A powerful tip for direct mail

[Scott W. Cook]

As all investors know, there is a lot of power in direct mail. you can find unlisted deals, connect with absentee owners and contact potential sellers for flips in a highly effective way.

As a professional copywriter who's worked with many investors, I thought I'd share a little insight into direct mail and how to make it more effective. No doubt there are hundreds or thousands of BP investors who already know this trick and can probably attest to it and add to what I'm saying, yet I think this bears sharing...

There are actually quite a few tips for effective response rates when it comes to direct mail. However, I'd like to share this one simple trick. This post was actually inspired by another I saw recently where a gentleman was asking about follow ups in letter writing campaigns.

Direct mail is most effective when there are multiple touches. A minimum of 3 has been statistically proven over and over again and across many verticals. What combination of pieces you use is of course up to you, but here is one possible scenario:

- An initial touch using a post card with a simple message

- A white letter of no more than 2 pages wherein you explain how you can help the recipient with your unique set of skills.

- A final touch, this one could be another post card, a short yellow letter or a 1 page white letter.

The idea is to provide a simple initial message, expand on that message and then reinforce the urgency of the message. Naturally, you could expand on this and do 4, 5 or even 6 contacts. This should increase your response rate, yet you also have to balance the costs involved against the ROI.

That being said, though, 3 should be your minimum. When it comes to unsolicited mail, people are very complacent. They may only skim the first message if at all, which is why #2 is important. It reminds them and expands on what you're offering. The final message should therefore be a bit more agressive.

In all of these, a clear call to action (CTA) is absolutely necessary. If you want somebody to do something - then ask them and be specific! There's nothing wrong with asking them to call, email or write you. Remember, if you don't lead them to the water, what chance do you have of them taking a drink?

I hope this was of some use and I'd love to hear your feedback.