Real Estate Agent · Richardson, TX · Member since 2014 · 511 posts · 161 votes
Hi everyone,
I just ordered 3,912 zip letters from yellow letters. 60 % of the list are absentee owners while the other 40 % are owner occupied. This is the criteria I used:
-SFR
-At least 50 % equity
-Bought house on or before Dec. 2012
-Age 55+ (Owner occ only)
-SQ FT (Less than 3,000 sq ft)
-Trusts are excluded
-2+ Bedrooms
I'll be sending to the same list for the next 6 months and I'll be using PatLive to take all my calls. I'm running this campaign in 2 suburban areas of Dallas TX. I'll be posting monthly updates with response rate, deals under contract, deals closed etc. This will be my very first "well executed" (or at least I hope) mail campaign.
Cold calling is also on the plans as I'm still doing more research on implementing a good system. In the meantime, any advice from more seasoned investors/Marketing experts would be greatly appreciated.
Rental Property Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2012 · 502 posts · 263 votes
9y
@Account Closed I was not trying to discourage you. Do the mailings, stay consistent for 6 months. Dallas is extremely competitive, but there are deals to be had.
Sounds like you have experience already, but executing the basics well will help you out in a competitive market. Answer the phone (got that covered with Pat Live). Schedule appointments on everyone who seems even remotely motivated. If you do this right, you have a better chance of being the first and only investor they call. Get it under contract on the appointment. If you can't get it locked up...follow up, follow up, follow up. Most people don't consistently do this. I just signed a contract yesterday on a house we've been following up on for 4 months.
Flipper/Rehabber · West Hartford, CT · Member since 2013 · 128 posts · 52 votes
9y
@Account Closed I've been looking into private marketing for a few months now. It's getting more and more challenging to find deals on the MLS anymore so I'm interested to see how you fair with your campaign.
You mentioned you'll be sending to the same list for the next 6 months. How many pieces will you be sending to the individual? Are these postcards or letters? Will you send the same piece of mail each time or do you plan on changing it up each time?
St. Louis, MO · Member since 2017 · 10 posts · 4 votes
9y
Newbie question here about this. Is the end goal of these campaigns to just get a house with no realtor fees that the seller would have to pay or get them before anyone else? I guess what my question is, wouldn't someone who may sell already have and idea what their home is worth thus negating any deal you might get anyway?
And what is the cost of doing one of these campaigns? I'm sure it depends on size and area but on average is there a cost per letter or mailing you can figure?
Real Estate Agent · Richardson, TX · Member since 2014 · 511 posts · 161 votes
9y
@Taylor Shapiro I'm using zip letters (You can check out yellowletters.com to see the format). It will be 6 letters to the same people for 6 months (1 letter per month). I might do postcards on the 2nd or third month. I'm still debating whether or not I should change the message or use the same letter/format for the same 6 months. I'll keep everyone posted!
@Brian Buchanan Getting deals on the MLS has become very challenging for me. There are a lot of people who are able to pay with cash or get cheaper financing and as a result, they are able to pay more for properties on the MLS. The goal is to find off market deals at deep discount so I can either wholesale/rehab them myself. It cost me 79 cents per letter but cost varies depending on how many letters you order.
Rehabber · DC/MD/VA · Member since 2016 · 18 posts · 9 votes
9y
@Brian Buchanan The purpose of campaigns is to get deals before anyone else and to negotiate directly with the seller to get a win/win price.
@Account ClosedToday I made the decision to start a mail campaign. I'm going to research how to get my mailing list and which company to use, but I definitely have decided to do it and I've set a budget.
One idea I read about today (in The Rehab Investor's Bible by Esajian) is to partner with a realtor, contractor, real estate attorney, or other real estate professional to split the cost of marketing by including them on the marketing materials. I think the idea is that it may give an unknown investor more credibility. Also, someone may not want an investor right now, but may need a contractor or want to talk to an attorney, so they will be more likely to notice the mailings.
I'm only sharing this not because I think you should do it, but because the idea of sharing the marketing appealed to me, so I wanted to pass along bright ideas.
Rental Property Investor · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2015 · 222 posts · 126 votes
9y
@Account Closed -- You have created quite a plan and I applaude you for that. From someone with intimate knowledge of both Texas and direct mail marketing, everything sounds in order. I do have some questions:
1) You mentioned you MIGHT test postcards. How sure are you?
2) Will you be doing any split a/b testing?
3) White envelopes or colored envelopes?
As you already know, the DFW market is super saturated with investors crawling and overpaying for deals, so keep to your plan. Typically, you only need one deal to make the campaign worth it!
Real Estate Investor · Houston, TX · Member since 2014 · 173 posts · 128 votes
9y
@Account Closed, Congratulations on having a plan, committing to it for 6 months and being willing to post results. I look forward to hearing your results. Also, what type neighborhoods, size of homes, etc. did you select to pull your list from?
Rental Property Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2012 · 502 posts · 263 votes
9y
@Account Closed Good luck on your campaign! Interested to hear your results. I stopped doing direct mail earlier this year, but at the time my response rates were a little under 0.25% (mostly letters and postcards). Even though you are mailing a very competitive list, I'd expect at least one or two deals to come out of it.
Real Estate Agent · Richardson, TX · Member since 2014 · 511 posts · 161 votes
9y
@Matt McConkey I've heard both, good and bad things about postcards. I'm still debating whether I'll be using them on my 2nd or 3rd batch. Have you had any luck using them?
I still haven't decided if I will do a split a/b testing. It has crossed my mind and I'm looking to get more input and do more research before sending my second batch.
As of right now, I'm using a zip letter which is a gray envelope. It is one of those envelopes that look as if they were coming from a government agency. I've personally received this type of envelopes and I always open them because it looks like it is an urgent letter that must be open.
@Eddie Egelston I have all my family down in Texas so I decided to finally relocate after 8 years living in Chicago.
@Tom Cooper I targeted suburban "C" areas with an ARV of 150,000-250,000. I'm focusing on single family homes with a sq footage under 3,000.
@Andrew Herrig What kind of letters did you send and what neighborhoods did you focus on? .25 % seems a bit low but maybe it's due to the tough competitive Dallas housing market. What criteria did you use? I've heard it's very hard to flip properties in the north side of Dallas. I'm focusing more on C neighborhoods with lower ARV (150,000-250,000).
Rental Property Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2012 · 502 posts · 263 votes
9y
@Account Closed Are you focusing on the southern suburbs of Dallas? I like those areas for rentals. Don't own any down there because it's too far away from me, but have wholesaled to other landlords in those areas.
If you do better than 0.25% response rate, I definitely want to know about it. Just FYI, I count a lead as someone who I was actually able to talk to and was not a "take me off your list" call, so adjust metrics accordingly.
There is a ton of flipping going on in North Dallas. The problem is competition. Investors are crawling all over DFW, but particularly in North Dallas and northern suburbs.
Real Estate Agent · Richardson, TX · Member since 2014 · 511 posts · 161 votes
9y
@Andrew Herrig I'm a bit concerned about the response rate now. I was expecting a lower response rate in the Dallas area due to competition. I get about 2 % response rate in the Chicagoland area but is far way less competitive than Dallas. I'm focusing on Garland and Mesquite for now and down the road I might include south Dallas on my list.
Rental Property Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2012 · 502 posts · 263 votes
9y
@Account Closed I was not trying to discourage you. Do the mailings, stay consistent for 6 months. Dallas is extremely competitive, but there are deals to be had.
Sounds like you have experience already, but executing the basics well will help you out in a competitive market. Answer the phone (got that covered with Pat Live). Schedule appointments on everyone who seems even remotely motivated. If you do this right, you have a better chance of being the first and only investor they call. Get it under contract on the appointment. If you can't get it locked up...follow up, follow up, follow up. Most people don't consistently do this. I just signed a contract yesterday on a house we've been following up on for 4 months.
Bluford, IL · Member since 2014 · 11 posts · 2 votes
9y
Who did you use to get your list data? Listsource, Melissadata, Listability, Click2mail, etc.? I'm getting ready to do my first direct mail campaign and haven't decided who to use yet, mainly due to lack of experience with any of these companies.
I expect my first campaign to be smaller in total mailers, probably in the neighborhood of 500 to 700. I'll be mailing my list 150 or so per week, every week for the next 6 months.
Real Estate Agent · Richardson, TX · Member since 2014 · 511 posts · 161 votes
9y
@Andrew Herrig Thanks for the great advice! I'll make sure to stay consistent. On the plus side, I'll be doing this full time so it will give me plenty of time to focus on the business.
@Luka Milicevic It's 79 cents per letter but I received an extra 10-15 % off after buying a membership from yellow letters.
Rental Property Investor · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2015 · 222 posts · 126 votes
9y
@Account Closed -- Postcards = less expensive, of course, but yes, letters can have a better call rate. In my experience, I only mail to a specialized niche and my response rate was about the same with postcards or letters. When I can send out two PC to one letter, it's a no brainer.
Zip cards. Those have a couple of different names, but those are pretty neat. I actually got one of those at work a couple weeks ago, opened it up and it was a marketing piece. Thought it was the government! They got me for sure!
Investor · Princeton, TX · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
@Account Closed It will be very interested to see if you get any deals from this. You did not say exactly what area you were sending them to. I really do not think it will matter. In the DFW area I doubt you will find any good deals this way.
We have a huge number of real estate investors here, it is unlikely you are sending any letters to people that have not gotten 4 or 5 others this month per property.
Real Estate Agent · Richardson, TX · Member since 2014 · 511 posts · 161 votes
9y
@Account Closed I'm focusing on mesquite and garland tx. What other methods do you think I should implement to find good deals? Are you saying I shouldnt implement direct mail given the tough competition in the dallas market?
Real Estate Investor · Houston, TX · Member since 2014 · 173 posts · 128 votes
9y
@Account Closed, Don't listen to the naysayers. Stay the course, be patient, and let those potential sellers see your message repeatedly. Most of the other DM folks quit after one or two mailings and many others don't answer the phone or return calls. I had a friend recently tell me he called on 13 different direct mail letters he received on one of his rental properties and only 3 called him back and I think one of those three was not for about three days. So while there may be lot doing direct mail in competitive markets, very few are doing it consistently or well.
Real Estate Agent · Richardson, TX · Member since 2014 · 511 posts · 161 votes
9y
Quick update.97 % of my letters have been delivered since Wednesday of last week. I've only received 3 calls and all of them asked me to remove them from the list. I hope to receive more calls throughout the week. I would assume most of the calls come in as soon as the potential seller receives the letter? If anyone could provide some input it would be greatly appreciated.