Is direct mail dead?

Question

I heard that you need to send out $10k in direct mail to land a deal in this economy.

Cornelius Garland · Answer

Direct mail got me my first deal in 2015 and it isn't going away. Actually, I think now is a better time for it since we have other affordable marketing channels. When I started, cold calling was only for the top wholesales with large budgets. Typical rates were $12 - $20 per hour. Also, skip tracing was a very manual process. We would have to go on Upwork to find assistants to skip-trace each one manually through TLO or Microbilt. It was a pain and not cost-effective. So up until a few years ago, many wholesalers were stuck with a few marketing channels like direct mail and door-knocking to generate motivated seller leads.

Now, since skip tracing is very affordable, it has opened up other marketing channels like cold calling, bulk texting, voice broadcasts, and ringless voicemails. This may make it appear like it is not effective since others aren't talking about it as much.

You can get a deal by sending out 3,000 mail pieces to absentee sellers if your targeting is right by going to distressed zip codes and focusing on cheaper properties. However, I found that 5,000 mailers are a sweet spot. This will generate anywhere from 25 - 50 leads. It's taking me 45 leads, on average to close a deal with direct mail. This figure has held true for my company for years.

Jaron Walling · Answer

Keith, we're investors and do the same thing. I don't take offense to the letters offering $56k when a property is worth $140k. It's hard to comprehend people taking a paper offer like that serious but someone must be; otherwise why spend $5k and market to the masses??

This is arguably the most challenge market buy RE, ever. Let alone buying a quality deal. Shoutout to the investors and wholesalers who have the time, money, systems, and experience to make it happen.

Cornelius Garland · Answer

@Joe S. Yes, I do. I'll keep the same mailing list for a quarter and then change it. Also, I spread out my mailings. I don't deliver all 6,000 mail pieces at once. I use my mailhouse to evenly spread them out through the month so I'm getting leads consistently rather than all of them within a few days after my maildrop. Usually, 1500 will get sent out each week.

Jerry Puckett · Answer

Not dead by any means....surpassed cold calling mass texting and ringless voicemail. Still the biggest bang for my buck. 10 years in counting several cycles udner rhe belt. Helped launch some steller careers. Cost effevtives simple to do. Rumours of its demise oftentoutefd by anti mailers. :-)

Jerry Puckett · Answer

I suspected we might hear from an Anti Mailer and was not disappointed ;-)

But far from being dead, I've seen things like this happen over and over again for the folks who apply themselves and use best practices. Like I said, I'm still here after 13 years and have seen so many others come and go.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/bpp46-jon-klaus-podcast-transcript-spec-building-marketing-deals#:~:text=I%27m%20looking%20at,to%20wholesale%20them.

Keith A. · Answer

The 15 mailers I get a week asking to buy my properties go directly in the trash. Even the ones that look hand written.

Cornelius Garland · Answer

Great question. I get all of my distressed information from a non-profit called eig.org. Here's the link to the map: https://eig.org/distressed-communities/2022-dci-interactive-...Distressed zip codes are in brown and orange. Affluent zip codes are in blue. I try to find a market that has a decent balance of brown and blue zip codes. This website has been my secret weapon over the last few years. They updated it once every 4 years.

Cornelius Garland · Answer

Typically, 3 times or if I notice a dramatic drop off in response rates between month 1 versus month 2. For instance, if I received a .5% response rate in month 1 and month 2, I only received a .1% (not 1%) response rate then I won't mail the list again to potentially risk only getting a handful of leads.

David Ramirez · Answer

I don't do direct mail, but I wouldn't say it's dead. The $10k figure might hold true for some, but not for all. It really comes down to targeting, messaging, and sales skills.

Jeff Roth · Answer

Hi Mike-

Great question.

No, I do not think direct mail is dead but I prefer door knocking and using door hangers over direct mail as it gets you in front of the sellers.

Consistent action on the same properties and farmed areas will get you the best results.

To your success!

Is direct mail dead?

Most Popular Reply