How many leads for first direct mail campaign?

[Andrew Herrig]

I am about to start my first direct mail marketing campaign and was wondering how many leads I should start with to have a pretty good chance of closing at least one deal.?

I am planning to get an absentee owner list for 2 or 3 zip codes in my area (Dallas), with >50% equity via Listsource, and start a 6 month campaign, mailing once per month, alternating yellow letter and postcard. I am estimating it will cost ~$4 per lead over those 6 months if I do the work myself. Does that sound reasonable?

[Matthew B.]

Hey Andrew,

I am by no means an expert at direct mail marketing, but I'll give you my 2 cents anyways. I just started my first direct mail campaign this year.

On my first mailing I sent out about 1,000 yellow letters. This resulted in 1 closed deal. On my second mailing, I send out 2,500 yellow letters and postcards, and have yet to get anything. What I'm trying to show you is that there's no set number of letters that will give you a deal. It varies and really is unpredictable (although some people can guesstimate better than others). Obviously, the more letters you send, the better your chance for a deal. Its a numbers game.

You can buy your addresses from www.listsource.com. There are plenty of posts on BP about selecting criteria. I end up spending roughly $0.50-$0.60 per yellow letter by the time I pay for postage, ink, paper, envelopes, leads, etc.

Make sure you have enough money to keep it going for 6 months. Most of your deals (80%) come after the 5th contact according to Sharon Vornholt. She gives a lot of great info on one of the BP Podcasts.

Good luck man!