Hello all,
If any of you send mailings to child care centers, camps, companies etc. When is the best time of the year to send them out? I am putting together a themed show for Halloween that will be geared toward child care centers and preschool and I would like to send a double sided postcard to them.

I haven't had much luck with bookings during my first mailing. However, the postcard was very vague and wasn't specific like this one would be. I had one return and sent around 40-50 postcards. If you have sent mailings out in the past what worked for you and what is the best time to send holiday or Halloween show information out?

MagicalNick

Postcard mailings changes upon the market you are working. On a three week basis I send anywhere from 1600-3000 cards for two different markets. High schools (a specific sub market in them) and corporate a specific sub market in them too.

Generally speaking if a specific event is coming that I am tying myself into like holiday parties or grads or morning openers or company picnics or assemblies I prefer to start sending 6 months out every three weeks if possible. This continues until 3 weeks before the date of the events.

Keep in mind one mailing will get you nowhere prolonged mailings will. I am not talking 2 ior three either I am talking 10-20-until the end of time.

That being said many will tell you they are not profitable with mailings. In my experience they are but yours may vary greatly from mine. I have been doing mailings along with other forms of marketing as well since I started 6 years ago. There have been a few times they have produced nothing and other times they produce major bank.

All the best with your mailing efforts
Jesse

I do 3 mailings each year to the same clients and to be honest most of the time the first mailing will not get you any work, and the second and third time nothing as well. From my experience and others I know it takes usually a company or business 4-6 times of seeing your postcard before you will get some work from it. I send mine out in March, July and November. For the holiday shows it is my end of July postcard that is geared toward that. I was told this when I first started doing mailings and I really didn't believe it but after finally 5 mailings I started to get calls and still continue to get calls. Just keep sending them out eventually they will pay off. And don't stop at 40-50 every time I do a mailing I am always adding new businesses to my list.

Now.

Thanks everyone for your feedback. My first mailing was sent in an envelope and addressed to the director or whomever I could find when I did some homework about the company. I lucked out and received a call back a few days after the fist mailing went out. The best part was the daycare owns two locations so I received a double booking. This alone paid off for the first mailing. I am going to try a postcard that is more geared toward my holiday packages and see where it takes me.

Magicalnick, I don't mail to the daycares but I do own a daycare center. I'm the one they hand your postcard to.

Are you following up the mailings with a call? I would call each one I mailed to find out if they received it and if they have questions. Sounds like a lot of work, and it is, but it's the best way to book shows. Just bulk mailing and hoping they call you will get you a few calls but not near as many as talking to a live person.

Daycares cerebrate more holidays than most places. Seems like every time it rains we do something special. So we probably don't plan the major holidays as far out as most schools or corporations do. But we do like to pencil things in to look at later. Most daycares won't actually plan Halloween until the first of October. But you do need to get your name out there now. Summer goes by in a hurry, school starts, and then it's October before you know it.

Good luck with the shows and if I can help, just let me know.

Tom

Do you book entertainers at your daycare center Tom? How many postcards, letters or calls do you receive from entertainers and what do you think or are your perceptions when you do?

I have had entertainers in the past but not lately. I rarely receive anything in the mail from entertainers. I am not involved in the operation nowadays as much as I use to be, but I'm sure they would tell me if a magician called.

I'm surprised really that I don't get more mailings from entertainers. Of course we get more than our fair share of calls for other offers such as cleaning supplies, fundraisers, etc. I tell em the director is not in, she tells em I'm not in.

Tom

The rule with mailing is the rule of 7
meaning you need to create that top of mind awareness and send the same post card or similar 7 times a year.
It’s an old concept, probably originating to before the advent of cable TV. Simply stated, The Marketing Rule of Seven is a reminder that your prospective buyer needs to hear or see your marketing message at least seven times before they buy from you.
Since the rule was written years ago, today that number is more likely to hover around 77. LOL
The important thing in the Rule of Seven is not the number, but its meaning.
Your prospect will need to hear and see your marketing message many MANY times before they decide to buy from you. And the RAS is just one of many hurdles you’ve got to clear.

this is why many magicians fail to get responses. they send out 1 postcard once a year to a client right before the booking season.
such as mailing chirstmas show info in september or day care info in march.

you need to be sending out some thing to those clients consistently thru out the year.

now as mentioned today things are a bit different. meaning we have internet with face book and emails and blogs etc etc.
the key now is to combine with your mailings the use of social media and the WWW.

get your name infront of your clients consistently and you will have a steady flow of work.
sam

Well said Sam. It really is all about keeping your name out there. People like doing business with people they know and once you reach that point where they feel like they know you, you have a much better chance of getting the business.

This is why I say, simply call your local centers to let them know that you are nearby and available whenever they need you. Better yet drop by with your business card and a sack of cookies.


Tom

Ah, the old "sweet-tooth cookie scam"!