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A Step-by-Step Guide to Non-Internet Real Estate Marketing

Jason Hanson
2 min read

Last week I wrote a controversial post about why you should stop doing Internet marketing and instead use direct mail if you want to become a highly successful real estate investor.

And today I’m going to show you the exact direct mail steps I use in my own business which make me over six-figures a year. Anyone can follow these steps and there are only two reasons why these steps couldn’t make you six figures too.

The first reason is that you don’t follow what I say and you don’t send out letters. This is the reason 99% of people aren’t successful. The second reason is because you send out a terribly written letter that doesn’t get any response. Luckily, if you network properly you can find investors who will share their profitable letters with you.

Here we go…

First and most importantly you have to choose the area you invest in. I like bread and butter locations with a lower-than-average housing value. One of the areas I personally invest in is Stafford, VA zip code 22554.

Once you’ve picked your area you have to get a list. The people that I prefer to mail to are absentee landlords. I could write 20 pages on why I love going after landlords, but let’s just say they’re often motivated sellers. So now that you’re going after landlords you call a list broker and order 1,000 or 2,000 names in your zip code of choice. (I like to use Melissadata). They email you the names in an excel spreadsheet.

Now you have to create your letter.

But how? Well… first always personalize. Use a person’s first name. Mention their city and state where you want to invest and mention how you specialize in working with landlords who want to get rid of nightmare rental properties. (Pile on the benefits of working with you.)

Also, include a free offer in your letter. For example, I include a free special report called “The 5 little-known ways to eliminate tenant hassles forever.” Another thing I do is offer a free lunch. I tell the person that once I evaluate the deal over the phone and see that it meets my criteria I’d like to take them out to a free lunch to discuss things.

Be creative…

You can offer a number of things, but make sure they realize there is no-obligation for calling you and getting your free report or free consultation.

Once the letter is done you simply send it off to your letter shop along with the excel spreadsheet and they take care of the rest. Or, you can of course do it yourself. Just make sure that whoever does your mailing knows to use a white #10 envelope and to hand write all addresses in blue ink.

Once the letters go in the mail, you’ll get calls from motivated landlords in the zip code you specialize in. If you follow the steps I just outlined you can see this isn’t tough, and once again, this method will crush the nerds who love internet marketing any day of the week and make you a heck of a lot more money.

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.