Best direct mail marketing methods for 2018

[Dave Ato]

What are the best direct mail list for investors for 2018? Base on your experience!

[Brad F.]

The best direct mail lists are:

1. Tax Delinquent List – criteria: 2 years behind, are still the homeowner
2. Code Violation List – no criteria
3. Equity List – Absentee Owner, Owner Occupied and Global (all) – criteria: over 45 years old owner, last sale date between 1990 and 3 years ago.
4. Inheritance List – USLeadList
5. Evictions – no criteria
6. Yard Sale/Garage Sale List – tenants sell before they move
7. Probate – 
8. Arrest Record List – list of people recently arrested

These are the lists.  Methods go as such. 

1. Pick a farm and stick with it for 6 months minimum. 
2. Postcards, or handwritten. It's all a numbers game, so it depends on your backend. Postcards are cheapest but offer the lowest ROI for conversions, and lower quality. However with a solid lead scrubber or ISA postcards are awesome. Handwritten, or yellow letter handwritten is Ok. Some feel it's a bait and switch, BUT the overall lead quality is much higher at a higher cost.
3. Do stop mailing.  Choose a budget you can afford as mentioned for 6 months or more.  Trust me, sellers will keep these cards/mailers for 6, 8 or even 12 months before they call back.  It's all about timing for them, and for you.  Just do not give up.  Trust me your competitors are giving up after their first 30-60 days. 
4. Have a solid tracking system. A/B test all the time. I use Call rail for number capture and track verbiage of letters to specific call rail numbers.  Using the content and format that returned the highest lead ratio.  These phone numbers should also correspond to your farm(city, county etc)  TRACKING TRACKING TRACKING!  Oh, did I mention Tracking??  LOL 
5. CRM to input into.  I have used them all, Kunversion, Boomtown, Real Geeks, Top Agent, Podio, Reimobile, Reiflow, and have landed on my favorite all-inclusive.  REIPro.  The best $150.00 a month I've spent. A true all in one program. It's Podio, MailChimp, yellow letter, biggerpocket proforma app, training, zapier, text, marketing super engine, wrapped into one.  

Lastly,  the best method is the one that you take action on.  I have personally started my first mailer campaign with $200 a month, and closed 3 wholesale deals with it. It's not the budget, its your system that is what will make you successful with mailers.  This strategy will get expensive if you do not offer enough attention to your systems.  I know this from personal experience.  I have failed, and failed and failed again, and it wasn't until I started truly tracking the numbers that things started to take off for me. 

I believe there are a million right ways to accomplish a single task.  Do what works for you!  This is what works for me.  

Cheers...