Wholesaling Question: More Narrowed Down Marketing vs More Broad?

[Alexzander Ellenbogen]

Hello,

I'm planning on sending my first direct mail marketing campaign. I'm curious what the pros/cons are of sending a more broad campaign in one area (i.e., Vacant houses, in New York, NY) or a narrowed down campaign hitting multiple areas (i.e., Vacant houses, +70% equity, absentee owner, in New York, NY, Boston, MA, Los Angeles, CA, etc.)

Thanks!

Alex

[Joshua Moore]

@Alexzander Ellenbogen The rule of thumb is the larger the list the better your chances are at getting a deal, "BUT" and that's a big but, your data does has to be good. Let me explain. 

The more mail you send out, and by that I mean not only the size of the list but multiple mailers to the same properties, increases your chances of having someone contact you with a deal. Like all marketing, you need to get in front of people multiple times before they trust you and also it increases your chances that they will see your marketing and act on it. 

Now going back to the list, it is important too that your list data is current, up to date, and actually has a chance to convert into a deal. If you are just blanket sending to everyone with the property type your want you may be wasting a lot of time, effort, and money. It appears though you are targeting vacancies, +70% equity, and absentee owners. All of which are great lead types. What I would do is once you create this list, see how many leads it is. If it's less than 1-2 thousand I would try and add more property types to your search. Instead, if it is some number way above your budget, I would recommend possibly slimming it down but being smart, and precise with how you do it.

The last thing I will say is you do appear to be targeting large cities with already tough competitive markets, so just take that into account during your marketing. I am not saying you shouldn't market to these areas, just make sure you take into account the extra effort needed and the competition that exists and make sure it is within the budget.

I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions.