Hebron, KY · Member since 2015 · 29 posts · 6 votes
I am trying to get my business up and running but can't decide if I should invest my money in a website or in a direct mailing campaign (or is there anything better out there)? What is the best bang for my buck when starting out? Obviously I will be reinvesting money into marketing once money starts coming in but for now I need to wisely place those cherished marking dollars! Thanks in advance for your comments.
Investor · Fayetteville, NC · Member since 2014 · 916 posts · 190 votes
11y
I agree with @James Enright about driving for dollars. It will only cost you gas, stamps, paper, and time. Everything can normally be found using your county tax website.
But along the lines of the which one I would go with right now using the money you have...
Do you have any SEO knowledge? That is pretty much where your traffic will get generated from. You can build a website pretty cheap now a days but without traffic, you will not benefit from it.
On the other hand, direct mail will get leads. I didn't say it will get you good leads, but your phone will definitely ring. That is probably the objective you should focus on now, getting your phone to ring.
I would go with the direct mail campaign if those were my only two choices @Raymond Williamson , even though I got more bang for my buck personally from bandit signs.
Investor · Fairview Heights, IL · Member since 2008 · 189 posts · 62 votes
11y
I would suggest start with "DRIVING FOR DOLLARS" meaning looking for houses that are VACANT and DISTRESSED. Other than that try DIRECT MAIL to ABSENT NON OWNERS list such as listsource, title companies etc. to get started. That's my opinion..... Good luck with it.
Hebron, KY · Member since 2015 · 29 posts · 6 votes
11y
Thanks @James Enright . I just drove a farm area and came up with some interesting houses. On your vacant house finds, how do you go about locating and contacting the owners? Do you go to the recorders office or there a quicker way using the internet?
Investor · Fairview Heights, IL · Member since 2008 · 189 posts · 62 votes
11y
Simply go to your county website and find the "parcel & real estate tax inquiry" or something to that effect to find the owners name that is different from the listed house and send that letter directly to it with your return address on it. You also can ask the neighbors around that house, if they know where the home owners moved to.
Hi Raymond. The question you asked is a great one. Many people new to real estate investing want to know how to start and how to use their marketing budget most effectively and efficiently. May I ask what is your area of interest? What is your goal for your business? Are you looking to wholesale, buy and hold, fix and flip?
Investor · Fayetteville, NC · Member since 2014 · 916 posts · 190 votes
11y
I agree with @James Enright about driving for dollars. It will only cost you gas, stamps, paper, and time. Everything can normally be found using your county tax website.
But along the lines of the which one I would go with right now using the money you have...
Do you have any SEO knowledge? That is pretty much where your traffic will get generated from. You can build a website pretty cheap now a days but without traffic, you will not benefit from it.
On the other hand, direct mail will get leads. I didn't say it will get you good leads, but your phone will definitely ring. That is probably the objective you should focus on now, getting your phone to ring.
I would go with the direct mail campaign if those were my only two choices @Raymond Williamson , even though I got more bang for my buck personally from bandit signs.
Hebron, KY · Member since 2015 · 29 posts · 6 votes
11y
Good information @James Enright ! @Victoria Winters , I would like to fix and flip while holding a few of them for passive income. I am also interested in wholesaling. I believe wholesaling and fix and flip go hand in hand (meaning it takes similar skill sets). The creative financing is an option and I believe the deal will decide which avenue to follow. From what I understand is that we need to be flexible.
Thanks for your reply. You are correct about flexibility. I believe flexibility with focus works best. If you choose both wholesale and fix and flip as a business, you can make decisions about the deals as you get them in hand. That is a very good strategy to use in real estate investing because many of the same skills are required for both. Your marketing plan can serve you for both businesses as well. In both instances you are seeking to find motivated sellers. Sounds like have a good idea about what you want to do. If you need help, please ask.
Hebron, KY · Member since 2015 · 29 posts · 6 votes
11y
@Chaz Reid , I do see the benefit of driving for dollars. From the discussions that I have read on here, most people argue between the direct marketing and the website. I a not very good at the SEO part of the website but I figured I would pay for that. There are also sites that are promoted here on BP that claim to be an all for one with a monthly fee.
As far as my only choices, are there any better ones to chase?
Real Estate Investor · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2014 · 785 posts · 190 votes
11y
Save your money for your first deal and find an expert investor/mentor in your area who can direct you to the best deals. Impossible? It isn't. Serious players are in every major city, dudes/ladies who have 500+ deals to their name. those are the people who will make you money. And there are mentors who don't charge you, as mine does not.
Investor · San Jose, CA · Member since 2014 · 30 posts · 14 votes
11y
Don't spend much money on a website. Godaddy often have discount, and I've recently opened an account with Wordpress through Godaddy for $1 a month. So I paid $12 for the entire year. I was lucky to have my husband set it up for me, but you can do it yourself if you're not completely technologically challenged like myself. Even so, I've only had 1 person submitted a form through my site, and that was because he received my direct mailer. Honestly, I don't think it really would have mattered whether you have a website at this point.
I would advice you spend a few bucks on having some basic business cards made. You will want to go to your local REI clubs, and having business cards build credibility with other investors.
Also, a great free resource is your local title company. Before I even sent out my first mailer, I went to a local First American Title company, and they set up for me a MyFirstAm account where I can look up owners, property profile, etc. I use it on a daily basis. All absolutely free. All they ask from you is to bring them title insurance work. It's a great partnership.
@Raymond Williamson If you don't mind me asking, how much is this mysterious budget? That will probably help us better with giving you advice bro.
I was thinking $1000 would be a good start. I would like to spend less but I could/would spend more for results. I don't want to put a defined limit on it because then I would cut corners and end up throwing away money on something that is not effective. I just want to invest money wisely (don't we all).
Hebron, KY · Member since 2015 · 29 posts · 6 votes
11y
Originally posted by @Account Closed:
Save your money for your first deal and find an expert investor/mentor in your area who can direct you to the best deals. Impossible? It isn't. Serious players are in every major city, dudes/ladies who have 500+ deals to their name. those are the people who will make you money. And there are mentors who don't charge you, as mine does not.
I would love to work with a mentor. Nowadays, everybody is a Guru. How do you find the people who have a teachers heart?My current work schedule doesn't allow me to attend local REIA meetings so I am at a disadvantage there. If you or anybody reading know any honest mentors in the Greater Cincinnati area I would like to talk to them.
Real Estate Investor · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2014 · 785 posts · 190 votes
11y
No, everyone is not a guru,all due respect. Ask these 'gurus': Have you done 500 deals or more and been in business for 10 years? And have you done well in crashes in the market, such as 01 and 08? Very few will answer yes truthfully.
You can find them at REIA meetings sometimes, the real players. I don't know anyone in Cincy at the moment. But keep asking around for a person with the kind of experience I mentioned. My mentor down here in TX routinely blows my mind with his cheap houses and how much I learn every day.
Don't spend much money on a website. Godaddy often have discount, and I've recently opened an account with Wordpress through Godaddy for $1 a month. So I paid $12 for the entire year. I was lucky to have my husband set it up for me, but you can do it yourself if you're not completely technologically challenged like myself. Even so, I've only had 1 person submitted a form through my site, and that was because he received my direct mailer. Honestly, I don't think it really would have mattered whether you have a website at this point.
I would advice you spend a few bucks on having some basic business cards made. You will want to go to your local REI clubs, and having business cards build credibility with other investors.
Also, a great free resource is your local title company. Before I even sent out my first mailer, I went to a local First American Title company, and they set up for me a MyFirstAm account where I can look up owners, property profile, etc. I use it on a daily basis. All absolutely free. All they ask from you is to bring them title insurance work. It's a great partnership.
Good luck!
Thanks, I will follow this advice and try to get in contact with a local title company. The SEO issues with website's are the big mystery. I wonder if you paid someone to manage that part for a few months if you wouldn't see more results (I am thinking out loud)?
Hebron, KY · Member since 2015 · 29 posts · 6 votes
11y
@Account Closed , I will start turning over the rocks to find that golden nugget. I wonder what kind of responses I would get if I posted for a mentor on Craigslist (could be frightening)?
Real Estate Agent · Milton, VT · Member since 2015 · 81 posts · 36 votes
11y
My experience with marketing for properties has shown no response from my website but I did get quite a good response by placing a "We Buy" ad on Facebook. Facebook ads are relatively cheap. You can determine how much you want to spend per day on the ad or for the entire campaign the more you pay the more often your ad will show up. I only paid $100 but I got 4 responses I can't remember exactly how long the ad went but it wasn't very long. And also to be fair I live in a low population state so there is not much competition here. In the Greater Cincinnati area you may need to spend more to get your ad frequency up. I have also done well with placing ads in the smaller newspapers.
I also wanted to give you a tip about mentors. And that is go visit the Coffee and Doughnut shops in your area. Make sure is is early in the morning like around 6 or 7AM in many of them you will find a group of people (typically older men.) that are there pretty much every morning these will very likely have the mentors you are looking for. I found such a group at a local McDonalds they get together and meet every day starting at 6:30AM I started hanging out with these guys one day a week and found out that between them they built most of the housing in the area I live in. The cool thing about it is that they love to share their advice they don't charge me a dime they just enjoy sharing their knowledge.
My experience with marketing for properties has shown no response from my website but I did get quite a good response by placing a "We Buy" ad on Facebook. Facebook ads are relatively cheap. You can determine how much you want to spend per day on the ad or for the entire campaign the more you pay the more often your ad will show up. I only paid $100 but I got 4 responses I can't remember exactly how long the ad went but it wasn't very long. And also to be fair I live in a low population state so there is not much competition here. In the Greater Cincinnati area you may need to spend more to get your ad frequency up. I have also done well with placing ads in the smaller newspapers.
I also wanted to give you a tip about mentors. And that is go visit the Coffee and Doughnut shops in your area. Make sure is is early in the morning like around 6 or 7AM in many of them you will find a group of people (typically older men.) that are there pretty much every morning these will very likely have the mentors you are looking for. I found such a group at a local McDonalds they get together and meet every day starting at 6:30AM I started hanging out with these guys one day a week and found out that between them they built most of the housing in the area I live in. The cool thing about it is that they love to share their advice they don't charge me a dime they just enjoy sharing their knowledge.
Great information.....the Coffee and Doughnut idea is brilliant. I will check out the Facebook option. Just curious if you purchased any of the properties that responded to your ad? If so, what terms (cash, creative financing, wholesaling)?