Real Estate Foreclosure Marketing Secrets

Posts Tagged ‘Mail Campaign’

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 #1:

One Simple Way to Make Your Postcard Campaign Come Alive

Okay.  So you know that the most effective direct mail campaign involves an address that at least appears to be handwritten and a live stamp – as opposed to preprinted labels.

But did you realize that the message on the back would be monumentally more effective if you could somewhere make it look more personal – with handwriting – as well?

In fact, direct-marketing experience tells us over and over again (yeah, it really does shout at us!) that the most effective campaigns are those that appear to come from the “Mom and Pop” enterprises.

While, as a business owner, you may want to have your firm look professional and polished.That very same look, though, can drive your customers away in a direct-mail campaign.  Don’t ask me why.   No “expert” has ever given a reason. 

Personally, I think it has to do with trust.  A “Mom and Pop” firm is more likely to keep its promise and give the average person a fair deal. Besides, slick professional brochures and polished postcards just feel impersonal, which is the direct antithesis of a direct-response mailing.

To highlight the personalization of postcards, many real estate marketers insist that they always hand address their postcards and place a live stamp on them.

But,now, thanks to this clever idea, you can go one step further.  What if your potential customers received what appeared to be a “handwritten” post card from you?  With a very personal message. 

Not only is this an original idea in the area of mailing postcards, it falls right in line with the cardinal suggestions.  Your face needn’t fall at the thought of writing each postcard by hand, because you won’t have to.

In fact, right here, right now, while you’re reading this article you can create a message that will totally knock the socks off your customers and have them ringing your phone faster than you can say “I want to buy your house!”

Start by taking a piece of what computer paper – 8 ½ inches by 11 inches.  Now fold it in half in one direction – either on the vertical axis or the horizontal.  Now fold it again in the opposite direction.  When you open it you should have creases that create four equal spaces. 

These “spaces” are just about the size of postcards.  And that’s exactly what you’re going to use them as – eventually.

Now, grab a black felt-tip pen.  Handwrite a quick message that conveys your intent in your mailing in each “postcard space.”  It could be as simple as “I want to buy your house.  Call me.  Ryan.” With your phone number.

Or you could make it look a little more personal and say, “Was passing by, loved your house.  Would love to buy it. Interested?  Call me.” Put the message on all four “postcard squares.”

Take this to an office supply or duplicating establishment.  Have them copy this page on card stock – yellow if you like.  Next, address and stamp them.

Send them off!  Yes, it’s that easy!

 I’m betting it’ll be one of the most effective postcard campaigns you’ve ever created for your real estate investing business!

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