Developer · Andover, MA · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 489 votes
I'm hoping the big marketing folks will chime in and provide some stats on the DEAL rate between postcards and yellow letters. I understand that yellow letters have a higher response rate, but rarely do I hear about deal rate.
I haven't done enough variation and tracking to identify any conclusive results.
Please provide your investment strategy when you respond as this may contribute to varying results.
Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2009 · 66 posts · 25 votes
13y
I continue to mail postcards 4.25x 5.5 yellow w/ black ink. Not a lot of calls but good calls. With ten calls I'll get a deal. 2000 postcards, cost 650.00 dollars. A recent house I bought, the guy shoes up with a folder full of mailings. letters, full color postcards, over sized postcards tec. My postcard was the cheapest of the bunch. I asked...why did you call me? He said I mailed him more frequently than the other guys. same thing on a house I bought today. Keep the message simple and be yourself. Just keep mailing and you will buy houses. Always point out the benefits and try to use a little humor. I would still rather send more postcards to the same list fewer letters to a smaller list.
Real Estate Investor · Boston, MA · Member since 2009 · 2k+ posts · 542 votes
13y
I like postcards and if I use the 7 X 7 formula they always get read, even by the mailman.
Now however, comes your offer.... you need an Opportunity with a Deadline for Action.
Wholesaler · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2010 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
13y
I don't know that I qualify as "big marketing folk", but I'd like to chime in. This comes up often.
I get it....Post Cards are a lot cheaper to use than letters. Everyone wants them to work (heck, I wish they did a better job!), and will look for any tid bit of info to use in support of that choice. Unfortunately the data I've collected over the years says otherwise.
Not to beat a dead horse, but this is a numbers game. The more people in your prospect pool you can touch, the more likely you are to get a deal.
I find that I get the same mix of tire kicker to motivated seller ratio from Post Cards as I do for yellow letters, just much fewer of both. The response rate for Post Cards in my area is abysmal which of course translates into fewer deals.
What I did to offset the cost of the letters was learn how to monetize more of the leads, either through referral or follow up.
Wholesaler · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2010 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
13y
Originally posted by Ned Carey:
My theory was that with a post card it didn't have to get opened to get the message across. - Ned
This is true, no opening involved. Unfortunately many get tossed without a second glance. Some of that is accidental, if it happens to hit on the day (usually Friday & Saturday) that all the other Adverts hit, it can get tossed in a big bundle along with all those valuable coupons.
But my experience teaches me that no matter how I dress up or down my Post Card, it will not pull the same. Sorry, but there's just too much evidence that those Post Cards hit the circular file without getting read. To me that makes them very expensive.
Flipper/Rehabber · Bakersfield, CA · Member since 2008 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
13y
Justin Silverio
We sell a bucket load of postcards. Actually a lot of bucket loads... Like most good marketing there is a positive and a negative to the media and postcards aren't any different.
The price of a postcard is very deceiving. Most look at the .35 cents or so and think great price where in reality they shouldn't look at any number other than that of conversion rates, ROI and more importantly the cost of the infrastructure for the capture and fulfillment systems of the mail types.
In short if I were only sending a few thousand pieces on a rotation I would send Yellow Letters followed by a Zip Letter/Check and then a postcard. Then recycle.
If I were sending more than 50,000 pieces of mail I would only send Zips and Postcards.
I like mixing up the piece but not mixing up the message. IMHO people don't notice something until they have a reason to so design a great Postcard or Zip and stick to it. If you do change the message don't change the layout.
Currently I am not seeing good results from pictorials so I would stay away from the 4/4 color cards. Mainly because they cant utilize variable data like the font cards can.. Variable data is a hugely important.
Flipper/Rehabber · Arlington, TX · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
13y
I agree with Michael Quarles. Almost every piece we are developing now is a variable print piece.
We use (mostly variable print) postcards that employ high-level branding that - we believe - is memorable even when they are only seen for a few seconds. And all our marketing has a common "look and feel" so they know they have seen it before. To Michael's point, you need to have your message there at the time the need arises for the home seller.
As a marketer with 30 years of experience, I'm not sure if the question is YL vs. PC. I think it's about creating awareness, laser focused targeting & messaging, and branding - all done CONSISTENTLY over time. We'll do direct mail (postcards) to our lists, followed up by door hangers in our target areas. The postcards and door hangers have the same look, messaging, etc. It is these multiple touch points, over time, that cause people to remember you and contact you when they have an urgent need to get out of their house.
Developer · Andover, MA · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 489 votes
13y
Mike Hurney Yes, I usually have a call to action on my direct mail.
Jerry Puckett You are one of the big marketing folks I was referring to. Thanks for sharing your experience with PC/YLs. That's interesting to hear that you get the same ratio of tire kickers to solid leads. I completely agree that it's a numbers game. I'm been doing a decent amount of direct mail but am in the process of ramping it by 4x.
Michael Quarles Historically, I have been mixing up my mail pieces with YLs and postcards. I really like the options you provide and think the zip letters are pretty cool. The only issue that I ran into is that you require a min. of 1,000 mailers to be sent at once. I currently have a FT job so anything more than 500 mailers a week would be too overwhelming.
Another general question. How many prospects are on your mailing list?
Flipper/Rehabber · Bakersfield, CA · Member since 2008 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
13y
Justin Silverio
If your list has more than 500 "Good" addresses we can run it through the NCOA system which is the beginning process of a huge postal discount. The second step is our sorting software and third is the tracking software all of this requires minimums unfortunately. So send us a list a little over 500 and lets us see if it takes the addresses...
Just a note about Door Hangers. If you design one and are using it for Mortgage Lates, Lis Pends or NODs make it one sided and hang it facing the door... If you face it out youll get some angry callers.
Flipper/Rehabber · Bakersfield, CA · Member since 2008 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
13y
Keep in mind that the address given by Listsource is the address on file with the County Assessors office which equates to about a 8-10% of bad mailing addresses.
When possible always run a list through the NCOA system...
Real Estate Investor · Oklahoma City, OK · Member since 2009 · 71 posts · 21 votes
13y
I've been marketing since last September and no deal yet. I will say my thinking was to get a deal and then worry about sending more letters or postcards to same address. I thought I will surely get a deal with 3-4000 yellow letters sent out. Don't let response rates fool you too, mine was around 7%. I know my market well too because of all the properties I've looked at and comps I've pulled. I will focus more on Postcards and also setting up a mail campaign every month from now on. Don't let anybody say this business is easy, it takes lots of telling yourself, (This Will Finally Be The Deal).
Real Estate Professional · Salt Lake City, UT · Member since 2010 · 608 posts · 163 votes
13y
Originally posted by Michael Quarles:
Currently I am not seeing good results from pictorials so I would stay away from the 4/4 color cards. Mainly because they cant utilize variable data like the font cards can.. Variable data is a hugely important.
Please explain "pictorials" & "Variable Data" in the context of PC. Great thread everyone! Thank You.
Real Estate Professional · Falls Church, VA · Member since 2012 · 238 posts · 83 votes
13y
Variable data is when you can insert specific text into certain fields on your mailer, such as seller's name and property address. It personalizes the piece.
As to the 4/4 color cards, I have been sending them WITH variable data recently and gotten a resoundingly silent response. Much lower than what I get from my non-glossy yellow postcards to the same addresses.
I believe Sharon Vornholt commented recently that she has had to discontinue using them too because they didn't work in her market (correct me if I'm wrong Sharon).
Once again highlighting that it's important to know your market and understand that what works in CA or OK might not work in KY or DC, big city vs small town, etc.
Real Estate Investor · Boston, MA · Member since 2009 · 2k+ posts · 542 votes
13y
Hey Alison Miller what's that cost for the postcards?
Sometimes I'll use Vistaprint and sometimes I'll cheap-out copying 4 cards to a sheet (max pc size for pc rate) on card stock.
Fontana, CA · Member since 2013 · 98 posts · 1 vote
13y
Scotty Hamill
So true. This business is more than just sending letters, postcards etc. You have to learn to be creative and stand out but more importantly, it has to be "personable". Offer giveaways or free reports. I'm working towards email marketing and door knocking
Real Estate Professional · Falls Church, VA · Member since 2012 · 238 posts · 83 votes
13y
Mike Hurney, you can check out yellowletters.com or click2mail.com. Both have calculators for your piece and quantity. YL offers lots of personal help as well, whereas click2mail is definitely a do-it-yourself operation.
Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2012 · 135 posts · 80 votes
13y
Scotty Hamill Thats my worst fear!!!! :0( Sending out 4,000 + letters and no response....
Michael Quarles does your company help with list or no? I will have between 6-10K total to get started in Real Estate in the next few months and I was thinking about using that money all for marketing. And my plan was to get a list and send out a 3 month campaign of letters and post cards (1 every 4 weeks) but my biggest fear is "what if i don't get a deal?"
And from seeing everyone's success on here with marketing I have to believe that an unsuccessful campaign can be only attributed to a bad list (or list criteria for that matter)