lately it seems like everyone is mailing them. The post office should be thrilled. I probably receive two or three postcards a week from authors who have purchased mailing lists. While the lists can specifically target mystery readers, I prefer certain types of mysteries. These marketing tools do not differentiate. So you’ll be sending out cards to readers who are not interested. At a cost of a postcard stamp, and the printing costs of the cards, you’re looking at about 30 cents per card these days. While that doesn’t sound like much, it adds up fast. If you get 1000 names on a mailing list, that’s $300 spent on cards. 5000 cards is $1500, a sum larger than you’re likely to make from such a promotional campaign. Additionally, you’ll find that the sheer volume of postcards sent these days make many readers pitch cards without a second thought.

Another way to distribute postcards is to use them to stuff the bag of goodies attendees receive at most conferences and conventions. If you’re willing to give a particular number of cards to a conference, conference organizers will place your postcards in the freebie bags. The bad thing is that they’ll also put the cards of every other author in the same bag. As I said before, postcards used to be a novelty. But when you have 40 authors who all are submitting materials, you end up with a bag full of cards.
Some conventions have tried to remedy this problem by limiting the cards that go in each bag. So you’ll only submit cards for a fraction of the number of attendees — a cost savings to you. The conference will put your cards in every fourth bag, alternating with other postcards for the other bags. So while your message gets out, it is not going to reach as many people as it could. Even when conferences limit the number of postcards in freebie bags many people will still not look at them. For instance, I’ve seen people carefully tilt their bag into the trash to get rid of all the book promotion postcards while keeping everything else that came in the bag!

Most conferences and conventions have a table where promotional items can be set out for attendees to pick up if they are so inclined. This can prove a much better investment of time and money, because you’re not marketing to hundreds of people who might not be interested in your particular book. The readers choose the cards and gifts that they are interested in.

You might find some better uses for the postcards than mass distribution. I know authors who will include postcards in their correspondence and even in their bills. Presumably, the addressed person has some connection to the author and this is a quick way of announcing your book. Most postcards fit snugly into a business envelope, so drop one in with your telephone bill next time around. Distribute postcards to bookstores. Many bookstores will let you leave a stack of cards by the register. Also bring stacks of the postcards to your book signings and give the cards to anyone who seems interested, but isn’t ready to buy a book yet. The postcards can serve as a reminder to that potential reader.

So how can you best get your postcards noticed? There are a few ways. Obviously, pleasing cover art will draw readers to your work, but in many cases you don’t have any voice in the cover art. One thing you should do is make the card slightly different in size. By varying the card’s width or height, the postcard will stand out in the crowd. A card that doesn’t conform will draw the eye to it and make the reader look more closely.

The downfall of postcards is that other than announcing your book, the postcard has no other useful function. Granted you could fold it to shove under a shaky table leg, or start your grill with it, but postcards are designed to be read and then trashed. So you’re spending money on what will be a fifteen second marketing experience. There should be better ways to get the reader’s attention for longer periods of time.
What else can you to draw attention to your upcoming books? There are lots of promotional items that are available. One of the more popular is the bookmark. The bookmark will have the cover printed on the front (along with some colored background since the cover will not fit proportionally on a bookmark). The back will have the same types of information as the postcard. Unlike the postcard, the bookmark does have another purpose, and one related to reading books. So if the bookmark is being used, the reader is having the same marketing experience every time he opens the book. Compare that to the postcard that is normally discarded after one reading.