22 Jan 2009 12:21 PM

How To Design Your Own Postcards For Your Own Business

Postcard printing is a popular tool for business owners. A lot of major companies and businesses use color postcard printing as marketing materials, corporate communication mediums, public relations tools and of course products for sale by themselves. With these big companies using them for various purposes, some small businesses think that it is only a tool for those big chains and corporations. But we have news for you. Postcard printing is for any kind of firm, from the humble mom and pop stores to those giant corporations.

So if you own a small business don’t be daunted. Designing a postcard is easy to do. If you are new to postcard printing or maybe you’re a professional that needs a refresher then you are in luck. We have this simple step by step guide for you on how to design postcards for small businesses.

1.  Browse the competition – The first thing you need to do is to look at the postcard that are related to the one you are making. Usually these are your business rivals. See how they designed their postcards. What is their main concept? Did they use vintage designs? Do they promote a certain kind of lifestyle? Is it a funny postcard or a posh elegant one? List down your impressions on all of the rival postcard you will see. This should help you with the next step.

2.  Create a concept – Next, you need a concept for your postcard. Armed with the information you garnered from step 1, you should have a pretty good idea of what the trends are in the postcards of your industry. When you start creating a concept, try to imagine one that distinguishes you from the other color postcards that you have seen. If they all advertise a certain kind of lifestyle, then maybe you should focus more on displaying your services or products. If they always feature their products or the scenery of their place, why not use models to present them in your postcard? So create a concept that is different from your competition to insure that it will stand out. Try to brainstorm your concepts, sketch it out and discuss it with your business partners.

3.  Gather your materials – Afterwards, once you have a main concept in hand, you need to gather your materials. Get a digital copy of your logo, or create one if you don't have one yet. Take photographs of your products, services and of course your shop or place itself.

Also, if you need a tag line or some text to accompany the postcard design, or the back of it, it is a good idea to start writing those as well.

4.   Start designing – With all your materials gathered, it is time to design. You can do this yourself via publishing or image editing software like Adobe Photoshop or CorelDraw. Also, if you are not a creative person, you may want to hire a professional graphic artist to create the designs for you. Either way, create your design based on the concept that you figured out earlier. Try to have several versions made of the design. If you have time try out other concept designs as well.

5.   Print out some samples – After finishing the design, try to have a sample printing of it. You can either do that at home using your home printer, or you can have a printing company print one for you. Note though that sometimes just having one print can be expensive. So it is better to have a digital printing company print your sample for you so that you can save some cash. Printing a sample lets you look at the postcard as it appears in real life, and not just a computer screen. This is where the real test of its design takes place.

6.  Critic your designs – Once you have the printout of the design, then it is time to critic it.

Show it to your colleagues, friends and family members. Listen to their opinions and list down any good and bad points that they may have.

7.  Redesign if needed – After hearing some opinions and seeing the test prints, you should have an idea if you need to tweak your design, or if you need to totally overhaul it. Emphasize the good points that people saw in your design while at the same time eliminating the bad points.

8.  Printing – Once the redesign is complete, perform a final critic of your color postcard and then it is off to the printers. You can choose to do the color postcard printing yourself via your office or home printer if you can. However, if you do not have the equipment, then go for printing companies that can do your postcard printing for you.

9.  Release – When the printing is done, then you should have finished with your color postcard printing task and the only thing left to do is to spread your postcards around.

Just remember, postcards are effective marketing and promotional materials if executed effectively. Good Luck!

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