Manual Labor Authenticity VS Using A Direct Mail Company?

Question

Hey BP Peeps,

I've started putting my direct mail marketing together and after a couple dozen mailers, I've quickly realized how time consuming it can be. I figured it save on costs but the cost of my time is worth more. I also figured that it would be more authentic with my signature and handwriting on the envelope (the letter is printed in handwriting font and then I sign it).

Does anyone have any anecdotes about switching to using a company? Happy you did and wished you made the switch sooner? What would be a reasonable number of mailers to send out for first campaign - 1000, 2000, 5000?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Michael Pilolla · Answer

That's great info @McKinley Crowley, thank you! Yes, please do direct message me with some info, that would be fantastic. And I appreciate your advice on shopping around. I'll do that to get an idea of cost and services provided. Thanks again!

Jerryll Noorden · Answer

Very welcome.

But please know. I am fiercely against DMM.

I honestly think it just is a horrible way of generating leads.

To successfully generate leads you need 2 things.

Motivated traffic, and a system to convert this traffic into leads.

DMM simply does not target motivated traffic... :/ Sorry.

I replied because I don't always want to  promote SEO like a wildman and I do want to actually answer questions what people asked and provide value. So this is basically the fineprint.. I suppose :)

Michael Pilolla · Answer

@Jerryll Noorden Thank you very much for sharing those numbers! That gives me a great perspective of where to start and what to expect. Thanks again.

Jerryll Noorden · Answer

testing different designs to see which performs better, I would send about 500 like the person above me said.

If you are looking to make money and make a deal. at least 3000 on the low end and 5000 mailers is a nice amount to start getting 1 to 3 deals.

McKinley Crowley · Answer

Happy to help :)

McKinley Crowley · Answer

@Michael Pilolla I would start with no less than 500 leads to get going and make sure you budget to mail multiple times. Typically with a lot of investors the time doesnt justify the means when it comes to doing direct mail yourself. I cant tell you how many time I got on the phone with people who were tired of writing their own letters.

One option to maintain that personal touch would be to use a photo of your signature and add it to your mail piece when you outsource that way you still get that authentic signature but spend way less time.

I will message you more info but I would check out other options and at least do some price shopping to see if it is worth it for you to outsource. Cheers!