New direct mail campaign and I'll blog about it

[Don Chambers]

I have been asking question about direct mail for the last few weeks.  I finally started it.  It's all paid for and the first batch goes out Monday.

I started a blog about it.  Please take a look at it and critique and advise me.  Let me know any potential mistakes and maybe predict what the results will be.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/9860/62756-sta...

[Johnny Kang]

Hey @Don Chambers

Before you continue sending letters to the same list every month for a year, you might want to read this great post by @Jonathan C. regarding his results from sending 140,000 letters. If you look at where the bulk of his transactions came from, Absentee list from a percentage basis, make up .04% of total transactions. 

@Justin Silverio was the guest on Eipsode 58 & 194, and he talks about learning how to create your own list. Last year, I spent $24,000 sending letters to Absentee list and got zero deals from that list. Believe me, by month 5 & 6, if you're still not seeing results, you'll be second-guessing yourself everyday while you're still spending money. (Now granted, 3 months prior to that, I closed 2 which more than paid for the $24,000 I ended up spending so it wasn't horrible). Everyone is using Absentee list, so you have to stay ahead of the game.

Secondly, see how you can increase your response rate. @Cornelius Garland had some great answers on branded v. clustered marketing, getting 15%~18% response rate. You'll eventually learn how to calculate your profit, just by looking at your response rate (because you'll figure out appointment set ratio, offers made ratio, close ratio, average profit/deal).

These are some of the most seasoned guys I know when it comes to direct mail. 

So:

1) Learn to create your own "Motivated Seller's" list. 

2) Learn how to increase your response rate by split testing to see what works for you in your market.

Put your money to work, and don't go in this thing blind. Hope that helps.