Questions Answered: Direct Mail for Real Estate Investing Part II

Here we are in Part II of the series of the some of the most common questions I have seen about direct mail for real estate investing. There are so many small details that need to be looked at to produce a successful mailing campaign. When you are scouring the internet for answers, there are so many forums, discussions, and websites to sift through.

As I mentioned in Part I of this series, I have been extremely fortunate in being employed by Michael Quarles at YellowLetters.com. For a few years now, I have learned more about direct mail then I ever thought possible. Michael has always been generous about freely giving tools and information to fellow investors, both seasoned and newbies, across several social media sites, BiggerPockets, and his own site www.MichaelQuarles.com. And through the years he has been generous and patient enough to not only answer my questions but give me detailed explanations complete with visual and real-world descriptions.

Through customer feedback and our own mailings, we have seen things that work, things to avoid, and things that can help save you time and money. Whether you use YellowLetters.com as your direct mailing service or you go another route, here are five more of the most common questions I have seen here on BiggerPockets and heard over the time I have been employed with YellowLetters.com:

1) Should I take the time to put the names and property addresses in the message or should I just keep it generic?

Absolutely! If you have the opportunity to make your mail pieces more personalized, do it. There are easy ways to do this, but mail merging is the most popular and probably the easiest route. In fact, there is even a “Wizard” on Microsoft Word that will walk you through the process of mail merging using a list in Excel formatting. It is easy to find: Click on the Mailings tab at the top of the Word document, then select Start Mail Merge. In the drop down box select the last option titled Step-by-Step Mail Merge Wizard.

2) Should I use my own name on a mailing? Or should I use an alias?

First things first, the goal when receiving inbound calls from potential sellers is to gain their trust immediately when answering the phone. And the best way to do so is to actively answer the phone using the name on the mail piece if you are able.

There are merits to both sides of this question. In some cases, using your own name can add a sense of personalism to your message. The potential seller would receive a letter from Aaron and when they call the number Aaron would answer the phone. Right there a certain level of trust is attained.

On the other side of the coin, if you have a particularly difficult name to pronounce or maybe a call center receiving your inbound calls, an alias maybe a beneficial idea. In the case of a call center, a gender-neutral name, such as Alex or Ryan, is ideal. The potential seller would be satisfied if a male or female answered the phone as Alex, and therefore the level of trust gained right off the bat is accomplished.

3) How long should the message be?

The message on the marketing pieces, I would suggest keeping it simple for the first touch or two. Then add more information as you continue to send if you wish. You don't want to send an overwhelming amount of information initially because the recipient will be more likely to stop reading and throw away the piece before they see your call to action. Let them see your name and number a couple of times within a message that takes a few seconds to read.

I hope this was helpful as you explore the world of direct mail in your real estate investing journey. There are more questions to be answered, so stay tuned for the Questions Answered Series to continue.