Does Sending Postcards for Schools Increase Enrollment?

Don’t underestimate the power that sending postcards for schools can have when it comes to boosting enrollment. If you’re struggling to increase enrollment at your school for extracurricular activities, summer camp programs or general attendance, postcards could be exactly what you need. If you’re unfamiliar with the impact direct mail can have on your ability to increase school turnout, you’re in the right place. 

Why Sending Postcards for Schools Increases Enrollment and Engagement:

Let’s start by getting right down to the nitty gritty. If you’re skeptical about embarking on a postcard marketing campaign, it’s likely because you don’t know if the results will pan out. But considering how many educational institutions and businesses alike rely on direct mail, you can rest assured that getting the results you need with it is easier than you might think. 

That’s because postcard marketing campaigns enable you to reach the right person with the right message while allowing them to consume your message at their own convenience. Additionally, considering how much advertising audiences are faced with online, a postcard presents a refreshing change of pace.

Best Practices for Sending Postcards for Schools:

Following a few general guidelines can do wonders for helping to calm any nerves you have about getting your campaign started. That’s especially the case if you’ve never sent direct mail before. Some key pointers to keep in mind when sending postcards for schools include:

• Understand all of Your Mailing Options for Sending Postcards

The first step to achieving your postcard marketing goals is to make sure you have an accurate understanding of your options. It’s just as important to ensure that you know how those options relate to your end goal. Let’s say for instance, if your objective is to inform the community about the opening of a brand new school or summer program. In this case, you’d likely choose a different solution than if your goal was to inform the families of current students about back to school details.

• Personalize Your Campaigns

Nowadays saying audiences expect personalization within their marketing messaging is a drastic understatement. That’s where targeted direct mail campaigns, which allow you to create mailing lists based on demographics, enter the picture. Targeted direct mail campaigns enable you to leverage all types of first-party data in your campaigns including names, hometowns, family sizes and more.

• Let Pictures do the Talking For You

It’s no secret to anyone in the educational world that attention spans are shortening. Since that’s the case, you need to ensure that you don’t bore readers with too much text. The best way to accomplish this goal is to ensure that your postcard contains photos that are capable of illustrating your message to recipients. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words!

• Make Taking the Next Steps Simple

The last thing your recipients want upon receiving your postcard is to go on a wild goose chase in order to take steps towards enrollment. That’s why achieving the results you desire means including a powerful call to action that encourages recipients to act fast. Suppose your postcards are encouraging recipients to enroll their preschool age children in a summer camp program. In this case, including a QR code that leads recipients to a page where they can sign up for more information about the program would be ideal. Without the QR code, they may not revisit the postcard until it’s too late.

Tips for Tracking Postcards for Schools

Failing to track the results of your direct mail campaign is a common yet costly mistake. Let’s say you send 5000 postcards that result in 250 new enrollments. But since you failed to track your campaign results, you can’t properly attribute the school’s new enrollments to your campaign, leading you to wonder whether or not sending more postcards is worth your while. Luckily, there are a few methods you can use to avoid this situation, including:

• QR Codes

Aside from making the process of taking next steps easier, QR codes also allow you to track the success of your postcards. Let’s say you include them on postcards in your next campaign. Once it concludes, you’ll receive a report allowing you to see how many of your recipients scanned it. This allows you to easily adjust future campaigns for increased engagement.

• Tracking Phone Number

Lots of your recipients who are interested in your postcard will seek out your phone number in case they have questions. And naturally they may not have questions right away. This will likely result in them keeping your postcard handy for when they do have time to talk in depth. By including a tracking phone number on your postcards, you can track how many calls can be attributed to your postcards once your campaign ends. This way you can see exactly how many of your postcards led to phone calls that resulted in enrollments.

• Unique URL and Landing Page

Using a campaign-specific url and landing page has the potential to accomplish multiple goals. First is the fact that a url that ends using a recipient’s last name, or a specific time of year may capture their attention faster than your ordinary URL. Additionally, at the end of your campaign, you’ll receive a report allowing you to see how many people went to the landing page after receiving your postcard. As an added bonus, allowing interested recipients to request more information online through your unique landing page helps reinforce your brand.

Begin Sending Postcards for Schools With GrowMail Today!

You don’t have to embark on your next postcard marketing campaign alone. GrowMail knows exactly what it takes when it comes to sending postcards for schools. And you’re more than welcome to lean on our decades of experience conducting direct mail campaigns for educational institutions of all kinds nationwide. To get your next campaign started, download a free postcard template today. If you need more design help, connect with our creative team.