"Dumb question" about my Direct Mail Campaign

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"Dumb question" about my Direct Mail Campaign

Amanda Fox
Professional · Denver, CO · Member since 2013 · 69 posts · 29 votes

I CANNOT FIND the answer to these basic question on BP (I'm sure I'm just not looking in the right spot - Aahh!) HERE IS MY DIRECT MAIL CAMPAIGN PLAN. 6 mailers (at least) to a targeted list of approx 500 properties (vacant and distressed found by driving neighborhoods once a week eventually growing to 500) once a month for 6 monthes, scrub the list, keep sending mailers to the remaining and add new properties to get back up to 500.

OK, my 4 QUESTIONS are: Should I send a mix of "handwritten" personal letters (definitely not yellow letter since everyone else seems to be doing this - hah. Planning to send a small folded white sheet with blue "handwriting" (I turned my handwriting into a font) writing in a small envelope) and postcards (planning oversized) in my 6 step campaign?? If yes, should my personal letter seem like it is from a different person than my postcard and not have my business name?? Should I write a different message in each personal letter and each postcard or should it be the same message?? Does anyone have suggestions for my marketing campaign?? THANK YOU!!!

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Vanessa Blais
Wholesaler · Port Richey, FL · Member since 2013 · 76 posts · 40 votes
12y

Well, I did direct mail marketing for 6 of the 8 years that I was investing in RE, and I've spent my time since then doing direct response copywriting, so I can throw my hat in here...

First, targeting, targeting, targeting, targeting, targeting, and did I mention, targeting?

I never put money into direct mail just to houses that were abandoned. Just because no one is in them, doesn't mean they're in any kind of distress.

Now, I used a service called 'Foreclosures Daily' (which last I heard had gone out of business, but I saw something very similar to it on SREIA's website today, so maybe they're back, or a replacement is...) I subscribed to 3 counties and every day, I could log in to the site, and get the lists of every Lis Pendens that was filed in the clerks' offices of all 3 counties the day before.

*If your county(ies) have their public records searches available online and you're computer savvy, you can use macros to mine the same data every day. (You can also outsource the macro creation to someone who is computer savvy if you aren't, and expect to pay $50-$75 an hour for them to do it. Hours will be dependent on the number of counties you want to mine data from.)

Next, I used Microsofts Streets & Trips program to create a route to go see all of these houses on the list that day, and though knocking on doors or leaving door hangers did yield some results, what I was really out there looking for was the houses that were in foreclosure and had already been abandoned. Once they've left the house, the emotional attachment is gone and they're out of the mindset of 'save my house.'

Everyone got mail... 7-11 pieces (this depended on the equity in the house, as Foreclosures Daily didn't just give us the Lis Pendens Info, but ALL the public info on each property- how many mortgages, how much each was, the assessed value, the physical and mailing addresses of the owners according to the tax collector, etc, etc etc.)

I didn't do 'yellow letters.' I did a post card and then letters. All my letters were typed, but the envelopes were hand addressed by my assistant or me, and had a live stamp, and in BIG RED LETTERS had the words "Check Enclosed" written on the envelope. Inside was a very, very, very obviously not REAL check, with a GIANT "VOID" stamp right on it, with instructions to call us for a real check.

The next letter was usually an 'advertorial' with a yellow post it note attached that said "Thought you should see this," -J.

Then the remainder of the series just continued to give them more reasons to call us.

Hope that helps somewhat. :)

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  • Dev HornPro Member
    Flipper/Rehabber · Arlington, TX · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    13y

    Driving for dollars is fine, mainly I do it to get to know new neighborhoods within my "farm area". Yes, I'll record some addresses (I drive for dollars on my motorcycle and record comments into the voice recorder on my android phone), and I'll do a little research on distressed properties... but...

    You'll never see enough from the street to replace the ways you can reach people with targeted lists such as absentee.

    Now, devil's advocate on driving for dollars - I see a lot of people waste a lot of time chasing down some lead they saw while DforD just to see it turn up to be NOTHING because the seller was NOT MOTIVATED. Be careful not to make that mistake. Good marketing can get REAL motivated sellers to CALL YOU.

    0Reply
  • Amanda Fox
    OP
    Professional · Denver, CO · Member since 2013 · 69 posts · 29 votes
    13y

    Super good to know, Dev Horn, thank you. We've got some decisions to make!

    0Reply
  • Travis Lauchman
    Investor · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2013 · 65 posts · 23 votes
    12y

    @Amanda Fox thanks for beginning this great discussion. Just wanted to follow up and ask what decisions you have made and how your marketing campaign is going for you?

    Also, at the very beginning on this thread you mentioned you were able to turn your hand-writing into a 'typeable' font. How'd you do that?

    Hope you are kickin' *** in Denver!

    0Reply
  • Amanda Fox
    OP
    Professional · Denver, CO · Member since 2013 · 69 posts · 29 votes
    12y

    @Travis Lauchman I wish I could say we are kicking *** in Denver, but man it continues to be a rough road! I do have some updates on the direct mail. We sent 300 yellow letters (we bought canary yellow paper and printed the lines and text on the paper. turned out super realistic. I posted the lines in the fileplace you can find them there under my name. It's just a word doc.) You can transfer your handwriting to a font at http://www.myscriptfont.com/ the site was super easy and the font turns out awesome (and it's free)

    ! We also sent another 300 white letters (attached also) Surprisingly the white letter did noticeably better. We received 1 phone call on the yellow letter and 5 on the white. There are unfortunately some other factors involved, though. The white letter mentioned that my husband was a former real estate broker and the yellow doesn't. There were also 7 other investors sending letters to at least a bunch of our addresses and if those were yellow letters our white letter would have stood out. In all of the addresses we use a small 5 1/2 BAR type envelope and our letters are 5.5 x 8.5. Good luck!!!

    5Reply
  • Todd Plambeck
    Agent/Investor · Murphy, TX · Member since 2013 · 542 posts · 304 votes
    12y

    You should probably to a couple of split tests. Yellow and white letters with the mention of your husbands former broker status and some of each without. The letter with the letterhead and mentioning your husband as a former broker gives a one-two punch of professionalism and credibility if you buy into that premise. The results would be very interesting.

    1Reply
  • Travis Lauchman
    Investor · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2013 · 65 posts · 23 votes
    12y

    @Amanda Fox Thanks so much for the reply and examples. Letters look like they turned out great. With persistence and focus I'm sure that even if you aren't necessarily kicking *** yet it's bound to happen soon.

    I am likely going to begin with white letters and will try to post language I end up using on this thread and fileplace.

    Thanks!

    0Reply
  • Thomas Morgan
    Commercial Real Estate Agent · Carbondale, CO · Member since 2010 · 46 posts · 7 votes
    12y
    This might be the best thread on direct mail! Thanks for all the tips! Curious as to whether you decided to buy lists in addition to driving for $ ? And whether or not your handwritten letters are better performing than your type font letters or postcard?
    1Reply
  • Travis West
    The Woodlands, TX · Member since 2013 · 87 posts · 40 votes
    12y

    @Amanda Fox.

    I tried to create my own font using the process you explained.

    It's really very easy. But I had a concern.

    When they finish your font, they ask you to download a .exe file. That's an executable file. I did download it and before opening it, i did some research on it. Several sites said it was "suspect" as in ... it could contain a virus or trojan horse.

    I am pretty internet savvy so I accepted it knowing if there was a problem, my AVG security software would find it ... Sure enough, when unpacking the font that was created for me, my AVG found a virus AND a Trojan Horse. It proceeded to segregate them - isolate them so they couldn't do my computer any harm. So, I went ahead and installed it.

    Then ... whoa! To my surprise, the very next window I saw was a "Weatherbug" window. Sure, it just tells me the weather in lots of areas and locations, but hey! I didn't want Weatherbug. I've had it before and it's poorly written and causes conflicts with other programs that I use.

    So ... my advice to anyone who is monitoring this thread it to "tread carefully" if you really want a font in your personal script. Be prepared to deal with a virus, a trojan and even (heaven forbid) Weatherbug!

    Forewarned ... is fore-armed!

    Travis West

    4Reply
  • Gary Parker
    Real Estate Professional · Salt Lake City, UT · Member since 2010 · 608 posts · 163 votes
    12y

    Agree with @Travis West . I discovered the same thing when looking for different fonts. Be careful out there!

    1Reply
  • Amanda Fox
    OP
    Professional · Denver, CO · Member since 2013 · 69 posts · 29 votes
    12y

    @Travis West @Gary Parker Whoa, didn't even cross my mind and I'm usually pretty savvy myself when it comes to avoiding viruses, etc. @Travis Lauchman would be good to read their posts as well - freaky!! @Thomas Morgan thank you so much and to everyone else who has been so helpful on this thread!! We opted not to use a typed version, only the two handwritten that I attached. There is so much evidence on BP that handwritten is best, that we went that route. We did purchase out of state absentee, high-equity addresses. If you have a large marketing budget, it would be good in my not at all experienced opinion to go that route and also do research to get a better, more focused list (i.e. inheritance, probate, etc.) It would require searching public records, maybe going to the courthouse, etc. However, if you have a smaller marketing budget and can only send maybe 1000 letters, I would focus on using only the higher quality leads. Everyone buys the list, it's easy, there's a bunch of other investors who will mail to your same addresses. We have 7 other investors at least according to one of our calls.

    We started driving for dollars last week and will send typed letters with a picture of their house in the letter and on the envelope, handwritten "notes" on each letter and handwritten addresses (ala Driving for Dollars Bible in the BP blog). Look for my next BP blog (dropping sometime this week hopefully) when I detail all of our efforts so far and the leads we've gotten. Good luck everyone!!

    1Reply
  • Shaun Reilly
    Landlord and Rehabber · Newton, MA · Member since 2010 · 2k+ posts · 877 votes
    12y

    The letters look really good @Amanda Fox to bad it sounds like others see issues with using the font creator you recommended.

    I was all set to check it out. :)

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    San Diego, CA · Member since 2013 · 16 posts · 2 votes
    12y

    This is an amazing thread with everyone posting in here so as a newbie I want to say thanks.

    I have one question. I've seen multiple websites that you can receive mailing lists for different types of properties. Are there any preferred sites that anyone uses or other methods? I have all my letters in place, I just need addresses now.
    Thanks again.

    1Reply
  • Tony Legendre
    Rio Rancho, NM · Member since 2013 · 8 posts · 1 vote
    12y

    great thread!

    0Reply
  • Blair Halver
    Real Estate Entrepreneur · Winston-Salem, NC · Member since 2008 · 101 posts · 40 votes
    12y
    Originally posted by Cody Callarman:
    This is an amazing thread with everyone posting in here so as a newbie I want to say thanks.
    I have one question. I've seen multiple websites that you can receive mailing lists for different types of properties. Are there any preferred sites that anyone uses or other methods? I have all my letters in place, I just need addresses now. Thanks again.

    Listsource is just about all we use. It gets the job done well. Make sure you call in to talk to a sales rep - they'll try to talk you into committing to monthly payments, just decline, but see if they can convert your account from a "web customer" account to a regular client account. This waives your $50 minimum order fee, and gets you better pricing on names. It also allows you to purchase lists with your CC right on the site instead of having to use Paypal.

    4Reply
  • Gary Parker
    Real Estate Professional · Salt Lake City, UT · Member since 2010 · 608 posts · 163 votes
    12y

    @Amanda Fox I am very interested in how your marketing goes specifically with the pictures of the house in your mailers to the target of driving for dollars houses. I currently find houses driving around mostly because I do a lot of driving around and send a very general letter stating nothing about the condition of their house. Do you mention at all the condition of the house in your letter?

    1Reply
  • Amanda Fox
    OP
    Professional · Denver, CO · Member since 2013 · 69 posts · 29 votes
    12y

    @Shaun Reilly I know, right?! I have to say, I don't know if it has to do with having a Mac, but I haven't seen any issues. However, still seems pretty sketch.

    @Account Closed we use listsource.com worked great and really reputable. Like 60$ for 600 addresses.

    @Tony Legendre I'm always amazed at how helpful so many people are on BP. So helpful!!

    2Reply
  • Amanda Fox
    OP
    Professional · Denver, CO · Member since 2013 · 69 posts · 29 votes
    12y

    @Gary Parker Would love to give you an update! Check in with me in a few weeks in case I forget. We won't mention the condition, I feel like it would insult 1/2 the people we'd be sending to.

    And, this may be a bad idea :) but we wrote down vacant as well as distressed home addresses. In one neighborhood there was only one vacant house, but 21 distressed and we theorize (we'll see) that some owners with a distressed home are also in a financial or other hardship and may be open to selling.

    Amanda

    1Reply
  • Account Closed
    San Diego, CA · Member since 2013 · 16 posts · 2 votes
    12y

    Thank you @Blair Halver and @Amanda Fox, This was more than helpful!

    0Reply
  • Gary Parker
    Real Estate Professional · Salt Lake City, UT · Member since 2010 · 608 posts · 163 votes
    12y

    @Amanda Fox I too mail to distressed if I see them. I have picked up a few short sales but nothing with equity.

    0Reply
  • Dave Grosse
    Wholesaler · Belleville, IL · Member since 2009 · 206 posts · 44 votes
    12y

    @Amanda Fox do you guys switch up the content of the letter on successive mailings or does it stay the same?

    0Reply
  • Amanda Fox
    OP
    Professional · Denver, CO · Member since 2013 · 69 posts · 29 votes
    12y

    We do change the message every time. We do letter, letter, postcard, letter, letter, postcard. We just sent out our first postcard and have had a decent response so far. I can send you attachments of everything we've sent so far if that would be helpful?! I struggled with the idea of the handwritten message and the simple wording. I had thought that people would respond better to a professional image. It's been a lesson to me of why it's vital to do the research and that your gut feeling is often not correct. Thank goodness we did the research!!

    2Reply
  • Melodee Lucido
    Real Estate Investor · OR · Member since 2012 · 390 posts · 133 votes
    12y

    What a great thread! Thank you everyone. I LOVE direct mail. Marketing is just another word for testing.

    Amanda, how is your campaign going now?

    0Reply
  • Tere R.
    Virgnia Beach, VA · Member since 2013 · 7 posts · 1 vote
    12y

    Great information here. I am impresed at this website and how everyone is willing to share so much information. I am also wondering how is your marketing going and can you send attachments like you mentioned before?

    I have a very small budget and I want to use it wisely.

    0Reply
  • Marcus Maloney
    Rental Property Investor · Queen Creek, AZ · Member since 2013 · 368 posts · 191 votes
    12y
    I didn't get a chance to read everyone's reply, but simply put why change a technique that have produced results continuously. Yellow letter marketing is clearly a successful way to market. I suggest continue driving for dollars, but to find 500 vacant houses is challenging or did I miss something? You can purchase a list for $100-$200 of any niche you would like and mail to the list 6 times would be more affordable and more than likely produce better results.
    0Reply
  • Will F.
    Investor · Los Angeles County, CA · Member since 2012 · 962 posts · 279 votes
    12y

    Is there a way to just blanket direct mailers to a lot of people? Do I have to hire for this or go through post office (which can send to different mailing routes) How do you all do this? I'd rather do volume than handwrite them as I don't have a lot of time

    0Reply
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