There are three reasons why the postal card is a business-getter.
Did you ever pause while writing a letter, sit back in your chair, and deplore the poverty of mere words? Did you ever wish you dared to put in a little picture just at that point to show your man what you were trying to say? Of course you have if you have ever written a letter. That is reason one.
Did you ever watch a busy man going through his morning's mail? Long letters he may read, short letters he is sure to glance through, but a post card he is certain to read. It is easy to read, it is to a degree informal and it is brother to a call on the 'phone. That is reason two.
And the third reason is that no matter what the principles behind it, by actual test it brings the business.
While primarily the postal mailing card is intended to aid the letter in many ways it does what the letter can never do. It can carry a design or an illustration without the least suggestion of effrontery, which a letter can not do without losing dignity. It can venture into clever schemes to cinch the interest. It is the acme of simplicity as means to win an inquiry. And withal it does its work at less cost than the letters.
In general postal mailing cards may be classed as of three types:
1. THE DOUBLE OR RETURN POST CARD. This consists simply of two ordinary post cards attached for convenience in mailing, sometimes closed at the loose edges by stickers but usually left open. The one carries the inquiry-seeking message; the other is for the reply. It is already addressed for returning and contains on the opposite side a standardized reply form to be signed.
2. The two or three or four FOLDER MAILING CARD. This gives greater space and opportunity for cleverness of appeal through design. The third or fourth fold may or may not be prepared for use as a reply card. Instead of providing for the reply in this way, some of these folders hold a separate card by means of corner slots. In any case they fold to the size of the ordinary postal and are held by a stamp or sticker.
3. ILLUSTRATED PERSONAL LETTERS. These are in effect simply letters printed on heavier stock which fold into post card size. Their advantage lies in the opportunity for illustration and an outside design or catch phrase to win attention. In some cases they are even filled in exactly in the manner of a form letter.
Which of these forms is best suited to your uses is a matter which the nature of your proposition and your method of selling must determine. Whether you want to tell a long story or a short one, whether you want it to serve merely as a reminder or as your principal means of attack, these and other points must guide you. So to help you determine this, it is best to consider the post card here on the basis of its uses. There are four: