Marketing Tip: Rack Cards

While rack cards aren’t going to get you hundreds of new clients, they offer a quick and easy marketing opportunity and they will pay for themselves once they send you 1 or 2 new clients.

What is a rack card? You know when you go to a hotel and you usually see a wall of brochures for local businesses? That’s a rack card. And what’s advertised in the rack card area largely depends on the location of the hotel. If you’re in a tourist area, you’ll often see cards for excursions or adventures. If you’re in a business district, the cards may advertise printing companies or other business services.

The theme of your card is where to get started. If you are in a tourist area, you’ll want to cater your message to tourists. This could be a message about treating yourself to relaxation on your vacation. If you’re in a business area, you may advertise taking some time to de-stress after a long day of meetings, or getting some care for your back after a day on your feet at a conference.

Picking your theme is a crucial first step. Make sure you message speaks to your audience so that they are more likely to be drawn to your card and book an appointment. That moves us into the next part…getting attention for your card!

You’ll notice on rack cards, typically only the top 1/4 of the card is visible before a potential client picks it up. That means you have to use that small space to get their attention. Make sure you create a compelling headline and use colors that stand out. Your main goal at this point is just to first draw the eye with big bold text – and it should say something interesting enough to get someone to pick the card up.

When they pick up the card is where you start to really sell. Use professional imagery and only get the main points across:

• What services you offer (keep it simple – don’t go into the fine details of what each treatment offers)
• What’s the price
• Where are you located – an address of course, but also a description like: “only a 5 minute walk from the hotel”.
• When are you open
• How do they book an appointment – are walk ins welcome? Do they need to call? Or do you have online booking?

Designing your card should only take a couple hours and 500 rack cards will only cost you about $60 to print. It’s such a small investment and you’ll make your money back after 1 appointment with the upside of dozens of new appointments.