General Questions on Doing a Mailing Campaign

[Robert Taylor]

I'm seriously considering trying a direct mail campaign in the near future and wasn't entirely sure which category to put this under, but since the wholesalers on here seem to talk a lot about mailers, I figured I'd ask it here, although my aim isn't just to potentially wholesale, it would also be looking for possible flips and buy and holds as well.

As some of you may know from my previous posts, I'm fairly well experienced in flipping houses and so far I've bought most of my projects either through our local sheriff's auction or through the MLS (REO's). I've talked to several other local investors who've had some success with mailers and I'm considering it seriously.

So far, my main idea is to target a certain part of my area (Milwaukee) that I think some good buys can be found in, its what I'd describe as a lower-middle class part of town. Since most of my flips have been more expensive homes, I wouldn't think that I'd find too many in this particular area that I'd want to flip myself, so I could see possibly wholesaling them or keeping them as rentals, which is the part of my business I'd like to build up, I currently have one SFR rental myself. I guess I'd just basically send the mailer out and see what comes back, if it would be something I'd consider a good wholesaling candidate, I'd wholesale it, if it seemed like a good one to hold, I'd hold it, etc.

My questions though are really more of the mailer itself-what have others found success with? I see the "yellow letters" getting talked up a good amount, or have people had success with the simple postcards that say "We buy houses" or "We buy ugly houses" ,etc If its the post card route, do you think I should go "el cheapo" and get just a basic 2 color card or spend extra for something fancier,. or ??? Or are there other avenues that I'm missing here?

Also, what kind of budget have people worked with on their mailing campaigns?

I'm sure I'll have more questions as this topic evolves, but I'm open to hearing ANY advice anyone has on the whole mailing game!