All Forum Posts by: Shane Foster

I am closing this offer down tonight at midnight. To answer a few more frequent questions we are getting:

• You can combine mailing list to get this discount (IE if you have 3 different list of 400).
• You do not have to mail everything at once. We can break this up into increments of 250 or more. But you will need to use your credit till January
• We do everything from start to finish, just send us your list, pay and answer the phone.

It's called skip tracing. The easier ones to sign up with are junk. If you want results you will need to sign up with a legit company. TLO.com is one investors use and microbilt.com. I will warn you, it is a lot of hoops to jump through. But once you get it, the flood gates will open.  

 Looking forward to working with you David. Please let me know if you have any questions.

You can actually use the street address for the post office. Instead of PO 123, Pittsburgh, PA 12345 it will read 123 main st #123, Pittsburgh PA 12345. Ask the clerk, you will need to fill out a form. Most clerks do not even know about this rule.  https://ribbs.usps.gov/mtcsa/documents/tech_guides/PBSAGuide.pdf

But never use your home address for direct mail. A lot creeps out there.

We are going to extend this offer till Wednesday (12/17/14). I received a lot of emails and wanted to make a quick Q&A for future references. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. If you need help obtaining a lst, we can assist. We have brokers who can supply absentee list, vacant list, and a few other special list.

Q. Can we "pre-purchase" letters with this offer to avoid having these send around the holidays.

A. We are going to allow everyone to pre-purchase letters under the $.58 per letter deal. You will still need to pre-purchase at least 1000 letters and you will need to use your credit by 1/31/15.  YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SEND 1000 letters at once. You can break them up. But your credit must be used by 1/31/15. Simply just click on the order page and in the special note filled, let us know you are pre-purchasing letters.

Q. Can we these be used for agents.

A. Yes, we have a few templates for agents. We can also send a professional letter. For pricing for professional letters please email us for a quote. 

Q. What is included and the turn around time:

A. Simply put, you give us your list and message and we handle everything else. Your letters are sent directly to your recipients. We typically finish order in only a few days. We will send you a picture of your completed mail for proof of completion and will send you a letter to your billing address for tracking. 

You are better off contacting your city/county's code enforcement. Get a list of condemned properties. In my county they give letter grades for condition of a property.

Listsource is not going to be able to tell you the condition of the property.

Offering a special this week until Sunday (12/14/14) for biggerpockets members only.

Must order 1000 or more letters to get special pricing:

With your order your get:

• Custom yellow letter with your verbiage, or use proven templates.
• FREE LIST CLEANING. We will run your list through our system to get the most up to date addresses and can identify potential undelivered mail.
• Standard Class Postage (first class postage is an additional $.19).
• Price per letter is $0.58 for standard class mail or $0.77
• We handle everything from start to finish. Just send us your list and answer your phone.

To order visit yellowletterservice.com and click on the PLACE ORDER. Use coupon code BP002. If you do not have a list, we can help you get one.

I like to sign my letters "not only the client, i'm the playa president".

Congrats... You may certainly hold the record for "most consecutive handwritten letters by one person". My hands are cramping thinking about it doing that. Personally I would not focus solely on direct mail, and if 3k is all you have- I would not spend it all in one month. Break it up into 3-5 months.

To keep track of everything for DM, create a quick template in excel. Create a follow up date of 6 weeks. I would get 3 mailing list. Aim for vacants, probate, code violations. Mail to them 6 times every 6 weeks. You can choose what mail piece you want. I do short yl, postcard, long yl, professional letter and short yl or postcard. It takes 2 to 6 "touches" for recipients to get comfortable with you before they respond. Then add the list to a master file and do a big drop twice a year of postcards. If you choose YL, I would avoid sending more than 250-500 per week tops. Managing 25-50 phone calls each week while working full time will stress you out. Also invest in PATLIVE answering service. I would budget $500-750 per month depending on how you plan to outsource everything. You can expect 100-200 leads. But only 25% will actually want to sell (now you are at 25-50 real leads) 

Create your web presence now. 3 websites (seller, buyer, main site). You can outsource the seo work if you have no clue how to do on odesk.com. PPC is pretty expensive in major markets, but you can snag a coupon off google to test it. Budget $250-300. Depending on your 

 Unfortunately there is no easy way for "Affordable" ways to generate quality leads. It cost "something" to market.. Either you spend your cash to save time or you must spend your time. 

You need multiple avenues in marketing. The worst number in marketing is 1. You need to test and track. Unfortunately many enter this business expecting to be an overnight sensation and think they are going to be able to "fire" their boss by the end of the month. Problem is it takes time to really grasp this business let alone become successful.

I would focus on a few aspects:

Cold Call leads: Call craigslist/fsbo/zillow listings by owners. A lot of times they fall underneath the cracks of most investors. Shoot for 25 emails/ phone calls a day. Team up with an experienced investor who knows how to legally and ethically do creative deals in YOUR AREA. The nice thing about this avenue is you are going to get comfortable talking with sellers for free so mistakes become less costly. Also post an ad twice a day on craiglist's service section.

Bandit signs: seems like you got this covered. Maybe throw some flyers up in laundry mats and grocery stores.

Direct mail: Do not worry about the mail piece (yellow letter, postcard, etc). You need to focus on a list. You can have a terrible mail piece with horrible copy, but if the list is good you will find that jem.

Direct mail list to focus on:  CONSISTENCY IS THE KEY... YOU MUST FOLLOW UP AND DO NOT DO ONE MAIL DROP. MAIL EVERY 6 TIMES EVERY 6 WEEKS.

-Probate (go to your county's court house or google these records. They are made public to everyone. Also check your county's legal newspaper. Most estates must advertise.

-Code Violations- call your county

- Vacant properties, you can buy this list online

-I would avoid absentee owners unless you can mail in the thousands. They are getting smashes with direct mail from investors and agents.

Once you have a list together you must decide which vehicle you want to use (YL, POSTCARDS, Professional letters). You can do research on here.. It's been beaten to death.  If you do YL, the best thing I can tell you is stick with the "Hi, my name is X and I want to $buy$ your house". It's proven and it works. Do not try to become a copywriter and make easy things difficult.

 As for service providers same as before.. there are a ton on here or you can DIY. The most important thing is just take action, most try waiting until they think things are perfect and they miss the boat altogether.

Good Luck- Shane