A contractor’s postcard has one job at the mailbox: say what you fix, where, and how to reach you, before it goes into the recycling. Here is what goes on each side, the license-number rules in the two states whose statutes we read, and the space USPS needs on the back.
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Front: one message, your phone number, a real photo. Back: what you do, where, why trust you, and one next step. Add your license number where your state requires it in advertising (California and Arizona do), and leave the mail panel clear for the USPS indicia and address line.
Want it done for you? LeadHunter USA Postcards designs the card for your trade, lets you pick the neighborhoods on the USPS map, and prints and mails it: 1,000 postcards cost $670.76 with standard printing, postage included.
| What | Why |
|---|---|
| One message about a problem you fix | A list of ten services reads as noise. Pick the job you most want more of. |
| Your phone number, large | The person deciding is holding the card at arm’s length. If they have to look for the number, they won’t. |
| Your business name and logo | So the call starts with “I got your card”, not “who is this?” |
| A real photo of your work or your truck | Your own work tells them you are local and real; a stock photo tells them nothing about you. |
On a QR code: point it at a page about what the card says, not just your home page, and scan a printed test card before you order the run. Visits to that page are also how you know the card is working.
A postcard is advertising. Two states whose statutes we read, quoted as written; for any other state, your licensing board’s site is where to check.
“Every person licensed pursuant to this chapter shall include his license number in: (a) all construction contracts; (b) subcontracts and calls for bid; and (c) all forms of advertising, as prescribed by the registrar of contractors.”
Source: Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 7030.5, read 27 October 2026
The license number, preceded by “ROC”, goes on “published advertising, letterheads and other documents used by the licensee to correspond” with customers or potential customers, and on written bids and estimates. A trade association directory listing distributed only to members is not counted as advertising.
Source: A.R.S. § 32-1124(B), (C), read 27 October 2026
Working without a license? In Oregon, the exemption for small jobs under $1,000 “does not apply to a person who advertises or puts out any sign or card or other device that might indicate to the public that the person is a contractor” (ORS 701.010(4)). A postcard is that kind of card. California has a similar rule; both are in new handyman business, no customers.
An Every Door Direct Mail card carries the address line “Postal Customer” and, as USPS puts it, “the EDDM Retail Indicia above and to the right of the address block”, within 1.625 inches of the right edge and 1.375 inches of the top edge. Your printer’s EDDM template marks that area; keep text, photos and the QR code out of it. The size rules, and why a 4x6 card doesn’t qualify, are in EDDM postcards for contractors.
Source: USPS, Every Door Direct Mail, read 27 October 2026
Examples, not a script. Swap in your own services and area, and add an offer only if you will honor it for everyone who calls.
Front: “Water heater acting up? Call a local plumber.” Back: drains, leaks, water heaters, fixtures. Licensed and insured. Call or text [phone].
Front: “Get your AC checked before the heat does it for you.” Back: tune-ups, repairs, replacements. Call [phone] or scan to pick a time.
Front: “Come home to a clean house.” Back: weekly, every other week, or one-time deep cleans. Text [phone] for a quote.
Front: “Your yard, handled every week.” Back: mowing, edging, cleanups, mulch. Serving [your area]. Call [phone].
Front: “That list of small jobs? One visit.” Back: repairs, installs, drywall, doors, fixtures. Text a photo of the job to [phone].
Front: “A clear pool, every week.” Back: weekly service, green-pool cleanups, equipment repair. Call [phone].
What the mailing will cost, and how many jobs pay for it, is in how much contractor postcards cost.
LeadHunter USA Postcards makes the card for your trade, mails it to the neighborhoods you pick, and puts a QR code on it that opens a page to call or text you. Pay per order, no subscription.
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On the front: one message about the problem you fix, your business name, your phone number in large type, and a real photo of your work. On the back: what you do, the area you serve, why to trust you (only things you can show, such as licensed and insured), one next step, and your license number where your state requires it. Leave the USPS mail panel clear.
In some states. California’s Business and Professions Code 7030.5 requires a licensed contractor’s number in “all forms of advertising”. Arizona’s A.R.S. 32-1124 requires it on “published advertising”, preceded by “ROC”. For other states, check your licensing board.
If it goes to a page about the same thing the card says, yes: it gives people who won’t call a second way to reach you, and visits to that page tell you the card is working. Print a test card and scan it before you order the full run.
Only an amount you will honor for everyone who calls, with any conditions written on the card. Many contractors leave prices off and ask people to call or text for a quote.