Direct mail isn’t dead. In fact, it remains a safe and effective marketing strategy for real estate agents. Forty-one percent of Americans look forward to checking their mail daily. Better yet, sixty-five percent of millennials pay attention to direct mail advertising. Millennials, who make up a third of home buyers, are more likely than Boomers and Gen Xers to follow through with purchases after receiving direct mail.
Direct mail is just as likely to end up in the garbage, though. Direct mailers for real estate need to be eye-catching, informational, and no too sales-y. You want to grab attention while being genuine and knowledgeable.
Here are eight creative direct mail ideas to help you boost your real estate business:
Housing Market Updates
While the real estate market tends to be predictable, the landscape can change quickly. It can be helpful to provide housing market updates to those not “in the know”. You can compile the latest housing market updates for your farm area and send them to residents on an attractive postcard.
If you are targeting home buyers, send the postcards to people you know are renting. Statistics that show it is an excellent time to buy can help renters move forward with the home buying process – and now they have a real estate agent to contact! If your goal is to work with potential sellers, compile statistics and comps to help homeowners gain insight into selling their home. You can even put a neighborhood map on your direct mail piece that shows which listings sold recently or which listings are currently for sale.
Easy Cooking Recipes
People enjoy receiving direct mail that provides use. Consider sending easy and fun cooking recipes through direct mail. This is an excellent opportunity for you to create brand awareness for your real estate business while also giving something to the receiver.
You can find easy-to-use templates on websites like Etsy. You want to include your contact information on the recipe postcard. Additionally, consider hole punching each recipe card you send throughout the year so recipients can create their own recipe book! Or, your recipe cards can be magnetic and placed on their refrigerator.
Free Comparative Market Analysis
We mentioned above that most people are not “in the know” about the real estate market unless they are actively searching for or selling a home. Offering a free comparative market analysis is an effective way to help people in your area understand the real estate market while also building a relationship.
A free comparative market analysis direct mail piece helps you stand out from your competition, offer the receiver beneficial information, and highlight your industry knowledge.
City or Community Digest
We discussed above that a whopping forty-one percent of people look forward to receiving direct mail daily. USPS found that the average daily amount of time a person spends reading their mail is 30 minutes. With this statistic in mind, you might want to try sending direct mail that requires more in-depth reading from the recipient.
As a real estate agent, you can become a local guide to your farm area. Provide readers with a city or community digest. You can mail your digest to your mailing list every month, quarter, or season. The digest can include local events, restaurant and business openings, real estate market statistics, and information about your business.
Now is an excellent time for a community digest as more cities relax their social distancing mandates and allow more events like concerts and weekend farmer’s markets.
Spring/Fall Cleaning Checklist
Every year when spring rolls around, homeowners and renters want to clean up their homes. This desire to clean tends to happen during fall as well. With that said, you have two opportunities to send a seasonal direct mail piece to your mailing list.
Before spring, in March, send your prospects a spring cleaning checklist. The checklist can have a call-to-action and your contact information at the bottom.
Then, sometime in September, send those same prospects a fall cleaning checklist. This is a great way to stay top of mind while providing productive resources to your contacts.
If you want to send more than two checklists a year, get creative with it. You can also send summer and winter maintenance checklists, seasonal gardening checklists, etc.
Dear Neighbor Letter
Direct mail for real estate sets up the opportunity for you to get to know your neighbors. Send your neighbors a Dear Neighbor Letter with a short message about yourself and your brand. In the letter, provide background information on how you got started in the real estate industry. Additionally, share your knowledge of the local market and why you’re passionate about buying and selling. Lastly, share some fun facts about who you are.
At the bottom of your Dear Neighbor Letter, include your contact information, a headshot, and some professional real estate images of a listing you’ve sold.
Buyer’s/Seller’s Guide
As an industry expert, you’re a wealth of real estate knowledge. You can easily share that knowledge through direct mailing efforts. Send your mailing list a buyer’s or a seller’s guide. This guide should include the steps of the home buying or the home selling process. It can also have a buying/selling preparation checklist.
Sending your contact list a guide on the home selling or home buying process shows that you are knowledgeable about the ins and outs of real estate. It also indicates to potential clients that you are organized and forward-thinking.
Local Event Announcement
Direct mail is a fun way to promote a local event. Furthermore, the local event you promote can be your own or one that you sponsor! For example, if your brokerage is hosting a home buying class, a direct mail piece can draw in your exact target audience.
If you promote the event, make sure you are also in attendance, especially if you put your headshot and contact information on the event announcement postcard or flyer.
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