Washington, Washington D.C. · Member since 2008 · 91 posts · 2 votes
I would like to start doing direct mail campaigns, either letters, postcards, or both. The thing is that I have almost no idea what the cost is, so it's hard for me to see if I can stay within a budget. If I want to buy a list (let's say preforeclosures or absentee owners), and then pay a mailhouse to send it out, what should I assume would be the cost per postcard? per letter? (costs would include purchase of list/name, cost to print, and cost of postage). I recognize I would run the campaign multiple times, but just for simplicity, one mailing, what would it cost me per mail piece (or for 500 names? 1000names?) Just trying to get a sense for what I can mail (postcard, 1st class, 3rd class), and how many names.
Hi no matter what you do make sure you TEST the campaign to get measureble results. Do a small run with a certain style of post card then do another with another kind and measure the difference. I have been doing this on an existing campaign and one test has so far had a 300% increase over another.
Yes it is a lot more work but once you get the right campaign you can continually use the same one over and over again and no what to expect.
It kind of depends on how much work you yourself want to do to save the cost of others doing it for you. You can go to the courthouse and look up NOD's yourself for the price of the gas to take you there, or you can pay a service to give them to you via an excel spreadsheet. You can hand write or word process and print your letters or postcards, stuff them in envelopes and hand stamp them or you can pay a service to do all that for you. Or, you can get your kid to do it! :D
I have been just starting out, and doing alot of the work myself, up to a point. I purchased mailing lists from melissadata.com, then created my own mailers, and posted them myself. Postcard stamps are now $.27. Yellowletters.com will do it all for you for some price, you can check out their site. I'm sure there are other sites who will do it also, if you google mailing lists, or peruse the other threads in the forum under Marketing.
My goal is to eventually let others do the grunt work, but for now...
The first cost you need to take into consideration is getting the list of people to mail to. I use many different arenas for that from Foreclosures, BK's and even Probates.
So my list costs vary based on the type and source of information.
As to the actual mailings. I LOVE postcards.
The cost of postage has gone up. It is now $.26/card Recently I did a mailing of 771 postcards. I use the online service of the USPS to send them.
They charge me a printing and production cost of $.43/card to print, address and mail the cards. I upload a design as well as a list of names and addresses. That is it, I am done.
Total charge for the entire 771 cards was $528.91 This does not include the cost of the access to the information for the list.
I actually take it one step further and create personalized landing pages for each recipient of the postcard. Something like 42% of people would prefer to respond to your offer online so if I am going to direct people to a website it might as well be a personalized page on my website that has their name, city, etc.
If you use a Variable Data Printer you can create personalized postcards.
Direct mail can be a huge expense with little return if not done effectively. It is very important to make sure whatever you send them is useful and will be opened and is sent to targeted people who will appreciate it.
The US Post Office actually has some great info on direct mail campaigns. I usually make my own mailing lists even though it is by far more time consuming - I also design my own mailers but the printing cost and mailing cost can be pricey. I think we did 500 mailers for $140 plus postage.
Depending on what you're looking for there are a lot of services available. The best thing to do is research, research, research. :)
Hi no matter what you do make sure you TEST the campaign to get measureble results. Do a small run with a certain style of post card then do another with another kind and measure the difference. I have been doing this on an existing campaign and one test has so far had a 300% increase over another.
Yes it is a lot more work but once you get the right campaign you can continually use the same one over and over again and no what to expect.
It is much better to send 10 mailings to 1000 people, rather than 1 mailing to 10,000 people.
Narrow your list.
Market - who you mail to
Media - postcard, letter etc
Message
FOLLOW UP! 70% of my business comes from "tickling" the people who respond to my marketing.
I use software to track the campaigns and turn then from one campaign to another... ie they are expired listing then they call in but are not cooked. I will switch them to tickler called in.
I've used 3 different software titles and have finally found one that I like A LOT. It took out huge problems I dealt with in the first program.
I usually stock up free post cards and marketing materials from vistaprint.com. Everytime they have a sale I would order the free prints and only pay for shipping.
My cards are simple... some wordings saying that I'm interesting in buying their houses... my contact and my WEBSITE.
I realize that I can not be answering phones all the time.... and sometimes sellers are not so motivate to call until they find out and feel more comfortable about my service.
Besides, if you are getting some type of public name list, don't forget that other investors are probably sending post cards to the same list. If you have a website or some other ways to give your sellers more information to help them feel that they can make the right choice by working with you... you should have more advantage.
"I use software to track the campaigns and turn then from one campaign to another... ie they are expired listing then they call in but are not cooked. I will switch them to tickler called in".
HUH?
Intriguing - what do you mean by "call in but not cooked" and "tickler call in"?
I believe he is talking about an organizational strategy of writing down every step of the process it takes from 1st mailer out to appoitment set and moving a person's file into whichever stage they are in at the time. If you work your leads in stages, then you would have all of your leads that need a 2nd mailing all in the same area/folder.
it takes a lot of hard work to determine which strategy will suit you business well,,, the more hardships your take in to the better results awaits you.. that is what i believe in
Marketing plan is very important. What is more important is not just to do it one time. Doing mutiple mailings is what is more important to get results.
Having a list mailed 5-7 times will get you more hits and hits make deals.
I use yellow post cards through Click2mail.com through USPS.com Its a great service. I use one sided post card which is about .37 per copy.
For follow up I use greeting cards. Follow up to me is someone that I would buy there home if a deal can be made.
the more the merrier,, follow ups are very important. make sure that you take care of your prospects. do follow ups in interval, greeting cards are great. In this way you are making money and friends as well.
What are some keys to wording/designing an effective postcard. There is always mention of "separating yourself from your competition", but I'm not exactly sure what that means, with regard to postcard marketing. Any ideas/samples/examples?
I would like to start doing direct mail campaigns, either letters, postcards, or both. The thing is that I have almost no idea what the cost is, so it's hard for me to see if I can stay within a budget. If I want to buy a list (let's say preforeclosures or absentee owners), and then pay a mailhouse to send it out, what should I assume would be the cost per postcard? per letter? (costs would include purchase of list/name, cost to print, and cost of postage). I recognize I would run the campaign multiple times, but just for simplicity, one mailing, what would it cost me per mail piece (or for 500 names? 1000names?) Just trying to get a sense for what I can mail (postcard, 1st class, 3rd class), and how many names.
Thanks!
If you do something do letters. Postcards suck royally in my experience. Companies that buy in bulk will save you the setup charges of leads companies and will get you a better deal on postage too. Account for your time in setting everything up and managing it if you do it yourself. There are companies that will do it all for you turn-key if you seek them out.