Farms and Postcards: the Real Estate Standby, Is it Worth it?

If you do decide to do postcards then you need to plan a budget that will allow you to repeat them over and over -- only mailing once or twice is not going to be worth it. Our 2 cents.

Our postcard campaign has been a great success, but we follow a few self-imposed rules. We target a specific group (for us, new investors that closed within the last 12 months on an investment property), and we make sure to give them something besides a "teaser". So many mailings are teasers, telling you to call for special offers, great rates, etc. But our postcards tell them our pricing, and promise them some free valuable information if they go to our website.

We are getting callbacks on postcards that went out over a year ago, so something must be working.

Good luck.

Unless you are committed to consistency, don't do it.  If you hit and miss, best flush the money you paid down the commode.  j

The best results that I have had are with expired cards.  I have many names built up in my data base from over the past 3 years.  Every quarter I go through all the names and purge those that did list or sale, went to foreclosure, change of ownership.  I send meaningful market data updates to all these expired and never sold but still live there homeowners.  It has accounted for at least a million dollars in business each year (5 to 6 units sold) sometimes more.  Well pays for itself plus.  Some sellers turn into purchasers of a new home.  The beauty of this is that most Realtors do not continue to market to them and you become the only touch.  If they have moved out of state, I mail to their new home address and reference the home that is leased in my community.  It works!  Be smart about your marketing.  Commit and do it.

Connie Goodrich

Keller Williams Realty - Dallas area, McKinney, TX

Oh the dreaded postcard solicitation tool - yes, no, yes, no, YES!!!!!  This can be frustrating to many agents and many do not believe in this technique but I am a big fan of utilizing this area of marketing.  I believe this is a great way to brand your name and image but patience is key.  I suggest a monthly or quarterly mailing, size matters-bigger is better, large and appealing imaging and a simple message, a campaign theme through the year is a great idea, an educational tip or timely announcement.  This is a long term process for pay-off.  I wish you the best with your business.

As a Marketing & Business Consultant working in all things real estate, I can tell you that just about anything still works if you do it persistently and consistently. Direct mail is actually extremely inexpensive, and it works, which is why you keep getting it in your mailbox each day. I get seven pizza flyers each Thursday in my mail. Never fails. All seven are within two miles of me. It's been like that for the five years I've been here. They wouldn't do it if it didn't work.

I have many Realtor and home inspector Clients who resort to either direct mail or email. Email is a little more difficult to do if you're a new company, but it can be done.

The general premise in marketing, which has been around for a century or more, and which I've still found to be true, is that you have to bop someone over the head about 20 times before they'll buy your product or use your services. Many times you can short-circuit the process according to the 80/20 rule:

• 20% will use you immediately due to an extenuating circumstance, such as deciding to sell their house last night and finding your direct mail in their pile at that specific decision-making moment. That's karma
• 80% will use you if you have something to offer them that they need or want, and the price is right, etc. This 80% usually requires those 20 bops.

You can easily create a niche market for yourself if you'll pick two or three marketing methods and then do those things persistently and consistently for 6-12 months. Make sure you track your results.