Yellow Letters

[Jabari Adams]

Good morning all!

I am about to send out my first round of yellow letters this week. I received a few different types of mailing list. One of the list that I am using is an active code violations list. I am wondering for those properties that don't seem to have an absentee owner, should I still send them a letter? 

[Dev Horn]

To answer your question, why not mail to the Code Violators that are not absentee?  They are also likely to own a house that is in disrepair.

And, direct mail is not just a "send it out and hope" crap shoot.  True, no one an predict what will happen and there are many variables such as the list, the copy you use, the form (letter, postcard), delivery method, etc.  But I can tell you that a list from someone like Listsource.com, where you can specify "Equity %" is key to getting more deals.   People with no equity have no ability to negotiate with you on the price of their property, so why mail to them?  Targeting certain zips over others can help you improve your strategy and results, only mailing to people below median market value makes sure you're not mailing to million dollars houses that you cannot buy.  So there is a LOT you can do to fine tune a direct mail strategy.

@Victoria Winters has it right tho - once you have a good list and good copy, etc. the key is the touch your prospect pool repeatedly - every 4-6 weeks for most groups.

Most new investors that do direct mail do it TWICE and quit.  What they don't realize, is the 2nd mailing is almost always ineffective.  Your leads come after sending your message to (the same list of) people 4-6 times AT LEAST, but we call it the "rule of 7" - you need to commit to 7 mailings or you shouldn't do it... spend your $ on something else...