Postcard Marketing question
Mailed 500 postcards on Monday, got one call take me off your list. Would love to hear from the experienced investors, what was your response rate after first, second and third mailing?
Hi Jessie Peris,
I've had this kind of response before and I know it can be discouraging.
It is difficult to pin-point exactly why some campaigns do better than others, but here are some of the most common problem areas that I've seen from other investors:
- The quality of the list (what kinds of recipients are you mailing to?)
- The age of the list (how old is the information you're working with?)
- Failing to target the most appropriate recipients (are you narrowing your list enough?)
- A weak postcard message (what exactly are you saying to your recipients?)
- No immediate call to action (are you telling your recipients what to do? who to call? which website to visit? and WHY they should do it?)
That being said - it's also worth noting that sometimes these direct mail pieces take time to build up a stead stream of leads coming in the door. This past December, I had a guy call me who received his postcard from me back in August of 2011... the calls don't always come immediately - but they do come eventually.
As Seth Williams said it takes time with marketing. I started direct mail almost 18 months ago after reading most of the posts in the "Real Estate Investor Marketing" forum. The "Wholesaling" forum has a lot of great marketing ideas as well. What I got from the reading and now from some experience is that continued mailing to the same people on your list is more important than the number of mailers to different people. Search Sharon Vornholt on this site. She does a lot of direct mail.
-
Real Estate Agent Utah (#4922719-SA00)
- Gary Buys Houses
Some good thoughts there. One nuggets I will add is to remember that historically, it takes 4-7 "touches" to a prospect to convert a sale. Direct marketing is a system that slowly fills the pipe with leads over time. One time mailin won't tell you a while lot.
Direct-mail postcards can be considered one of the good real estate promotion tools. They’re hard to miss and deliver a quick, clean message and are successful in driving response, if done properly. Be sure that each postcard has a definitive purpose aimed at a very specific audience. It’s very essential to sketch audience’s demographics and create a highly targeted mailing list.
I really noticed an increase in call quality and the number of appointments I was setting around month 6. Month 7 I closed my first wholesale property ever. And after that I averaged about 1 -2 closings per month.
I think its all about hanging in there and building momentum.
Can I ask a silly question? Was it a good postcard? Professional copy? Call to action? 3 ways to get of you? And the other 50 things...?
Care to share it so we can praise or critique it? You may have a fabulous list and a horrible post card or the reverse.
Lots of other variables too in post card marketing.
Hi Lance Miller, you are correct, there are a lot of variables in a successful postcard campaign. The content of the postcard is key - but it's just one of many facets.
A "good" postcard is relative to who is judging it - but I believe it has to do a couple key things:
1. Grab Attention (this doesn't necessarily mean being "flashy" - it just needs to look different than all the other garbage that people get in the mail every day)
2. The Message Needs to MATTER (You need to anticipate the needs of who you're mailing to. This isn't always easy to do UNLESS your list is targeted appropriately. i.e. - If you're blasting mail out to every single property owner in 12345 zip code - writing a meaningful an applicable message will be difficult, because there is nothing unique about mailing to everybody).
I use a few different formats for my postcards (depending on who I'm mailing to), but one of the most common formats I use is the double-sided template. One side of the postcard is the "Attention Grabbing" side, and the other is a "Personal Letter" side.
For example, on the "Personal Letter" side, I might say something like this:
*************
"To Whom It May Concern:
Last week Friday, I was doing some research in the public records and noticed that you were the owner of a property in <>, <>.
Have you ever considered selling this property? If so, I WANT TO BUY IT FROM YOU!
Can you relate to any of the following issues with your property?
? Are you behind on your property taxes?
? Are you having trouble selling it?
? Do you feel burdened by this property?
? Did you inherit it, but have no use for it?
? Did you expect a “boom” in this area but it never happened?
? Does selling it seem like a hassle?
If you want to sell your property, call me anytime or visit our website at www.*******.com. We can pay you CASH and close quickly!
Sincerely, <>"
**************
I also have some graphics and hand-drawn arrows that I created, which go on both sides of the postcard (and they really make the mail piece POP).
It's worked pretty well for me so far - but again, the copy is only part of the equation. The way my lists are targeted is probably the most important factor. If you're not mailing to the right people, it doesn't matter what you say. The message really needs to apply them - if it doesn't, you'll just be throwing money out the window.
Hope that helps.