OK, so you decided you want to get into the ‘marketing your business with postcards’ thing’. So….where do you start?

Well, first of all you’ve got to be sure you’ve got a reasonably good idea of what you want to do. Postcards don’t design themselves. Going forward under that assumption, let’s talk about the mechanics of getting your idea ‘on paper’(or better said….’on screen’).

As you would probably guess, there are many different types of software that can be of assistance in designing postcards, BUT… You better know what you’re doing or it’s going to be Frustration City for you.

Adobe has one product you could use but the learning curve is very steep and it’s definitely not cheap. And there are other high end, professional level programs too.

There are moderately priced software programs, sometimes bundled with other programs and sometimes not, that you can buy at places like Office Depot or Staples. They work pretty good and are usually worth the money.

And then there are programs that are totally online and free. The reason they’re free is because the site itself is provided by a company that also prints cards. Obviously they provide the free online design service because they want your printing business.

The reality is that these programs do a pretty decent job. There’s some more advanced kinds of graphics and layouts that you probably can’t do with the free programs because (1) you don’t have the training and/or experience and (2) the software platform itself isn’t sophisticated enough. But, these free online design programs are probably alright for your first card.

The design sequence is always very similar. All you have to do is drag and drop and click. You’ll start with selecting a size postcard, then you’ll next select a graphic.

Note: here’s where you want to be careful. Don’t go graphics-crazy because the graphics might not be free (it might not be obvious). In some cases they’ll give you the first graphic for free. If the first one or two is free, the subsequent ones there will be a charge for. You’ll probably select your graphic by entering a keyword or tag…then they’ll serve up some pictures that fit that keyword or tag.

Next you’ll have to position your graphic somewhere on the page. It will be just a case of dragging and dropping. And you can change it easily too if you want later.

Next you’ll usually be asked to enter you copy. It’s a good idea to already have this ready. If you’ve been researching postcard design basics you already know that you can’t tastefully get more than about 100 words on a postcard so you should already have that part of the design figured out.

In most all cases you’ll have options for type fonts and different sizes. Plus you’ll be able to relocate the text on the postcard design field until you find what suits you.

Once you get your images (including any logo), your text and your postal information on the card you’ll indicate that it’s complete and then you may or may not have the option of downloading the design rather than letting them (i.e. the site provider) have the printing job.

The reality of the situation is that there’s not a whole lot of sense in you downloading a copy of it because you probably won’t be able to print a realistically accurate prototype on your printer anyway. You’re better off making the design that suits you and then letting them print up a prototype or at least a minimal quantity.

That’s all there is to it. Considering how much money you’re going to save by using postcards to market your business, you should be able to afford to let a professional handle the entire design job. But..if you really need to save money then this online postcard design option will work.Image Source: http://images.google.com