How To Do Direct Mail Marketing For Real Estate (2023)

The world of real estate has seen significant transformations over the years. Still, one thing that hasn't changed is the power and potential of direct mail marketing. Despite the rise of digital campaigns, direct mail remains a crucial player in successful real estate marketing strategies. After all, there's something remarkably personal and tangible about a postcard or flyer that just can't be replicated in an email marketing campaign.

In 2023, direct mail for real estate is more than alive—it's thriving. In an era where our inboxes are swamped with promotional content, the physicality of direct mail can help you stand out and stay top-of-mind for potential clients. What's more, according to the National Association of Realtors, response rates tend to increase around the fourth or fifth direct mail touch, showcasing the value of consistency.

Perhaps you're thinking, "Does this strategy apply to me as a novice real estate investor?" The answer is a resounding "yes." With the right approach, direct mail can fill your lead funnel and propel your real estate business forward. But where do you start? And how can you ensure that your direct mail campaign can compete against those of top-performing agents?

Fear not—if you're new to direct mail marketing for real estate or want to polish your existing strategies, you've landed in the right place. Our comprehensive guide for 2023 offers insights into the ins and outs of direct mail for real estate, including how to leverage automation and target specific geographic locations for optimal results. So, let's dive in!

• What Is Direct Mail For Real Estate?
• Does Direct Mail Still Work In Real Estate?
• How To Run A Direct Mail Marketing Campaign
• How Much Does Direct Mail Cost?
• 5 Expert Tips For A Successful Direct Mail Campaign
• Who Should I Send Direct Mail To?
• The 10 Best Real Estate Direct Mailing Services
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Final Thoughts

 

What Is Direct Mail For Real Estate?

Direct mail for real estate, also known as admail or mailshot, is a traditional yet powerful marketing strategy that involves sending physical promotional materials straight to your target market's mailbox. Whether it's through the post office or another mail delivery service, direct mail allows real estate agents and other professionals to establish a tangible connection with potential clients, something that digital communication often lacks.

The essence of direct mail in real estate investing lies in its diversity. It encompasses a variety of formats, including flyers, catalogs, brochures, postcards, and even unique items like yellow letters. Each of these materials can be customized to reflect your brand and message, leaving a lasting impression on the recipient.

At its core, an effective direct mail piece should include three key components: a distinctive identifier of you or your business, a compelling call to action (CTA), and clear contact information for potential clients to reach out. Beyond these essentials, the design and content of your direct mailers are up to you—providing ample room for creativity and personalization.

Direct mail can be addressed to specific individuals—preferably those you've identified as potential leads—or delivered unaddressed to homeowners in a chosen neighborhood. This versatility, coupled with the ability to tap into a precise geographical location, makes direct mail a highly effective tool in real estate marketing. It's time to go beyond digital noise and deliver your message straight into the hands of your potential clients.

Read Also: How to Start & Grow A Real Estate Business In 12 Steps

 

Real Estate Direct Mail Examples

Direct mail, though a traditional marketing campaign, is far from being out of style. With the right execution, it can generate remarkable results, driving website traffic, conversions, and overall brand awareness. By correctly targeting your audience, direct mail marketing can significantly amplify your overall marketing strategy.

Here are some real estate direct mail examples:

• Direct Mail Postcards: A popular choice among real estate marketers due to their cost-effectiveness and visual appeal. These can contain property images, brief descriptions, and your contact information. Postcards can be used to announce open houses, new listings, or recently sold properties in the area.

• Letters: Personalized letters are perfect for communicating more detailed messages. They're commonly used for introducing your services to potential clients or reaching out to those considering selling their homes.

• Newsletters: A regular newsletter is a great way to keep potential clients informed about local market trends, your recent transactions, or helpful tips for buying or selling a home.

• Brochures or Flyers: These provide more space for information and eye-catching visuals, ideal for showcasing multiple properties, presenting your portfolio, or giving an in-depth view of your services.

• Yellow Letters: Yellow Letters are handwritten letters that create a personal, informal tone, often leading to higher open rates. They're typically used in targeted campaigns to engage specific potential clients or neighborhoods.

Remember, the secret to a successful direct mail campaign lies in the right mix of content, design, and targeting. By combining these elements effectively, you can create a direct mail campaign that stands out in the mailbox and resonates with your audience.

Read Also: The Ultimate Guide To Real Estate Investor Business Cards

 

Does Direct Mail Still Work In Real Estate?

In the era of digital marketing, you might wonder if traditional methods like direct mail have become obsolete. This perception is often driven by the pace at which technology is evolving, rendering older modes of communication seemingly archaic. It's not uncommon to hear questions like, "In an age where smartphones and social media platforms dominate, does direct mail still have a place in real estate marketing?"

Contrary to the perception that direct mail is a thing of the past, it continues to be a viable marketing campaign that brings in a considerable return on investment (ROI). Studies show that 42.2% of direct mail recipients either read or scan direct mail which offers an average 29% ROI for campaign efforts. In fact, direct mail's ROI is often on par with social media marketing and even surpasses paid search and online display ads.

While it's clear that direct mail remains a vital part of real estate marketing, achieving success in this industry involves more than just mastering marketing techniques. Effective real estate investing requires a deep understanding of the market, keen decision-making skills, and the ability to seize opportunities as they arise. 

With our FREE training course, you can learn how to invest in real estate without pouring a fortune into marketing. Our comprehensive training programs equip you with the practical knowledge and tools to make intelligent investment decisions and maximize your returns.

Don't let the prospect of marketing expenses deter you from realizing your real estate investment goals. Sign up today and discover how you can become a successful real estate investor without spending a dime on marketing. Your journey toward a profitable real estate career starts here!

 

The Benefits Of Direct Mail For Real Estate Marketing

Despite the prevalence of digital communication, direct mail continues to be a compelling strategy for real estate marketing, primarily due to its distinct advantages:

1. Interactive and Engaging: Direct mail necessitates physical interaction. Recipients often scan through physical mail before deciding its fate – keep or discard. Including promotional offers, coupons, or a compelling call-to-action tends to increase the chances of recipients retaining your mailer and further engaging with your service.

2. High Response Rates: Studies have demonstrated that direct mail consistently achieves higher response rates than all digital channels combined. This suggests that if your objective is to generate more leads and improve conversions, direct mail marketing should be a crucial part of your strategy.

3. Personal Touch: Direct mail provides real estate professionals with an opportunity to address a prospect's issue and provide tailored solutions directly, consequently improving response rates and conversion chances.

4. Memorable & Tangible: Research indicates that brand recall is 70% higher with direct mail pieces compared to other forms of advertisements, including digital marketing. Personalized direct mail can stimulate an emotional response, making your marketing strategy more memorable. Additionally, the tangibility of direct mail significantly enhances the credibility of your real estate business.

5. Broad Reach & Scalability: Direct mail has a unique ability to reach a wide array of demographics, including those less inclined to use social media or email. By incorporating direct mail into a multifaceted approach, you can ensure no potential client is overlooked. Additionally, direct mail marketing is scalable, enabling you to adjust your spending based on your needs.

6. Creativity & Sensory Engagement: The tactile nature of direct mail allows marketers to engage more of the recipients' senses compared to digital marketing. This opens the door for creative techniques, from water-activated messages to DIY assembly kits, to make the marketing experience memorable and engaging.

7. Less Competition: With many businesses focusing heavily on digital marketing, the direct mail space has become less congested. This gives your messages a better chance to stand out.

8. Cost-Effective: Direct mail allows you to keep costs to a minimum as you can handle most aspects of the process yourself, depending on your budget and needs.

Despite the rise of digital media, a significant number of people still appreciate the tactile and personal touch of physical mail. Thus, direct mail continues to be a potent tool in an effective real estate marketing strategy, capable of reaching prospects that digital means might miss.

 

Alternatives To Direct Mail In Real Estate

Effective real estate investing involves more than just marketing strategies. It requires in-depth knowledge, sound decision-making, and a strong grasp of the real estate market.

That's where Real Estate Skills comes in. We can teach you how to effectively invest in real estate without spending a dime on marketing. Watch our training guide on How To Get Into Real Estate With NO MONEY! and start mastering the art of investing today!

 

How To Run A Direct Mail Marketing Campaign The Right Way

Direct mail marketing remains a powerful tool for real estate professionals. It's a great way to target specific demographics and geographic areas, build brand awareness, and spark interest among potential buyers or motivated sellers.

Here is how to do a successful direct mail marketing campaign for real estate:

1. Create A Direct Mail Marketing Plan

2. Develop A Mailing List

3. Obtain The Addresses

4. Develop A Mailing Piece

5. Test The Campaign

6. Run The Direct Mail Campaign

7. Handle Customer Responses

8. Analyze The Results Of The Campaign

 

1. Create A Direct Mail Marketing Plan

Before diving headfirst into your direct mail marketing campaign, you need to strategize and develop a comprehensive marketing plan. This plan should detail your approach regarding frequency, cost, message, method of contact, and value proposition for your prospective clients.

• Frequency: Realize that it often takes multiple "touches," or interactions, to generate noticeable results with direct marketing. In the case of real estate, it typically takes about four to five direct mail touches to begin seeing results. Plan to have a consistent delivery schedule that keeps your brand top of mind for your prospects. The optimal frequency is generally every few weeks.

• Cost: Make sure to account for the cost of your direct mail marketing efforts. With frequency playing a critical role, you should consider the cumulative costs of design, printing, and postage, especially given that multiple mailings will be necessary. For new agents, this factor may significantly impact the decision-making process.

• Message: The content of your direct mailer is crucial for the response rate. Who is your primary audience—potential buyers or motivated sellers? Depending on your target audience, your message might range from sharing recently sold properties in the neighborhood to highlighting the shortage of inventory in the area, emphasizing the need for additional homes to be listed.

• Method of Contact: Your method of contact should align with your message. For example, if you're sending real estate mailers with photos of local properties, it could easily grab attention, as these images are directly relatable to the recipients. If using a flyer, it could afford you the opportunity to showcase multiple properties, broadening your potential appeal.

• Value Proposition: Lastly, think about what value you're bringing to your prospective clients. Can they learn about local homes on the market, potentially gaining insights about their own home's value? Do they see value in receiving marketing materials that are grounded in their local area? Many strategies can turn the message of a direct mail marketing tool into a relevant, engaging piece for homeowners or potential buyers.

By creating a well-thought-out plan before initiating your campaign, you can ensure a more cohesive, effective approach to your direct mail marketing endeavors.

 

2. Develop A Mailing List

A mailing list is basically a written inventory that highlights the properties you want to send mails to. This can help you establish the zip codes, neighborhoods, property types, and types of motivation (high equity, pre-foreclosure status, recently deceased owners, etc.) that you are targeting.

Even though you can use tools such as the USPS Every Door Direct Mail service to identify every home in a particular area, you need to know that you will not get the high-quality leads you desire by sending mailers to every single property under the sun.

Make sure you do prior research, identify homeowners who are in need, as well as develop custom messages that show you are the best choice in the industry.

Ensure your mailing list is filled with individuals who are highly likely to purchase your products or services. To be honest, not all people you send mail to will sell their homes to you.

Nonetheless, by marketing to the right people, you will go a long mile in improving your responses and ultimately get the best conversion rates.

 

3. Obtain The Addresses

Once you have identified your mailing list profile and the property owners who are more interested in selling their property, you cannot afford to get their addresses wrong.

Luckily, you can obtain addresses from various places, including county and public records, list brokers, and driving for dollars.

Driving for dollars is one of the best ways to identify specific addresses in your local market.

We recommend using DealMachine, the driving for dollars app, to maximize your efficiency when using this strategy. It even allows you to send different types of direct mail to these leads straight from the app. Simply download from the Apple App Store or Google Play.

 

4. Develop A Mailing Piece

Remember, all homeowners willing to sell their homes don’t have the same needs. They have different problems, and what they need is a real estate professional who will offer them with custom solutions. Therefore, you don’t just mail a common brochure to your mailing list and expect results.

Develop a mailing piece that features a robust offer that will entice your recipient to react.

Also, remember that for your direct mail campaign to prosper, every piece of direct mail should feature a call to action (CTA) that tells the recipient what to do next.

For instance, you can ask the prospective client to: “Call this number to receive an offer on your home” or “Visit my website to receive a free home evaluation report.”

 

5. Test The Campaign

Before you kick-start the full campaign, test it with a few prospects in your mailing list and see how it goes. Consider sending using priority mail for your test to get a faster result.

If you get a response of over 5%, proceed with the campaign.

Nonetheless, if you get a response rate of less than 2%, consider making adjustments to your list, offer, or message, and test it again until you get it right!

 

6. Run The Direct Mail Campaign

If the results from the test campaign are desirable, run the full campaign with confidence! The test campaign is aimed at giving you a glimpse of the rate of client response.

Use this to understand the number of mailers to send in a week.

As a rule of thumb, make sure you keep your mailing volume in line with your ability to handle the customer responses you receive.

 

7. Handle Customer Responses

Remember, you have invested a lot of energy, time, and resources in your direct mail marketing efforts. Therefore, you cannot afford to ignore customer responses, regardless of how many you receive.

Since you included a phone number that prospects can call, ensure you have a system in place to track incoming calls. Then, have a well-laid process that will help you to easily follow up with your leads and close deals where possible.

Remember, the quicker you give responses to your target market, the more credibility you get due to a perceived sense of superb customer service.

 

8. Analyze The Results Of The Campaign

This is a crucial yet underrated aspect of a mail marketing campaign.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Did the final results meet your expectations?

• Which segment of your audience responded better?

• Did the direct mail marketing campaign contribute to your sales figures?

• Did the mail postcards and types of direct mail marketing ads enhance your client database?

A successful direct mail marketing campaign should represent the future of your business. Therefore, an analysis will help you identify problem areas and develop ways to fix them for enhanced results in future campaigns.

Read Also:  How To Find Cash Buyers For Wholesaling Real Estate (2023) 

 

How Much Does Direct Mail Cost?

The cost of direct mail can vary from 30 cents to over $10 per item sent to leads in your mailing list. This depends on how much you spend on design, mailing lists, marketing copy, printing, volume, and distribution. The following is a brief breakdown of the individual costs for real estate direct mail marketing:

• Design: Typically, designing a direct mail piece costs $0 - $100, depending on the option you choose. If you choose to do it yourself, you will end up spending $0 and some of your time. You can also use a template which you can buy online at around $10 and do the customization yourself. If you choose to work with a professional designer, you can end up spending as much as $100. Our recommendation is to use the talent marketplace Fiverr.com to hire a freelancer to create a design for you. If you’re more of a creative type, we recommend using the website Canva.com to develop it yourself!
• Marketing Copy: If you are a good copywriter, you can write your own marketing copy and spend nothing for it. However, if you are super-busy, or you can't get your head around developing a persuasive piece, you can hire a freelance writer who has the skills and ability to write content that creates a 'wow' factor in the minds of your prospects at a fee. This might cost you $30 - $100 depending on how you agree with the copywriter.
• Mailing Lists: You can get a free mailing list by trading with another business in the real estate niche or gathering data from your existing clients. However, if these two methods don’t work, expect to spend $0.20 - $0.30 per record. The overall cost will depend on the quality and the quantity of data you buy.
• Printing: Typically, printing costs are dependent on: color vs. black and white, paper size, paper quality, number of pages, one-sided vs. two-sided, and quantity. Typically, you will spend $0.03 - $2.00 on printing per property. However, visit your local printing shop, or any reputable online printing business to find out the actual costs.
• Distribution: Mailing costs are based on a number of factors, including the quantity you send, the weight of your mail, and the current postage rates. However, expect to spend $0.25 - $2.00 per piece for distribution.

 

5 Expert Tips For A Successful Direct Mail Campaign

By following these expert tips, real estate professionals can maximize the potential of direct mail marketing, reach their target audience effectively, and grow their business:

• Implement Local Strategies: Ensure your direct mail resonates with your recipients by including geographic information. This shows you have a good understanding of the local real estate market and can help clients sell or buy within their desired locations.

• Think About Seasonality: Seasonal campaigns can be very effective. Holiday-themed messages or summer-centric offers can attract attention and make your mail stand out.

• Create Something Clients Want To Keep: Another strategy to stay top of mind is to provide resources that recipients would find valuable and keep, such as calendar magnets or local event schedules. This continuous exposure increases the chances they'll think of you when they're ready to make a move.

• Build A Sense Of Urgency: Creating urgency is a well-known sales tactic that works well in real estate. Messages like 'move-in ready' or 'last unit available' can induce quick action from interested prospects.

• Make Them An Offer They Can’t Refuse: The success of your campaign hinges greatly on the attractiveness of your offer. Discounts, limited-time offers, or exclusive deals can be enticing enough to spur potential clients into action.

 

Who Should I Send Direct Mail To?

An essential aspect of any successful direct mail campaign is ensuring the right people receive your mailings. By targeting individuals whose circumstances align with your service offerings, you can significantly enhance your response and conversion rates. Key demographics to consider include:

• Absentee Homeowners: These are people whose mailing address is not the subject property address. More often than not, these people are landlords or investors. Sometimes, they are highly motivated to sell their property because being a landlord is not a walk in the park. In other instances, absentee owners are those who inherited homes from relatives or those who moved from their previous homes and failed to sell them.

• Landlords With Recent Eviction Records: If you have gone through the process of eviction, you can attest to the fact that this ordeal is an emotional battle that is hard to fight. Therefore, landlords, who recently evicted tenants might find it hard to continue owning the property and might be motivated to sell it fast.

• Probate Leads: When individuals pass away, their property goes into probate depending on their real estate planning. More often than not, the immediate family has to clean up the property, empty the home, do a host of repairs, and look for prospective clients to sell the property to. This is an overwhelming and perplexing task. Therefore, if they find a simple way to sell the property fast, they grab it swiftly. Thus, direct mail works great for probate leads.

• Pre-foreclosures: When a homeowner stops paying mortgage payments, the bank commences with the process of foreclosure. As a real estate investor, you can use direct mail to reach out to homeowners facing possible foreclosure and provide a solution that can save their credit.

• Tax Delinquent: When one stops paying property taxes, a lien can be placed on the property by local governments. Thus, forcing a tax sale to pay off the back taxes owed to the government. This situation indicated the property owner is in a financial crisis; thus, direct mail can prompt him to sell the property to you before a tax sale. You can find delinquencies listed in the local press or in a general circulation newspaper.

• Recently Divorced Individuals: When couples go through a divorce, they often divide assets and are likely motivated to sell their property.

• Expired Listings: When homeowners try to sell their homes with a real estate agent and the deal doesn't go through; the property becomes an expired listing. There could be an array of reasons which made it difficult for them to sell the property, including high prices and structural issues. As an investor, target them through direct mail, and you will get leads in no time.

• Empty Nesters: Older homeowners without children living at home often make good candidates for selling their properties as they might be looking to downsize or move to a retirement community.

• Active & Dismissed Bankruptcies: Homeowners with either active or dismissed bankruptcies might be financially distressed and could be willing to sell their properties at a discount to relieve their financial burden.

• Inherited Properties: Homeowners who have inherited a property that they don't want might be willing to sell it at a discount to dispose of it quickly.

Read Also: How To Find Distressed Properties To Buy

 

The 10 Best Real Estate Direct Mailing Services

1. PropStream: PropStream is an innovative platform that offers comprehensive real estate data to aid your direct mailing campaign. Its integrated mailing service enables real estate professionals to target their messages to the right audience, which makes it a potent tool for effective real estate marketing. The platform invites you to Try A FREE Trial For 7 Days allowing you to explore its capabilities before fully committing to a subscription.

2. Call Porter: As a service specializing in handling phone calls for real estate investors, Call Porter can greatly enhance the responsiveness of your direct mail campaigns. With a professional team answering and making calls, you can improve your lead conversion rates and make your mail marketing more effective.

3. Carrot: While Carrot is more widely known for its website services tailored to real estate professionals, it offers great CRM integrations. When used in conjunction with a direct mail service, you can automate follow-ups from your direct mail efforts, streamlining your marketing processes.

4. REsimpli: REsimpli offers a unique combination of CRM, task management, and direct mail services. The ability to manage leads and track direct mail campaigns from a single platform makes it an efficient choice for real estate investors looking for a one-stop solution.

5. ProspectsPLUS!: As a marketing platform designed specifically for real estate professionals, ProspectsPLUS! provides customizable direct mail options that can be catered to your specific audience. With its deep understanding of the real estate market, it’s an excellent choice for effective direct mail marketing.

6. UPrinting: UPrinting is a reliable online printing service offering a variety of customizable print products. The platform's flexibility, affordable rates, and range of products make it an excellent choice for real estate professionals seeking cost-effective solutions for their direct mail campaigns.

7. VistaPrint: Known for its quality and affordable printing solutions, VistaPrint is a go-to choice for many real estate professionals. With a range of customizable design templates, VistaPrint can help real estate businesses create professional and attractive direct mail pieces that grab attention.

8. Modern Postcard: As the name suggests, Modern Postcard specializes in postcard marketing. Their high-quality printing and expert design services make it possible to create visually appealing, memorable direct mail materials that stand out, enhancing the visibility of your real estate business.

9. PsPrint: PsPrint offers high-quality, customizable printing solutions, including direct mail services. It also provides Design It!, an online tool that lets real estate professionals design their direct mail pieces, which can be beneficial for creating professional and effective marketing materials.

10. PostcardMania: PostcardMania is a direct mail marketing company that provides design, printing, and mailing services all under one roof. With a focus on postcard marketing and a deep understanding of what makes an effective mailer, it's a fantastic resource for real estate professionals looking to catch the eye of potential clients.

Read Also:  PropStream Review (2023) - Pricing, Features, & Is It Worth It? 

 

Direct Mail For Real Estate: FAQs

As you embark on implementing a direct mail strategy for your real estate business, you may have several questions about how to optimize your efforts, what to expect, and how to navigate potential challenges.

In this section, we've compiled some frequently asked questions (FAQs) about direct mail for real estate. Whether you're just starting out or looking to refine your existing approach, these answers should provide valuable insights to guide your marketing journey.

 

What Is Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM)?

Popularly known as EDDM, Every Door Direct Mail is a super-affordable service offered by the United States Postal Service (USPS) which allows you to send a mail piece to every home within a particular selected route at the lowest postage rate without buying a bulk mailing permit or mailing list.

For you to use this service, your mail piece must meet the following requirements:

• It should have a minimum size of 6.125" X 11.5."

• It should have a maximum size of 15" X 12."

• It can be a folded self-mailer, envelope, or card, as long as it meets the above criteria.

To use this service:

1. Go to the USPS site: Visit the USPS website (linked above), set up an account, and choose the desired route. Then, map out those you want to mail. Once done, you can use this tool to filter your recipients based on their age, household size, and income.

2. Design and print your mailers: Once you have identified your neighborhoods and defined your audiences, develop effective EDDM advertising pieces. It is recommended that you create actionable mails with a strong offer and a call to action to generate more customer responses.

3. Choose the drop-off date and payment options: Choose your drop-off date and payment option. You can check more information on how to do this on the USPS website.

4. Print and prepare your mailing bundles: On the order confirmation screen, print all the required postal service processing forms and attach the ideal Every Door Direct Mail EDDM facing slip to your bundles. Ship or drop off your mailings or take you’re them to your local post office locations which will then deliver them to the chosen EDDM routes.

 

What Direct Mail Response Rates Can I Expect?

On average, the response rates of real estate direct marketing are 2-4% according to various sources.

As long as you do proper prior planning and develop the ideal budget, you can rest assured that the real estate letters and postcards you have been sending to your list will reward you with a 2% response rate.

According to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), Direct mail response rates for real estate and other industries outperformed those of all digital channels combined. This means that physical postcards and letters do better than email, pay-per-click, banner ads, social media, and other digital marketing techniques.

Below are other interesting statics from the Direct Marketing Association (DMA):

• The average cost per response is $19, which is lower than a host of other marketing channels.

• The oversized envelope is the best-performing direct mail marketing format for real estate and other industries, with an average response rate of 5%.

• The postcard is another successful format, with an average response rate of 4.25%

 

What’s The Best Size For Direct Mail Postcards?

For direct mail postcards to qualify for the USPS rates, they must meet certain requirements, and size is doubtlessly one of the most important. The standard postcard sizes are:

• 25” X 5.5”

• 4” X 6”

• 25” X 6”

• 5” X 7”

• 6” X 8”

• 5” X 8.5”

• 4” X 9”

• 6” X 9”

• 6” X 11”

Those sized 4 X 6 qualify for the USPS First Class Postcard Rate and those sized 5 X 7- 6 X11 qualify for the USPS First Class Letter Rate or Standard Letter Rate.

Read Also:  Real Estate Wholesaling Postcards: The (Ultimate) Guide 

 

How Much Does Direct Mail Cost Per 1000 Postcards?

Cost per thousand, also known as CPM, is a popular method that advertising is measured by.  To calculate the cost of direct mail per 1000 postcards, we simply take the total cost of the campaign and divide it by a thousand.

Let’s say you will be using 10,000 pieces of 4X6 postcards for your campaign. The cost of printing, paper, copywriting, distribution, and tracking amounts to $0.5 per piece.

For the 10,000 pieces, this is $5,000.

So the cost per 1000 pieces = 5,000/1000 = $5.

 

How Many Direct Mail Postcards Should I Send?

When using direct mail postcards in your marketing campaign, consistency is key. To get the most out of your campaign, mail to your list more than once.

Remember, it might take 4 to 5 times or more before a seller will contact you.

You can understand the response rate of your direct mail postcards through testing before you launch a full campaign.

For example, you may get a 1% response rate for every 1,000 postcards you send out. From those 10 property owners who respond, you might convert 20% of those sellers.

In this scenario, your direct mail postcard campaigns are capable of bringing 0.2% conversion rates. Therefore, for every 1,000 postcards you send, you close two deals.

If you flip the contracts and wholesale the deals for $5,000 each, you generate a cool $10,000 in profit!

Let's say the 1,000 mailers cost $1 each or $1,000 total, your net profit is $9,000!

Want to see what your direct mail results could be? Use this direct mail ROI calculator.

With this in mind, work backward and determine the number of conversions you want to get monthly and annually. This will help you know the number of postcards you need to send out to your list.

So, why is once not enough?

In order to further understand why you shouldn’t send direct mail postcards to your list only once, look at the results of a recent survey conducted at a local REIA meeting we attended:

• First time, response rate = 2%

• On the second time, response rate = 3%

• On the third time, response rate = 5%

• On the fourth time, the response rate = 10%

• On the fifth time, response rate = 80%

From the figures above, it is evident that persistence is the key to direct mail success. In fact, if you contact your recipients 4 to 6 times, there are high chances that you will get a conversion rate of over 90%.

When your target market sees your name over and over, your brand becomes familiar with them and gains optimum credibility. Mail your postcards to the same list as many times as your budget can allow, and with time, the ROI you get will be worth every dime you spend.

To maximize your chances of success, do thorough testing before kick-starting your campaign. Also, seek advice from other players in your niche.

Most importantly, have a team that is committed to following through on leads.

 

Is Direct Mail Worth It?

Direct mail is definitely worth it! Nonetheless, the ROI it brings will depend on the effectiveness of the entire campaign, and how well you are able to provide ideal and acceptable solutions to your sellers' problems.

To succeed in direct mail marketing, you need to develop an ability to follow up with your prospects and have the necessary communication and negotiation skills to close deals.

This is what will make your campaign efforts and investment in direct mail worth it!

 

Final Thoughts On Direct Mail For Real Estate

There's no denying the powerful role that direct mail in real estate can play, serving as a compelling lead generator for both newcomers and veterans in the industry.

Our comprehensive guide aimed to equip you with the vital knowledge you need to harness the full potential of direct mail marketing. By keeping this guide at your fingertips, you're empowered to consistently fine-tune your campaigns, optimize returns, and attract a steady stream of leads.

Don't stop here. The potential for growth is endless, and direct mail can catalyze your journey toward achieving new heights in your real estate business.

As a next step, we highly recommend our free training course. It's designed to provide additional insights and strategies that can turbocharge your marketing efforts. Seize the opportunity now to learn more, and start paving your way to real estate success. Click here to join the FREE training today!