tmacsad
Take Luck!
I thought I'd chime in here. Even though my side biz is a bit different than detailing, I think post cards work well. For me, I order around 1000-1500 post cards and I have a mailing list already created that I continually add to. Now being a graphic designer, I design the cards myself, so that saves me moneyso all I spend is a couple hundred bucks or so for the post cards and another few hundred on stamps...once a year...sometimes twice. I only need to land 2 or 3 jobs to hopefully break even and the bigger thing for me is name recognition. If I keep drilling my logo and cards into their brains, someday, they will hopefully think of me when they need my services.
As for a 'detailing' biz...you most likely would not 'mail' out to random people. You'd most likely hand them out or stick them under the wipers on various cars, so no expense on stamps. All you pay for is the post card design and the printing. Then anytime you're out shopping or anything, take them with you and stick them on some cars/trucks. Even better, hook up with some car clubs and ask them if you can put your cards in their goody bags. Car clubs always like to 'give-away' stuff in the goody bags.
Thanks for the info T.M.! :bigups One thing I will not do.... is stick something with my company name on someones ride. It really gets under my skin

I try to be as professional as I can when it comes to marketing the biz. I'd rather pin a flyer up on the store bulletin board than stick a card/flyer under the wipers or any other part of the vehicle.
I look at it this way... when I get a flyer on my vehicle for someones services, I think to myself is that the best they can do
