Rental Property Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2012 · 502 posts · 263 votes
I am starting my first direct mail campaign and figured I would post my plans and how things are going as time passes to help keep me accountable. Give me your thoughts, questions, and suggestions!
The Plan:
- Mail 1000 pieces per month (250 per week)
- Mail each contact once per month for at least 6 months
- Switch up between letters and postcards, do some split testing (no specifics here yet)
The List:
- 500 absentee owners
- 250 "poor condition" properties (properties listed as "poor" or "very poor" condition on tax appraisal records, built after 1950, deed transfer before 2010, few other filters I can't remember)
- 250 TBD (trying to get list of properties with code violations from the city, open to other suggestions)
What do you think? I will post progress soon. I'm sure I will have plenty of questions as I go along.
Involved In Real Estate · Lynchburg, VA · Member since 2013 · 246 posts · 75 votes
12y
Just do 1,000 absentee owners. Why try multiple things at once? You're "spreading" the risk but at the same time making each list super small. 250 is such a small number you might as well go hang door hangers.
Who's your target audience? What's your call to action? Why should they respond to your offer compared to the other ones they're receiving (USP)?
I'm not trying to give you a hard time. You did ask for help keeping you accountable. Direct mail is awesome but can be an epic waste of money if not focused properly.
Involved In Real Estate · Lynchburg, VA · Member since 2013 · 246 posts · 75 votes
12y
Just do 1,000 absentee owners. Why try multiple things at once? You're "spreading" the risk but at the same time making each list super small. 250 is such a small number you might as well go hang door hangers.
Who's your target audience? What's your call to action? Why should they respond to your offer compared to the other ones they're receiving (USP)?
I'm not trying to give you a hard time. You did ask for help keeping you accountable. Direct mail is awesome but can be an epic waste of money if not focused properly.
Rental Property Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2012 · 502 posts · 263 votes
12y
@Account Closed Thanks for the advice. I have already started with the absentee and property condition lists. I suppose I could do 500 absentees and 500 property condition contacts. My thinking was that I didn't want to hang my hat on absentee owners alone as it seems a lot of people don't do very well with that list, perhaps due to the amount of competition.
I will post my letter to absentees soon for feedback. Not sure if my USP is necessarily that strong.
USP is a copywriting term for unique selling proposition. Basically what makes you different from others, your competitive advantage. Subway.. always fresh.
In terms of real estate marketing for example, I hammer the fact that I work with investors, rentals, stuff like that. I mention how I'm a local real estate investor myself and you don't go to a real estate agent that focuses on new construction to sell an old duplex - you go with someone who focuses on that.
Say it's an out of state landlord and he's tired of managing a property from another state. How can he NOT respond to an agent that specifically tells him he specializes in helping out of state landlords and local investors. The message fits the exact need.
Rental Property Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2012 · 502 posts · 263 votes
12y
I sent out the first 160 or so letters on 12/30. Received 2 calls so far. One was a landlord who wanted what she had invested in it (over market value), and the other was from someone who is an investor himself. He was not interested in my offer and plans to try to rent it out.
The next 340 letters are ready to be mailed, but I will wait until Wednesday or so to drop them in the mail. I am traveling for work this week and won't really have time to return calls.
Speaking of, any suggestions for those of us with full time jobs? My plan is to return calls after work, but I don't like not answering them right away and having to hope they leave a message...
Rental Property Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2012 · 502 posts · 263 votes
12y
Sent another 340 letters out on Wednesday (1/8) and received a few more calls, two of which I plan to follow up on in a few weeks. One was a woman getting ready to sell her mother's house as she is moving into a nursing home, the other was a landlord not sure if he wants to sell yet or not.
So far, I have sent out 500 letters, received 6 responses, and 0 deals. Will send out another 250 this week. Stay tuned!
Rental Property Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2012 · 502 posts · 263 votes
12y
Sent another 250 letters out this past week and got several calls. Unfortunately I seem to be missing a fair number of them while I am at work and they don't leave a message. My plan right now is to send out a mass text to missed calls, saying something to the effect of "I saw I got a missed call from this number. If you are calling about a house, please feel free to get back with me. Look forward to your call." What do you think?
Got one call that I referred to my realtor as a possible short sale. If things progress, I plan to offer on that deal at some point. I also tweaked what I was searching for with my realtor on MLS. The MLS in Dallas is pretty tight, but I may be able to get a few deals there this year.
Letters Sent: 750
Calls Received: 10 (probably another 10 that didn't leave a voicemail)
Deals: 0
Real Estate Investor · Bedford, TX · Member since 2013 · 49 posts · 10 votes
12y
Andrew Herrig Thank you for posting your progress. This is interesting to watch!
You mentioned you had a short sale that you referred to your realtor and then would make an offer. Why didn't you make an offer on the deal before sending it to your realtor? Just curious!
Thanks for the feedback, I'll keep posting progress! On the short sale, she owed more than I would be willing to pay, but she was willing to consider a short sale. I didn't go see the place since she owes too much, but if the short sale process moves forward (i.e. she qualifies and decides to go through with it) I will go see the house and make an offer to submit to the bank with the short sale paperwork.
Houston, TX · Member since 2012 · 84 posts · 14 votes
12y
It's crazy how different response rates can be. I just mailed out 100 pieces, received 8 calls, and have a possible deal. I'm learning the more targeted the list, the better/more qualified response you will receive. But hey, could be the luck of the draw. Stay at it!
Rental Property Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2012 · 502 posts · 263 votes
12y
@Reggie Youngblood That's a great list. I was thinking of talking to the tax appraiser to get a list of delinquent tax properties. How do you find out if they have a suit or judgment?
Investor · Houston, TX · Member since 2013 · 85 posts · 18 votes
12y
Its always the luck of the draw with direct mail! I've achieved up to 18% response rates mailing to my Probate Lists. A lot of the time You get greater results on the follow up letter or call. Like @Reggie Youngblood was saying you have to apply Law 23 and Concentrate your forces.
Urbana, IL · Member since 2012 · 1k+ posts · 425 votes
12y
@Reggie Youngblood and @Andrew Herrig I too just mailed out a delinquent tax list of 130 properties or so. I also narrowed it down by those who are facing forefeiture this year or in previous years if they don't pay up. There was probably a 1/4 of the properties that faced forfeiture prior to 2014 and are still delinquent. There was one as far back as 2006 that is facing forfeiture and for what ever reason it hasn't happened yet. It could be a clerical error in the records at this point.
With those delinquencies I also noticed a number of people who had multiple properties with 1-3 years delinquent taxes. Added up they are going to be hurting quite badly so they are on my radar as possibly leads as well.
I'm waiting to get a response this next week as the postcards should arrive then.
Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2012 · 135 posts · 80 votes
12y
@Andrew Herrig
Are you sending out Yellow Letters?
And if so are you printing the actual letter or physically writing them?
What color is the ink?
Same goes for the envelopes. Are you physically handwriting the address on the envelopes or printing them?
Also what size and color envelopes you are using? and what color is the ink on the envelopes?
The reason I ask those series of questions is because you are getting almost about a 2.67% response rate with your letters, 20 contacts out of 750 letters, and usually that kind of response rate is seen with post cards (0.05% - 3%)
So I wonder if its your list, or style of letter/envelope you are sending.
We are sending out a "yellow letter" of sorts. It is printed on normal white paper, in a handwritten font. The envelopes are white #6 3/4. I just ordered 2500 pastel blue envelopes, but none of those have gone out yet. They are hand-addressed in black or blue ink.
Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2012 · 135 posts · 80 votes
12y
@Andrew Herrig do you have a friend, girlfriend, cousin, mom, dad, anybody that can answer a phone while you are at work?
All they need to do is follow a script that you provide, and that you will call them as soon as you are "done your meeting"
The reason I ask is because if you are going to get 20 - 30 calls per 1000 you definitely want to make those calls count. Thats good that you are delegating leads you cant use. I don't know if you do lease options yourself but if not you could probably go to one of the many DFW REIA groups inquire about people who do lease option deals...they may be able to do something with the ones that one full price.
Mesquite, TX · Member since 2013 · 6 posts · 3 votes
12y
I see you have listed how many letters, calls and deals listed. How many offers have you made? Even if you don't hear motivation from the seller they could be hiding it or just not willing to open up. If you don't set an appointment to see the house always ask for an email address. Run your basic numbers and send a Slightly lower than normal offer. Sometimes they blow you off or call back and tell you your crazy, but it's worth it for those few who will call back again to negotiate or accept. Always send an offer. If try called for any other reason than to ask to be taken off the list then they have some interest.