Best Target For Yellow Letters!

[Yasmine Bisumber]

I wanted to get a real world response from active investors regarding your yellow letter campaigns.

What are the best target lists?
Is 1000 letters enough per month?
Have you had better results with other types of mailers?
What market are you in?
Do you send letter daily, weekly, monthly?
Overall, do you "like" mailing letters?
Do you personally feel there is a better way to use your money interms of marketing?
Are you a wholesaler, rehabber, landord etc.?

I would really like to hear from you all, thanks in advance.

[Bill S.]

@Yasmine Bisumber now to qualify my reply. I don't consider myself an experienced marketer. I have been mailing for about a year and a half now. I would guess (without looking) I've mailed more than 30,000 pieces and here is what I have learned.

1) My best target lists are non-owner occupied in state. Now I know that varies depending on where you are and what your market is like. There are many threads on this topic. Fire up the search feature in the upper right hand corner of the page and see what folks have said in the past.

2) In my market 1,000 letters a month will only get you frustration. It wasn't until I hit 6K per month that I got consistent and quality responses that I could reasonably make a living at.

3) I don't do yellow letters as I believe that market is saturated here. I get 3-4 per month and they are hands down the largest type of mailer I get after post cards but the post cards vary so much it's hard to lump them all together. Mine is a professional style letter offering to buy their property along the lines a yellow letter or post card. Simple message.

4) My market is in my profile.

5) I mail every day. I spread the mailings out so that about the same number hit the mail each day mail is delivered but I don't sweat if one day is missed and I need to double up on another. My list size is such that everyone gets something about once a month.

6)  Do I "like" them? - They work so in that sense, I like them. They are a pain to put together and manage and keep on top of but they work. If you want more leads you mail more letters. It's pretty simple.

7) A better way, I don't know. I only do one thing that works and until I master that, everything else is noise.

8) I have done everything. My personality is buy and hold which is where the real money is. If I take a 2 week vacation and no mail goes out, I stop making money from direct mail but the rents still come in.