I drove for dollars today . . . now what?

[Alex C.]

Hi all, I'm very new to all this and would appreciate any advice you are willing to share. Goal is to do my first BRRRR or Flip in Q1 2021. Today, I identified a neighborhood to target for off-market deals. I then drove for several hours and noted the addresses of ~175 distressed properties. Now what?

Since I don't have the free time to research each owner/occupant and call them one by one, I am assuming my best option is direct mail marketing. I have never done that before, and have several questions.

(1) Any advice for setting a budget/plan for REI direct mail marketing? I guess I have to design a flyer, get it printed, and then mail it at set intervals? How much should I expect to spend on the flyer? How much marketing per house?

(2) Are there any REI-focused resources that have a step-by-step direct mail marketing plan I can execute on, something to guide me through the process? Open to books, podcasts, articles, blogs, products, whatever.

(3) For this first marketing effort, do you recommend I begin with something more manual (verifying postage addresses manually, inputting everything into an excel sheet, and mail merging letters into letter that I stamp and send myself) or try something more automated, with the potential to scale?

Thanks all. Really do appreciate any insights you can provide.