April showers bring May flowers, and hopefully a postcard in your mailbox. That’s the hope of organizers of the annual National Postcard Week, which is celebrated the first week of May.

While the holiday celebrates postcard collecting, this is a great time of year for your business to consider a direct mail campaign. Here are a few things to consider when planning a direct mail piece:

Postcards are meant to be eye catching. You have only a few seconds to catch the recipient’s attention as they rifle through their bills and other mail. Don’t forget to design both sides of the card since you won’t know which side will appear face up.

Keep your message simple. You only have so much space on a postcard so don’t try and fill it up with a bunch of text. Give your customers only the necessary information with a call to action. Make sure to keep your design and message consistent with the brand of your company.

Postcards are still one of the most effective marketing tools to reach a specific target market at an affordable price. Work with your local print company to design a postcard that will work best for your marketing goal.

And during this holiday, don’t forget to send a personal postcard to a friend.