Real Estate Foreclosure Marketing Secrets

Posts Tagged ‘Insider Secret’

Is there anything more stifling to a good real estate postcard mailing than a blank computer screen?

Consider this scenario (not an uncommon one for many a direct marketer in any area):  Your mailing list has been carefully chosen.  Your printer is waiting for your postcard copy.  And there you sit staring at a blank screen.  You haven’t written a single sentence yet.

Your first instinct is to panic.  (At least that would be mine!)  But don’t. Because you’re about to learn how to turn your competitors ideas and words to inspire you.  And in the process learn the one of the reasons crafting a sales letter is often called “copy” writing.

No doubt you’ve got a stack of postcards that you’ve sent out in the past or from your competitors’ mailings.  Now’s the time to go through them.  Go, ahead.  Gather them in one place and start reading through these.  This, you’re about to learn, is more than an exercise in idle reading.

Pick out the words, phrases, ideas that strike you as particularly good. Use these as your inspiration.  Recreate a headline idea.  Grab a good idea for a lead paragraph.  What you don’t want to do, though, is to plagiarize.  Don’t grab any sentence, paragraph or all the copy from another mailing wholesale and try to pass it off as your own.

But you can – and should – get some really good ideas for your own mailing.  Soon, you’ll discover that blank computer screen you’re staring at is taking shape as a sure-fire direct-mail campaign.

I learned this trick many years ago when I first started working for a direct mail firm.  The owner told me about his very first mailing.  It was several pages long.  He had never written copy before, but he didn’t have the money to hire a professional copywriter.  He wasn’t about to let the lack of funds stop him.

He gathered up all the direct sales material he had been collecting, pulled out his trusty portable typewriter (yes, it was that long ago!) and started assimilating ideas, phrases and other inspirational copy from these various other sources.

It took him several hours to write a couple pages, but finally he had a sales letter that had his distinct imprint.  And original document to call his own.  And he mailed it.

And do you know what?  It produced very good results for him.  And some 30 years later, he’s still enjoying outstanding success in the business.

And just for your information, he still has a hand in writing all his copy.  And he still gets some of his best inspiration from the advertising material that lands in his mail box.

So the next time you’re sitting at the computer screen wishing that a form of direct-marketing inspiration would strike you, gather up all the marketing material you can find.  It’s time to kick start that inspiration into high gear with a little help from your . . . uh, competitors.
By Mark Bradley

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Real Estate Investor Insider Secret #6:

Consumer Decisions are Made From Our Emotions

This is without a doubt the most overlooked rule in copywriting strategy.  And even as a real estate investor about to embark on a postcard campaign, you should keep this uppermost in your mind.

Sure, people may say they research the products they intend to buy.  And, sure, consumers may say they search for the best prices.  And they may even say that they create charts with the advantages and disadvantages of specific products.  And in many cases they really do perform all these acts.

But when the ultimate decision is being made, more often than not, the consumer chooses using his gut emotions.  Don’t believe for a moment that your targeted audience is any different.  You can barrage him with facts . . . figures . . . logical arguments . . . all aimed at why selling his home right now to you is the right move. And of course you should present these compelling cases.

If, however, you can create some emotional connection  then you’ve really made that ultimate connection and have practically ensured your sale. If, on the other hand, you can’t excite him to the benefits of this decision, then you haven’t closed the sale.  So in addition to making a logical argument . . . don’t forget to make an emotional pitch as well. 

What are some of the emotional reasons people buy?  To gain peace of mind . . . to increase their financial bottom line . . . to feel better about themselves in general . . . out of fear of losing something . . . even from greed.

If you’re reading this, thinking that this “rule” doesn’t apply to the real estate market, you’re only fooling yourself.  Emotions play a powerful role in every single decision we make – even those that aren’t really consumer related. 

Let me give you one very dramatic example.  It’s from 1960. And it relates to a decision far more important than what dress to buy for the upcoming dinner party. It involves, in fact, the presidential election.  That’s right. The tipping point of this election occurred during the debate during the campaign between the two candidates, Richard M. Nixon for the Republicans and John F. Kennedy for the Democrats.

The debated was not only broadcast on all three (and yes there were only three) television networks and all the radio stations as well.  Afterward, voters were asked who had won the debate.  Those who had listened on the radio said it was Nixon – hands down.

Those who had viewed the debate on television believed that Kennedy had won.  In fact, this was the overwhelming opinion.  Why?  Because Nixon wore a five o’clock shadow – the telltale shadowy outline of a beard that had been shaved too far ahead of the debate.  Kennedy just looked more presidential.

Emotions.  Never underestimate the ever present emotional appeal of a major decision . . . whether it’s a minor purchase a major consumer decision or even the choice of the president of the United States.

If you can not only logically persuade your audience to your side, but win them over emotionally, then you have closed that sale.  And yes, you can do this through your postcard mailing for your real estate investment firm.  Guaranteed!

 

 

  By Mark Bradley

 

 

 

 

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Real Estate Investor Insider Secret #5: Write Your Postcard Copy with Enthusiasm 

Writing can be exhausting.  No, it’s not the same physically exhausting work that roofing or waitressing can be.  But, to produce effective copy, you absolutely must write enthusiastically.  And that means you have to give of yourself.  Your postcard campaign deserves – demands in fact – that  you write from a position of pure enthusiasm.

 To ensure that your copy is effective, you might even say you have to approach your writing with a certain degree of passion.  If you’re sitting snickering at this seemingly silly idea, don’t.  If you can’t generate a certain amount of excitement about  your service – in this case your real estate investing service – how could you possibly expect any other person to be excited?

Consider the mindset of the average person reading your postcard.  These days there exists a general cynicism about  advertising in general.  Couple this with a person’s natural resistance to the very idea of selling a family home – no matter how dire his finances might be.  You must be enthusiastic . . . highlight the benefits . . . create how this transaction can actually transform his life into something better.

In other words, you must – in order to be effective – create enough enthusiasm to overcome your reader’s natural hesitancy and cynicism toward advertising in general . . . as well as any personal objections to your offer.

When you create a passion for your product – as a real estate investor this would be the idea of selling a house and starting over – you’ll undoubtedly touch something within your reader’s spirit.  When you reach this point with your words, then your customer will be inextricably drawn to action.  Guaranteed!

Remember, though, I said at the beginning that copywriting can be exhausting.  In fact, this is a great way to test your writing.  If you’re not even a little bit tired when you’re through creating your copy, then maybe you haven’t generated enough enthusiasm.

Another valuable way of testing the true enthusiastic nature of your copy is to set it aside overnight.  That’s right!  Write it one day and just let it “settle” until the next.  The following day pull it out.  Reread it.  Does it still sound as good as it did the day before.

Don’t be too disappointed if it didn’t.  Many times, even for those professional copywriters who have been in the business for years, the copy fails this “overnight” test miserably.

That doesn’t mean you need to totally give up.  Failure, as you know, is not an option.  No you salvage what you can, tweak the copy where you need to and keep on writing.  Then again, you set it aside overnight and come back to it.

You may find after the “overnight’ test that you only need to create a few transitional phrases or rev up a few verbs to create a brighter, more vivid image.  Great.  If you’re satisfied after this minor editing, then you’re ready to take it to the printer.  By Mark Bradley

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Real Estate Investor Insider Secret #2:

TurboCharge Your Postcard Campaign:

Tune Into WIIFM

 

Are you tuned into WIIFM?  No, it’s not the latest radio station in your area.  It’s shorthand for a fundamental direct-mail principle   – a principle every real estate investor should keep uppermost in his mind.

 

WIIFM.  An acronym for What’s In It For Me?  When your recipient receives your postcard in the mail, you have a scant 30 second or less to grab their attention.  That means you need to answer that question for them.

 

If you’re offering something to them, that “something” must be beneficial to them in some way.  You may have heard this phrase in another way.  Perhaps some staid, academic copywriter once told you to emphasize benefits, not features.

 

And you probably nodded and went on your way, only later wondering what the real difference was between a benefit and a feature.  That’s exactly where WIIFM comes in loud and clear.

 

A benefit answers the question:  What’s In It For Me?  When you tell the potential seller what he can gain from this arrangement, then you have him thinking about selling.  Far too many real estate investors spend far too much time telling the seller about his business.

Yes, it is reassuring to know if you’ve been in business for so many years . . . and that you’ve sold so many houses . . . and you’ve generated so much extra cash for your customers.  Those, however, are all features – very important features of course.

 

You need to turn these features around to make them attractive to your seller.  Then and only then you turn your feature into a benefit.

 

Remember, when push comes to shove, an individual potential customer sitting at his kitchen table reading your post card will eventually stand up and wonder:  What’s In It For Me?

 

Answer that question for him and you’re succeeding in your marketing campaign. It’s not a simple question to answer – not when it comes to real estate investing.  You must consider exactly what your customer wants.

 

If he’s facing foreclosure, he wants out of this nightmare.  But more than that he probably wants to keep his house.  You may be tempted to go with “I’ll give you fast cash for your house.”  And for some individuals this certainly may work.

 

But maybe – just maybe – in addition to wanting the money, he may want to be reassured that whoever buys the house will treat it well . . . will love it the way he and his family has.  After all, to him, the house is more than just a structure . . . it’s a home where his children played and slept, where family meals were eaten . . . where family stories were shared.

 

Keep these things in mind when you attempt to answer the question – from the seller’s perspective – What’s In It For Me?

 

Fast Cash?  Sure.  But perhaps just a little bit more as well. If you can deliver – through your postcard campaign — an angle that includes care for the home and even peace of mind for the homeowner, then you’ll well on your way to closing that sale. And you’re becoming the successful real estate investor you always knew you could be.

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by Mark Bradley Want to power up your next postcard mailing? Then go one step beyond merely telling your audience what your real investment business has done for others in the past - have your customers tell them. No you don’t have to secure your late customers to phone prospects. Instead use the right direct-marketing ride titled the testimonial. If you’ve been in commerce interminable enough, it’s unproblematic to ask a slaked consumer to create a twosome sentences (it rattling doesn’t nec