Direct Mail for a Part-Time Buy & Hold Investor

[Jason V.]

Like everyone else right now, I'm getting frustrated with not being able to find any deals. I'm working my referral network, driving for dollars, sending letters to more experienced investors in my area, and calling on FSBOs. Oh, and for what it's worth, I check the MLS daily.

And I'm finding exactly nothing worth buying. 

In addition to all of this economical stuff, I've been thinking about starting to do direct mailings. I happened to hear the recent podcast that focused mainly on direct mail, and while very useful, it left me with some questions. 

1. I work a full-time job (and then some), my wife works full-time nights, and we have three kids. I don't think I can commit a huge chunk of time to answering the phone every day: how much time does spending X number of dollars result in having to work to actually convert those leads? 

2. I live in a rural area (around 9,000 in my village, around 14,000 in the actual town): is it a waste of time to direct mail in an area this small? Should I be looking to a larger geographical area to have a larger number of addresses to hit, even if I don't know that area as well? How many addresses should I be looking at in total to start winnowing down for my list?

3. I understand direct mail is something that needs to build up over the course of months, and not to expect any real results right away. How long does it typically take for things to stabilize? I'm the type of person who would keep pushing harder, but I don't want to get caught flatfooted if something took off on me and I wasn't able to handle it. I'd be more than happy to see steady, gradual progress, rather than a flood of work that makes my family and job suffer. 

4. I also remember from the Michael Quarles podcast that what you spend on direct mail will be about 10% of what you make (i.e. you'll make $10 for every $1 you spend) - have most folks found this to be true, given time? 

5. I know this type of marketing is a field (and a job) unto itself - is it just not a great idea for someone in my position to be looking at this?

Thanks all!