% return on marketing letters

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Just wondering what % do you hope for and get on letters, postcards or flyers you mail out to a targeted audience say to pre-foreclosure, foreclosure, out of town owners, disgruntled landlords, etc.? Ie how many calls or leads come back? Thx much

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Hi, Before I did real estate research I worked in direct mail marketing for six years. Here is what I know.

The average response on any mail campaign is traditionally 1-2%. For example, if you mail 1000 pieces, 20 responses would be a great return. The return increases based on varying factors. If you mail to those 1000 people 5 or 6 times you should see an increase of responses up to 3-4%.

Direct mail becomes more cost effective and yeilds higher returns (5-6%) when you utilize a targeted mailing list. The idea is that you are getting your message in front of people who can use you services versus a random mailing list that was probably purchased and created using blanket demographic information.

It has been my experience that the lowest returns are associated with purchased lists that are out dated, incomplete, not verified, or don't truely match your target audience.

The best responses come from internal custom-built lists that are kept up-to-date and truely represent your target audience. It is also necessary to plan on 3-6 mailings to the same list of people over the course of a 3-6 week period. This is more costly, but multiple mailings increase the likelihood of a response because with each mailing you become more familiar and trusted to your prospect.

I also found that over-sized (5'x9') postcards seem to increase response rates over most other types of mail. Postcards usually get a good look before they are tossed in the trash. Flyers and envelope mailings are many times thrown away before they are opened. If it is never opened, your message is lost. With the postcard the message is seen and hopefully, with a good call to action (call me at, email us, etc) on the postcard you get a response.

I also recommend utilizing a print buyer if you are unfamiliar with purchasing print. There are many ways to cut costs in the process, but it requires someone who understands print purchasing. For example, many companies will charge you for full color on both sides of a postcard, but you really only need two colors on the address side of the card. Depending on the size of the print run, this small change could easily save a couple hundred dollars.

The biggest cost advantage now is using digital print technology on any short runs (1000 pieces or less). The savings are in the thousands of dollars due to the lack of set-up charges & plating fees.

I hope this information is helpful!