Average costs for Direct Mail??

Question

Hello!

I've been a lurker on BP forever and finally taking some action steps! Right now I am building lists to target absentee owners. I have a few questions and would welcome any feedback.

1- I've built list with Listsource so far, but wondering if anyone can recommend any others they've used.

2- What is the average cost I should expect to spend per mailing? This is for cost of list, postcard/letter, and postage.

Thanks in advance!

Stefanie

Tim G. · Answer

Sometimes I think the ones who made the most money during the gold rush were those selling the shovels and buckets if you know what I mean

Tim G. · Answer

From what I've seen on BP folks pay WAY too much for data and letters. You've gotta shop around a little. I should add, I'm a full time wholesaler so I have put the time and effort into learning this well.

On data, I pay $200 a month for 8,000 leads but its a year long commitment. Its also data I must select myself, I get no hand holding or assistance. Its not probate or tax liens. But can be almost anything else if I know how to find it.

On mail I pay .50 per letter (yellow of standard) and .38-.40 on postcards depending on some variables.

Stefanie A. · Answer

@Claire Trammell Thanks for the welcome and response! Glad to hear that about your results. And also now I understand why the cost seems high for a list of 463 properties @cost of $200.

Ryan Donohue · Answer

@Stefanie A. congrats on taking action! It took me a little while but I finally did it about a month ago myself so I might be able to shed a wee bit of info on pricing and such.

1-I used listsource ~400 leads for about $80.  I heard that theres a ton of others(I have a list somewhere I can send if you'd be interested)  but I liked the ease of listsource.  But bewarned that I did some spot checks on my list with the tax assessors and found that the list I purchased was OUTDATED.

2- So I spent about $80 for the list and $245 for a total of 500 postcards TOTAL TOTAL was $325.

Feel free to message me on any questions you might have.  I used yellowletterscomplete for the mailing/postage.

Adam Kulig · Answer

Tim,

I'm in Florida. Do you mind sharing the lead company you use for 200 per month?  I'm starting a real estate business and your numbers seem much more reasonable for the leads.  Also, how did you automate your mailings?  If you are using all of your leads, your annual marketing budget is about 50K.  Is that correct or do you sift through the 8000 monthly leads and do smaller more targeted mailings.  I want to start in my local market first and as I get experience to grow the business.  Thanks in advance for any information you choose to share.

Regards,

Adam

Justin Silverio · Answer

As others have mentioned, the list and cost of mailers can vary.  I see a lot of people selecting lists/mailers based on price only (read "the cheapest") and they don't fully understand what they are losing by doing so.  Make sure you understand the differences before selecting.  One example is the cost difference between postcards and letters.  While postcards are cheaper, your response rate will be significantly less than that of letters.

Ryan Donohue · Answer

@Stefanie A. I got about a 1.5% response on the first mailing.  Feel free to message me about any questions you have.  Dont worry about putting too much thought into the actual verbage on the postcard...follow tried and true templates on the mailing websites!

Claire Trammell · Answer

Hello @Stefanie A.! Welcome to the BP Community!

It sounds like you are on the right track! Listsource.com is who we use primarily. We have seen some good results with the lists from them since we can narrow down the leads with specific criteria.

I did want to throw in my 2 cents about the price per mailing: the cost will not only depend on the postage you choose, but also the type of mail piece you decide to use. For example, a postcard will be cheaper than a yellow letter, simply because of the materials necessary. Also, sometimes the quantity can effect the price per piece.

Feel free to PM me if I can help! :-)

Donnie Masters · Answer

Let me just say that direct mail costs change depending on how much you want targeted information. A general list is relatively inexpensive, where a targeted list is more expensive.

For example, leads in a specific subdivision, or zip code are a lot more expensive than just city and state listings. Also, keep in mind that a lot of basic information is available for free.

Stefanie A. · Answer

@Ryan Donohue Thanks so much for your reply! And good info about checking against tax assessors for outdated info. I will definitely look into yellowletterscomplete for mailing.

May I ask how was the response rate to your first mailing?

Thanks,

Stefanie

Average costs for Direct Mail??

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