Help! I'm new to direct mailing.

[Brandon Gamblin]

Whats up BP fam....Im new to direct mailing and for the most part, I get the general concept. From the little that Ive learned, its just buying a mailing list, and sending out mailing pieces saying you buy houses and hopefully they call and want to sell you their home. Ive heard its a step by step process, so my question is in regards to knowing what type of target audience to send mailing pieces too. How do you know what target audience to choose from? What are my options to send out different mailing pieces to? 

From what Ive heard, you can send them out to FSBO's, absentee owners and probates, but I feel as if it's a little more in depth than just sending them out to those. Can someone help me get a better understanding of this part of direct mailing?

[Braden Smith]

If you are going to do DMM (Direct Mail Marketing), you need to differentiate yourself from the crowd. There are many investors doing DMM these days, and almost all of them are mailing the same lists and sending the same types of mail pieces. In order for you to stand out from the crowd you need to find niche lists that others don't have or won't take the time to acquire and you need to send unique mail pieces that don't look like everyone else's. 

Try driving for dollars. Most other investors are too lazy to do it because it is a pain in the ***. You have to drive up and down every street while making a list of all the blighted, vacant and run down properties, then you have to plug each one into a spreadsheet, then look up the owner name and mailing address on the assessor website, then plug that info into the spreadsheet, etc, etc, etc. It sucks, but it works.

Also go down to your local courthouse and find a way to obtain lists such as a water shutoff list, a tax delinquent list, etc. Most other investors won't take the time to do this.

Try and come up with ways to build/obtain your own lists that others won't think of or won't take the time to do. Create your own unique mail pieces. Be different. Stand out from the crowd. Use your own personality and style. Real estate is a people business first and foremost...

Keep this in mind... if the list is easy to obtain, there are dozens of other investors mailing it.

Check this out if you haven't already:  Driving for Dollars Bible: Finding Distressed Properties and Marketing

And check out @Anson Young's book Finding and Funding Great Deals

Hope that helps! Best of luck to you!!