Like most individuals, the idea of being your own boss and running your own business can be tempting. This would give you the liberty to do what you want and have control on how much money you can earn, the amount of work you want to do, or simply do the things that you are passionate of.

The hard part though comes when you are already in business. There are a lot of things to consider, not to mention a lot of marketing required to get your name out there. There is no need to worry though as there are so many marketing choices out there today. You can always go for the modern marketing tools such as social networking sites and creating your own web site. But if you are on a tight budget, you can always go for the old fashioned way of marketing such as using postcards.

These cards may be old school but they remain to be one of the most effective and low cost marketing tools these days. You simply have to showcase in your cards your name, business name, web site, the products or services you sell, your uniqueness, and the quality of your offerings. Once you have all these in your cards, you can be sure to achieve effective marketing.

There are some considerations though when creating your business postcards. Among them is the size. There are some regulations you have to follow especially when mailing your cards as there are some postal services that require a certain size for postcards.

According to the United States Postal Service, postcards must conform to size requirements to be eligible for low postal rates. Here are the size guidelines for postcards:

Minimum. The minimum size for postcards used in direct mail marketing is 5 inches long and 3 ? inches high.

Maximum. The maximum size requirement of the US Postal Service is 6 inches long and 4 ? inches high. Anything larger than this size would not be accepted or would require additional cost. If you are on a limited budget, you might want to stick with this size to avoid overspending in your marketing campaign.

Thickness. Mail sorting machines are usually used to hasten the mailing process. These machines can only handle cards which are 0.007 inch to 0.016 inch in thickness. Make sure that your cards are within this dimension so you do not encounter any mailing problem.

If you plan to use postcard printing in your campaign, you need to see to it that your cards within the US Postal Service requirement. Otherwise, you will encounter a huge problem that will only delay your campaign.

There are other considerations you need to keep in mind when you are carrying out a low cost postcard campaign:

Stick with standard rectangular cards. Using unusual shapes such as square, oval, and round only adds to the cost of your postage. If you are on a limited budget, it is best to use the standard rectangular shape. Use the unusual shapes only when you have enough budget for higher postage cost.

Take note of the postal rules in other countries. When you are going to mail your cards to other countries, it helps to know first the postal guidelines in these countries to ensure you do not incur additional fees.