It’s no easy feat generating leads in the world of real estate, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done.
If you’re a realtor who’s struggling to find your next client, maybe it’s time to look no further than with a direct marketing campaign.
Sending out personalized mailers is a great way to grow your business and spread the word about your services to those in your area to generate new leads.
“I’ve already tried that. It doesn’t work.”
If this statement resonates with you, then it sounds like you need a tweak in your campaign efforts.
In this guide, we’re going to look at how and why direct marketing still works for realtors, and the 10 steps you can take to create converting marketing mailers to bring in your next client.
Does Direct Marketing Work in Real Estate?
Despite what you may think, direct marketing still works for real estate.
How? Because people are constantly checking the mail to receive print advertisements and bills (yes, some people haven’t gone full auto-draft yet!).
But coming up with a direct marketing plan requires more than designing cutesy, pretty print designs.
There has to be a clear purpose, the right mailboxes, and be written strong enough to produce conversions.
Sure, digital marketing serves its purpose as well for generating leads in real estate, but there’s one aspect to direct marketing – sending advertisements directly to specific prospects – that even digital marketing or social media marketing can’t match.
And that’s a deeply personal connection they can touch.
Digital marketing, although effective, allows you to create generalized content that reaches a broad audience, but direct marketing allows your messaging to feel more one-on-one and land in the actual hands of your target audience.
So, in essence, by going the extra mile to of course design pretty, eye-catching mailers and mail them to specific receivers, you generate more leads and conversions.
10 Steps to Create Converting Real Estate Marketing Mailers
Direct marketing campaigns can be a highly lucrative and effective way to grow your real estate business if you execute the plan correctly.
Here are 10 steps to follow to help you create a winning direct marketing campaign every time.
1. Know Who You’re Speaking To
As we mentioned earlier, part of the speciality of direct marketing (and one of the reasons why these plans perform so well) is because they speak more directly to your audience.
Even though your message is broad, it’s landing in specific mailboxes meant to establish a deeper connection with those you hand-chosen to participate in the campaign.
No more uploading humorous videos with trendy hashtags to hope it attracts the right leads!
Before you start wondering how in the world you’re going to find hundreds of names and addresses to include in your campaign, let us provide you with ease: we’ve already done it!
Software systems like Cole’s Realty Resource makes it possible to generate perfect leads for your campaigns in a matter of seconds with a custom research.
2. Create Memorable Content
Second to the actual mailers, a successful direct marketing campaign is of course reliant on the content you create.
Your mailers should be memorable and not boring, and the good news is that there’s a variety of mailer options sure to grab the interests of your audience from recipe cards, to holiday greetings, and more.
Obviously, the goal of direct mailers is to advertise your services, but like cold calling prospects, you want to do it in an indirect way.
Even sending prospects a simple card that tells them “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Thanksgiving” without showcasing a listing is enough to make a strong impression upon recipients.
3. Make It Personal
Another way to make your direct mailers converting is to personalize them to recipients.
Adding personal touches such as using each receiver’s name or adding in localized information goes a long way in making a connection and going the extra mile.
4. Include Branding Identifiers
When you create a real estate brand for your business, your branding elements are crucial for visually setting you apart from the competition.
Marketing mailers are another chance for recipients to interact with your brand so you need to have your brand identifiers front and center on the mailer.
These elements should be your brand’s:
- Logo
- Font
- Colors
5. Write a Strong CTA
The goal of every mailer campaign is to get your recipients to do something. This can be to come to an open house, check out a new listing, sell their home, attend a customer appreciation event, or something else entirely.
You’re not going to get prospects to do what you want them to do unless you have a strong CTA (call to action) on the mailer.
Here are a few examples of CTAs you can customize to fit your campaign:
- For a new listing: Hurry! This won’t be on the market long!
- For an open house or event: Stop by for free refreshments and door prizes!
- To sell a home: The market’s hot – See how much you can make!
6. Provide Contact Channels
No matter what the campaign is for – even if it’s a holiday card just for fun – you should always include your contact channels on the mailer.
This tells readers how they can get in touch with you and can also be seen as your CTA. Without providing your email, phone number, or social media channels, how else should they know to reach out?
7. Measure Campaign Performance
It’s no secret that direct marketing is more expensive than digital marketing, but shouldn’t deter you from trying this method.
What it should do instead is cause you to plan out a campaign thoroughly and track the performance to see how well the campaign goes and what you might need to tweak.
With every direct marketing campaign you send out, you need to measure the following:
- Response rate
- Conversion rate
- CPA (cost per acquisition)
- Average revenue per order
- ROI (return on investment)
These five insights will help you see how well your campaign performs and if it’s worth continuing.
8. Incorporate Eye-Catching Visuals
You’re a realtor which means your greatest asset to your business are your listings.
The way to get the attention of prospective buyers in your direct marketing campaigns is to show off the beautiful, unique properties you’re listing.
Use high-quality photos that show the best parts of the property in your mailers to spread awareness to receivers of the houses you’re representing, but don’t forget to post your contact information so interested buyers know how to contact you.
9. Convey Your Brand’s USP
Unless you’re writing a brochure, you’re working with limited space in a direct marketing mailer.
That means you need to tell the prospects why they need to choose you and your company over the others.
This can be done easily by conveying your brand’s USP clearly for recipients to see in the form of a quick testimonial, the motto your brand lives by, or whatever makes your brand special.
10. Hire a High-Quality Designer
The writing part is easy but the graphics… not so much. Luckily, there are two ways you can make this easier: hiring a graphic designer or designing it yourself in a system like Canva.
Canva is a wonderful website that allows you to create mailers of all kinds with various fonts and graphics, but the fact still remains that putting it all together might be challenging if you’re not the best at visuals.
Outsourcing this creative task to a professional will not only make the job easier and less stressful, but ensure that each mailer in your campaign is designed to do its job, which is to get the attention of the prospect.
Are You Ready to Meet Your Next Client?
So, despite what you may have heard (or thought), marketing mailers are still alive and well in the world of real estate.
With these ten steps, you will be well on your way to bringing in more clients by simply establishing a personal, direct connection with those who are part of your campaign.
