In fact it sounds kind of, well, drippy. But its value in building relationships with your clients and prospects is far from drippy.
Used in a postal mail campaign or a permission-based e-mail campaign, drip marketing does far more than remind your prospects that you exist.
It offers you a way to show your expertise and knowledge without being overbearing. If you offer one new 
tip or bit of advice each time you write, your prospects will gradually come to view you as the expert they need.
And, by offering that advice without promise of reward, you make another important statement about yourself. You silently state that you possess the qualities of generosity, helpfulness and good will.
Day by day, you’re building a relationship based on trust. And in this day of skepticism, trust is a priceless commodity. It’s something that can’t be purchased – it can only be earned.
Letter by letter, you’re showing your prospects all the reasons why they need to turn to you when they’re ready to buy.
I've had people write to ask me if they can take all the letters in one of my prospecting letter sets and combine them into one letter - to save on postage costs. Yes, of course you could, but I sure wouldn't recommend it. In fact, in my opinion, sending just one letter is a waste of time and money.
The letters are far more effective when presented one at a time – over time.
For one thing, the more times you write, the greater the chance that your prospects will read at least one of your messages. Think about how many emails and postal mail promotions you get that you don’t read.
It’s not always because you aren’t interested. Sometimes it’s because of other things going on you your life. On the day a letter arrives you may be:
- Rushing to get to an appointment.
- Worried about something.
- In bed with the flu.
- Entertaining house guests.
- Suffering from a nagging headache.
- Upset over something your kids, your spouse, or a good friend said or did.
The more times you write, the more chances you give yourself to be seen.
Busy people don’t want to take the time to read a long manuscript that they didn’t request. So if you send pages of information, they’re likely to ignore the whole thing. Make it short and easy to read. One page is enough.
Offering your information in small bites gives your readers time to digest and understand each reason. And, because you’re offering something new each time you write, you will interest rather than annoy those prospects.
Yes, you do need a series of messages...
If you simply sent the same message over and over, they’d probably toss or delete it as soon as they realized they’d already seen it before.
But because your message is different each time, and because you’ve let them know from the first that they’re going to receive some valuable advice each time they hear from you, they’ll read each message. In fact, they may look forward to it.
Not long ago I got a note from a lady who was receiving some drip marketing messages from me. She said “Somehow I missed #4, could you re-send it?”
How many letters should go into a drip campaign?
Most experts agree that you need 7 “touches” to motivate the average consumer. Those can be email, postal mail, phone calls, or even in-person visits.
I think a better way to decide how many letters to send is to examine how much information you have to offer. Decide what you want to tell them. Then break it down into small, logical bites. To get yourself started, you could even write one long essay, then come back and break it up.
Or, you could decide who to target in your next prospecting campaign, then come over to Copy by Marte and choose the appropriate pre-written real estate letters.
Of course you should include a call to action at the end of each message. Offer a free consultation or a free report. Invite them to your website to learn more. Or simply say, “When you need me, call…” and list your phone number and email address. Whatever you do, do ask them to take some action, even if it’s reminding them to be on the alert for your next message in X number of days.
What happens when you run out of letters?
Choose another set for follow-up. It could be the 26 Event-themed staying in touch letters, or possibly the 18 seller information letters. You can also put those folks on the list to receive your market reports or your newsletter.
If you’re using postal mail and need to save dollars, put them on the list to receive a quarterly market report, plus your just listed and just sold cards.
Whatever you do – once you’ve got them, don’t let them go! See this post for the reason why.
Image courtesy of fantasista at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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