I'm not looking to bust any chops here, but I do hope to save someone (at least one person) from wasting money on real estate marketing that won't work other than to waste your hard earned money. I hate to see people believe that investing in a one-time only real estate marketing plan (can't really even consider it a "plan" with just one mailing) will 
actually yield results, because IT WON'T. There is the anomaly and we have heard many stories from several of our clients, but it is absolutely NOT the norm. Your kidding yourself if you for one second think it is. When these anomalies happen, they happen for a reason and it is usually has to do with a very targeted list and possibly a good reputation.
Mr. "Some Guy" whose name I cannot remember (Keith maybe) dropped off a real estate marketing postcard to my house offering the standard real estate services. He didn't mail it, he dropped it off...which I have absolutely no issue with, BUT why didn't he knock on my door? How come he didn't introduce himself and let me know he was interested in doing business in our neighborhood and did I know of anyone who was considering a move in the near future. He may be more than "some guy" to me if he had stopped to say "hi" and I got a chance to meet him in person. I might actually remember him and more importantly his name. (Still coming up empty trying to remember what it was). I'll get back to you on that if it ever comes to me, or he actually markets to me again, which I doubt will happen.
This "some guy" Realtor person I know works at Keller Williams, a brand I remember and recognize even though his postcard was green...green??? Shouldn't it have been red? Very strange if you ask me. I also KNOW that he got his postcards printed at Vista Print for FREE. Why else would Vista Print have their name on his marketing materials?
Here's the problem with having your marketing materials printed for free, it's all about perception of the person receiving the marketing piece. People associate Vista Print with cheap printing/free printing, they definitely don't associate Vista Print with quality business printing. They are great at what they do...cheap business printing! It's their niche' and it's what they do. Is that what you want? You, your reputation and your business to be associated with?
I really can't tell you the number of times I have been handed a business card and been told "pardon my cards, I got them printed for free at Vista Print, I was being cheap, they aren't all that great, but they were free". how do you translate that?
I started this blog post to publicly make a prediction about Mr. "some guy" real estate agent who dropped off a postcard on my doormat. I predict that even though he works with Keller Williams, the company that promotes touching prospective clients no less than 30 times per year. I predict that he will not follow up with another postcard because he didn't get a response on the first one. Please understand that unless you have a highly qualified list AND already have a reputation and are well known in the community, one real estate postcard marketing piece will not work, but to frustrate you and leave you disappointed. What to do about it? Find an on-line printing company that prints quality product, like PrinterBees. Good prices, excellent quality and humans who answer the phone or call you right back if you leave a voice-mail. Focus on selling real estate and networking with the people who matter. Leave the printing and the postcard design to an on-line printing company, that specializes in real estate marketing. it's what PrinterBees does, so you can focus on what you do.
Another quick tip for you. When you have your postcards mailed out by a company like PrinterBees, you can take advantage of bulk mailing rates which are almost half of the normal .44 Cents first class stamp. Another to save more on your marketing.
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