Postcards VS Letters

[Jacob Joseph]

Hi, I am about to start Direct mail for the first time, I am wondering what you would prefer postcards or letters when sending out mailers. I Know postcards are much cheaper than letters, and I know mailers in general is a volume game. I am also curious when creating your mailer template what is the key part you focus on to make your mailer unique compared to everyone else sending mailers?  

Also, side note I invest and live in the Metro Detroit market which is very competitive. 

[Shawn Parsh]

Jacob,

 From my perspective I would use a letter. To be honest I do not send out a lot of letters and do not mass send things out so maybe I'm the wrong person to listen to. Occasionally, I see a property that I'm interested in and I will send the owner of record a personal letter introducing myself and what I do and express my interest in their property. I have had some decent luck by doing so. 

If I was going to start mailing out more I think I would create individual letters to each person and would never use a "mailer template". Most templates I have seen over the years appear to be just that and do not express personal interest in the property. I know personal letters would take more time and cost more money, but I would rather send out less of higher quality then more at lower quality.

Having said all of that I would recommend that you tell everyone you interact with that you are a real estate investor and tell them what kind of properties you buy. I have had more success in finding off market properties from people who know me than any other method. The more your name gets out the easier it will get. I also pay a 1,000 finders fee for any unlisted property that someone tells me about that I buy. After you pay out a few of those checks you will have a group of people looking for houses for you that you only have to pay when they are successful. Of course mine is just one opinion so we will see what the rest of the group thinks. Good luck.