10 Tips for Sending Lead Generating Direct Mail Postcards for your Real Estate Business

It is certainly true in today’s economy that marketing efforts have turned toward digital platforms, mobile technologies, internet searches, social media, and the like. Still, a comprehensive and effective real estate marketing campaign incorporates not only the novel tools available in the digital realm, but also the tried and true instruments available only in print design form. It is essential that you make the most of your online opportunities; it is also important to continue to make print advertising a part of your real estate marketing mix. Your best marketing initiatives will be those that blend elements of digital and print media in a cohesive package.

One of the most effective and cost effective print advertising tools at your disposal is the simple yet elegant   direct mail postcard  . A proven and affordable strategy for real estate professionals, a postcard can yield both short- and long-term results. When formatted well, a postcard will drive increased email traffic, website registrations, and call volumes – prospective clients looking to connect with you about buying or listing their homes.

Why a postcard?

Different from a   real estate brochure  or other print product that might contain quite a bit of information, a postcard is to the point – a targeted no-fuss message to your audience. When people receive a well-designed postcard, they do not tend to feel “spammed” in the way they might with other advertisements. Instead, they come to recognize and trust you (and your   brand  ) when you consistently remind them who you are and how you can best serve their needs.

Think about these benefits of postcards:

With a postcard, you have a cost-effective tool that can quickly grab the attention of your audience without the need for them to tear into an envelope to find your message.

What should you include in a postcard?

As far as crafting a powerful presentation on a postcard, a few principles should be considered. For instance, you should start off with a direct and uncomplicated headline that gets your point across right away. Tell your audience that you would like to invite them to an open house in the area or to visit your website. You will also want to include high-quality graphics or high-resolution photography that adds interest and supports your headline. Other principles include the use of:

[See “ Words That Sell – Terms for Real Estate ”]

Ten tips for using postcards in your real estate business

Beyond the basic principles behind use of a postcard as a marketing strategy, you might consider the following ten tips for creating the perfect postcard.

Are you looking for a buyer or a seller? Are you targeting high-end homes or neighborhoods for first-time buyers? If you do not know to whom you are speaking, then you really do not have an audience. Nor do you have anything to say. Determine who your audience is and what their needs might be. Then solve their problem. Make your message relevant to them and speak to their hearts through your postcard.

Most people will not throw their direct mail away before at least glancing at it to determine whether it is important and relevant. So, your goal is to grab their attention. Get to the point, the one aimed at your target audience. Tell your audience that the message is for them . Anyone who reads your headline and recognizes that it relates to them will read on. Most others will discard.

Timing is everything. If you do not account for cyclical trends in the market, you will waste time, effort, and money. For instance, you understand that the winter months are not exactly the most opportune time to sell a property. So use that information to your advantage. Rather than sending out lots of postcards that feature properties when the market slows down for winter, you might simply keep in touch and remind people that you are their friendly neighborhood agent and are available for them. Focus on holiday events and other happenings in the cooler months. Then anticipate the market swell and mail out a preemptive strike just before the weather warms.

Once a month is a good starting point for direct mail frequency. Too often and you will annoy your audience; too infrequently and you risk losing their interest. From there, you can experiment. More mailings during peak months in the market and fewer during the winter, for example. Review the responses or leads generated from your CTAs as one set of indicators of the effectiveness of your campaign. In any case, make sure to remain committed to regular offerings.

Consistency is important not only for the frequency of your direct mail postcard campaigns.  In fact, consistency is key to any of your marketing strategies, be they a blog, social media page, or direct mail – like a postcard. Consistency will lead to being in control of your social media marketing and management which is also essential for your brand . If you want your audience to remember your business, you need to feature your brand identity consistently across all of your advertising platforms. That includes your name, logo , graphics, font choices, and even the tone of your writing. Readers should be able to identify when they receive something from you because of a strong brand identity.

You might have noticed that a postcard is not very large. Therefore, what you include should be specific, concise, to the point. Use space wisely. Focus on what you can do for your audience, who you are , and what readers can do . Do not try to send multiple, competing or confusing messages. And include no more than one call to action (such as a QR code linking strategy to your website or other page).

A surefire way to burn your customers or prospective clients is to “lie” to them. In an attempt to stand out in a competitive market, some advertisers turn to subtle (and not-so-subtle) deception to grab attention. And it may work – for a moment. Once a reader realizes they have been misled (and people are becoming more and more wary) your audience will tend to turn the other way any time they see your materials in the future. Avoid tactics using language such as “Urgent Notice!” when the correspondence is not, in fact, urgent. Or printing on what appears to be yellow legal paper when the message is not a legal issue. Those ploys will grab attention, but not for the right reason. They will not engender trust.

Your direct mailings, including postcards, have a goal to get a response from your audience. A call to action. When a prospect tries to contact you by phone, email, or through social media, be sure to respond as soon as possible. Keep your phone handy with notifications enabled. That way you can readily respond when your audience does.

Real estate marketing is not a get-rich-quick scheme. All of your marketing enterprises are a long-term investment. Though some pay off in the short term as well, your aim is beyond listing or selling a property while at same time lowering your days on the market to make the most profit. It is also to increase your brand awareness and generate leads for the future. You are the area expert in your community. You are a name people can trust in the neighborhood. It takes time to develop and maintain that relationship.

Your imagination is your only limit when it comes to ways you might use a postcard for your real estate marketing. Some common ideas include:

Whether you send postcards to specific individuals, to your entire mailing list, or to homeowners in a neighborhood you are farming, you have an opportunity to make an impact with one small piece of cardstock. When it comes to marketing through direct mail with a postcard, make the opportunity count.

The post 10 Tips for Sending Lead Generating Direct Mail Postcards for your Real Estate Business appeared first on Hometrack Real Estate Marketing .