5 Keys to Running a Successful Direct Mail Marketing Campaign

5 Keys to Running a Successful Direct Mail Marketing Campaign For Real Estate Investors

1.The List

The List is the most important aspect of any direct mail campaign. Why? The reason is simple, you have to put your message in front of someone who is in the market to buy what you are selling. You could have the best most persuasive message in the world but if your audience isn’t in the market to buy, you aren’t going to sell. So what are the different type of lists?

1.High Equity:

Make sure the homeowner has enough equity (75% or more) to be able to sell at a discounted rate. It won’t make sense for them to sell at a discounted rate without having enough equity in the home.

2.Absentee Homeowners:

These are homeowners that don’t live in the home. These are great leads, especially out of state absentee homeowners they may have had to move for a job or a variety of reasons and want to get rid of their property. These tend to be a popular list for investors.

3.Probates:

These are another great source of leads. A probate is when a family member or friend inherits a house from a deceased person. Well, they may not want the house and would prefer cash so they may be willing to sell the house at a discount.

4.Pre- Foreclosure or Foreclosures:

People who are in a situation where they may lose their home because they can’t afford the mortgage could be highly motivated to sell. You could be helping out these home owners get out of a bad situation.

5.Expired Listings:

These are listing that did not sell while on the MLS. Your real estate agent would have access to these. They may be willing to sell at a discount.

6.Tax Delinquent:

These are properties where the home owner is delinquent on their taxes. They may be motivated to sell before the county takes possession of their home.

2.Frequency

The second most important aspect of direct mail is the frequency. How many times are you putting your message in front of people? Think about the big corporations. Do you just see one commercial from them and that’s it? No, of course not! They keep bombarding you with their message so that they remain “Top of Mind”.

Times and circumstances change. If you have a good list to mail to, they may not be ready to sell today, but they could 6 months from now. If you keep sending them a direct mail piece every month for 6 months you will be at the top of their mind and there is a good chance they will call you!

So what is the answer? How many times should you mail to the same list? You will hear different things from different people. There is no right or wrong answer. It is not an exact science. I’ve heard people tell me their best responses come after the third mailing. Others told me they had the most response from the fifth mailing. When asked that question, I always recommend to do at least six mailings per list.

3.Unique Selling Proposition

The third most important aspect is your message. Keep this in mind, if you get your list from an online list source, every other investor has access to the same list. How are you standing out? Yellow Letters has become popular in recent years because it was different and it looks more authentic. However, every other investor took notice and guess what they are sending? Yep, you guessed it, yellow letters. There is nothing wrong with yellow letters but if every other investor are sending them, are they really unique?

What is your unique selling proposition? Why would someone pick up the phone and call you? Things to think about: Are you offering a guarantee? Are you offering to help the homeowner? If so, how? Maybe you help them with moving cost. A lot of these people are in tough situations so be compassionate and offer to help in some way.

Lastly, when you send your direct mail piece, how is it differentiating from the other pieces? What is going to make your piece not get thrown away? You literally have 3 seconds to catch the homeowners’ attention. People respond in different ways to different things, so mix it up a little. Do a combination of postcards and letters with a different message.

4.Quantity

In this section, we are going to work with some numbers. Think about the quantity in these terms: The industry standard for direct mail is around a 1% response rate. A lot of investors are thrilled to get a 1% response rate. So what does that mean? For every 100 mailings you can expect 1 person to call you back. So every 1,000 mailings you’ll get 10 calls. Now, how many calls will result in a deal? Do you know your closing percentage? Are you a 10% closer? 5% closer? If you don’t know your closing percentage, it’s very important that you track this.

5.Track your numbers, very important!

If you know your numbers, you will know exactly how much money you need to spend per deal. Let’s work with an example. Your Response rate is 1% and your closing percentage is 5%.

You will need 20 calls to produce a sale. To get 20 calls you will need to mail 2000 mailers at a 1% response rate. The Last number to track is your average profit per deal. Once you know these numbers, you now own an ATM. You know how much money to put in the machine and how much you will get back.

If you do these 4 things well, you will differentiate yourself from the competition and you will be in the top 5% of all real estate investors.

To Your Success

Scott Showers