All Forum Posts by: Justin Silverio

@Justin Jarmon as Claire mentioned, we can't self promote but here's my recommendation.  Put time into the lists that you are building.  I wouldn't just go to a mailing house and ask them to pull you a list because you're likely going to get the same list that everyone else has.  I personally recommend DFD, tax liens, specialty niche lists.  I do use absente, equity & senior lists but this is only so I can cross check them with my other lists.  A successful direct mail campaign takes time to create.  As for your mailers, I always recommend sending something different than your competition.  If everyone is sending a specific type of mailer, maybe you should send something different so you get noticed.  Finally, make sure you're consistent in your mailing.  This means having enough capital to spend over the next 6 months (at a min).  DM takes time to build momentum so if you stop after the 1st or 2nd round, you will have likely wasted a lot of money.  

I hope that helps.  

@Matt Lefebvre Letters get better response rates than postcards and creative letters get an even higher response rate.  DM takes time but works really well when carried out correctly.  This means getting a quality list, sending unique mailers and being consistent with your mailings.

Looking forward to meeting you @Jeannine Hunter and your husband @Gigi Nguyen.  

@Gigi Nguyen - This event was designed to be very collaborative and enable all attendees to walk away with value.  This group is generally around 30 people and we are all there to connect with other likeminded people and to share experiences, goals, etc.

3 & 4 can be automated using mail merge in microsoft word.

Congratulations @Stephen Hundley.

@Erika A. -  it is at 6:30PM.  Thank you for asking.

@Jimmy Murray - If you want to be on my mailing list, please PM me with your email and you'll get email notifications for the events.

@Tony Zheng - The 3 most important aspects to an effective direct mail campaign are 1) A quality lead list, 2) A quality mailpiece that gets you to stand out. 3) Follow up/Consistency.

1) For a quality lead list, you want to spend time finding niche lists (DFD, tax liens, code violations, etc.).  I realize these types of list takes time to obtain, but they will be much more effective since most investors are mailing to the easy to get lists (absentee, high equity, etc.).

2) There has been a lot of competition in direct mail over the past few years.  Therefore, it's very important that you mail something that will stand out from your competitors.  I spend a lot of time creating mailers that aim to get the best results (last test showed that my mailers were 26.7% more effective than conventional mailers).  Postcards will typically get a 0.5% response rate and letters should get about 3%+.  

3) Follow up and consistency is huge with direct mail.  Since most deals come after the 4th, 5th , 6th mailers, you don't want to stop mailing.  If you can't afford to mail for at least 6 months (1 mailer to each prospect a month), then hold off until you have the funds.  Finally, you want to follow up with the leads that called you back and said "I may be interested in selling at a later time".  I get a lot of deals because I have a system that will remind me to follow up with these people.  

Keep in mind that many investors will use direct mail, but not all of them will do it correctly. This results in more money spent and a low ROI.

I would say test it in your market, but based on a lot of testing in my market and other people's market, the more personalized the mailer, the higher the response rate.

Please join me at the next Boston Investors' Networking Event at Bertucci's in Reading! We will begin with an open forum Q&A segment where you will have the opportunity to ask the group questions related to jump starting your real estate investing business or taking your investing to the next level. Of course there will also be plenty of time for networking so be sure to bring your business cards.

If you haven't been to one of these events, it's a great opportunity to speak with other active investors.

I look forward to seeing you there!

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