If you’re trying to stay at the top of mind for potential clients, then you need to send out real estate mailers.
Every real estate business can benefit from a strategized direct mail campaign – you just have to know where to start.
The good news is that homeowners are still opening their mailboxes everyday, which means your marketing materials have a good chance of getting read.
But, to avoid being thrown instantly in the trash, knowing how to create content that wins clients over and isn’t too salesy is key.
Here’s your all-inclusive guide for creating a real estate direct mail marketing campaign that wins leads and positions you as the local home expert you are.
Is Real Estate Direct Marketing Still Effective?
Yes, it’s true that social media and digital marketing are all the craze when it comes to advertising your business, but that doesn’t mean that direct marketing is dead.
Think about it, when’s the last time you opened your mailbox to something other than bills?
Mailing prospects is still a lucrative lead generation strategy for realtors since it: A) reminds homeowners of your services, and B) is quite refreshing from the monotonous collection of bills.
Plus, whereas readers are more likely to scroll through advertisements online without reading them, studies show that at least 42% of homeowners are more likely to read what you send them in the mail.
To make the deal sound even sweeter, direct marketing is incredible for your local brand.
The more homeowners in your area become familiar with you and your local services, the more they’ll remember you when they or someone they know are ready to buy or sell a home.
5 Steps for Developing a Direct Mail Campaign
So, how do you go about developing a direct mail strategy for a real estate business? Follow these five tips for planning a successful campaign.
1. Identify your outcome goals
Before you send out your first piece of mail, identify why you’re mailing the piece in the first place.
Is it to…
- Land more clients?
- Promote a listing?
- Spread the word about an open house?
Determining your goals for your campaign is the first step since this positions the rest of the strategy.
By acknowledging what your expected goals are, you’re then able to ensure your materials land in the right mailboxes.
For instance, if you’re strategizing a campaign to promote a new listing, the best homeowners to see your ad are those who have been in the same house for decades versus those who just moved in.
With the help of an online systems like ours, you can conduct a hyper-local search with specific criteria. This allows you to find the exact people and addresses to mail your materials too.
This strategy will prove to be more effective than mailing out brochures to a broad audience that more than likely doesn’t need your services at the moment.
2. Determine your target audience
As we touched on in the previous point, knowing your expected goals leads you to finding the perfect audience.
To do this, you will need to determine who, exactly, your audience is.
As you strategize a new direct mail campaign, think about the best fit for your criteria.
Would it make sense to target first-time home buyers? Current homeowners? Those looking to move to the area?
Correlate your campaign goals with the right target audience so your strategy performs and is able to be measured instead of becoming a wild guessing game.
3. Generate a mailing list
Once you’ve narrowed down your goals and target audiences, you need actual addresses to mail your letters.
Software systems such as Cole Realty Resource helps you find addresses easier (and faster) so you can be on your way to bringing in more business.
Our system pulls up homeowners in your targeted area that fit specific criteria such as length of residency, home value, and more. It’ll even generate addresses and contact information!
4. Save the date… strategically
Timing is everything and the saying remains true when scheduling a real estate direct mail campaign.
Depending on what you intended goals are, strategically set the date for your campaign to perform as expected.
For example, if you’re mailing advertisements for an upcoming open house, send the materials out at least two to three weeks in advance to give prospects plenty of time to remember.
5. Design memorable content
Ah, the fun part of direct mail campaigns… designing the content!
The best converting real estate direct mail materials are those that are consistent, helpful, and memorable. The good news is that there are several ways to go about designing memorable content.
We’ll get into specifics later, but in essence, all direct mailers should be eye-catching, easy to read, and include an urgent CTA (call to action).
If there’s any part of your marketing materials to focus on the most it’s your CTA. That’s because this is what will encourage your readers to act by contacting you to take the next step.
When writing your CTA, keep it straightforward while also elevating the sense of urgency. You want your readers to feel a sense of FOMO (fear of missing out) and like they need to call you pronto.
Here are some examples of strong CTAs to customize for your own marketing efforts:
- “Call today before it’s sold!”
- “This property won’t last long. Contact us today to learn more.”
- “Want to see what your home is worth?”
- “Schedule a free consultation with a realtor now.”
- “Visit our website to know more.”
What Marketing Materials Should You Send in a Direct Mail Campaign?
Now that you know how to set up the logistics of a real estate direct mail campaign, it’s time to get crafty with your direct mailers.
Here are the best materials to send homeowners for a fun, memorable, and educational experience.
1. Interactive home listings
A picture is worth a thousand words, but how much is a 3D listing worth?
Let your prospects feel as if they’re in your listing from the comfort of their current home by mailing postcards with interactive QR codes to a home you’re representing.
This is a great way for homeowners to experience the listing and see it as close to “in person” as they can get before calling you to schedule a showing.
2. Holiday postcards
Not all direct mailers need to be purely real estate-centered. Converting advertisements can come from kindness, like holiday postcards.
Greet prospective clients with warm seasons greetings with a cute postcard that just so happens to include your job title as a realtor and contact number…
3. Neighborhood marketing insights
Keep prospects in the loop of what’s going on in the real estate world around them.
By mailing out neighborhood insights like property values, charts, or visuals with trends, you’re helping readers make informed decisions they will need your help with.
For instance, are property values increasing in a certain neighborhood? Mailing out infographics showing homeowners how much their property might be worth could be the final push one homeowner was needing before listing their home.
And guess who they know to call after reading your flier?
You.
4. Happy testimonials
Social proof is everything in a real estate business, and you’ve worked hard to amass a positive client base.
Show off your client success stories to prospects by mailing a kind review left by former clients.
Not only does this demonstrate legitimacy of your services, it also resonates with your audience and builds trust.
Seeing positive reviews from neighbors or others in the community tells readers you are who you say you are and you do good work.
Plus, 93% of consumers read reviews before purchasing a product. You literally can’t afford not to show off positive testimonials.
5. An introductory letter
If you’re new to the area or just starting your real estate business, send introductory letters through the mail to local homeowners.
This is a friendly way of introducing yourself and your services to residents around you so homeowners get to know a sense of who you are.
In your letter include links to your social media channels or contact information so prospects know where to reach you at.
Introductory letters are a great first step to a direct mail campaign to break the ice to local residents before mailing out more fun materials.
6. Recipe cards
And speaking of fun materials, who wouldn’t want to open the mailbox to a yummy recipe card?!
No, this direct mailer doesn’t have a real estate string attached, but it could lead to more clients just from the simple reminder you exist and are closeby.
This mailer works since it provides value and use to the reader, and is likely something homeowners will hold onto.
Not to mention the fact that it’s a highly memorable marketing piece.
Every time homeowners go to make the recipe they shared, they’ll remember who mailed it to them, which could also come up in conversation with family and friends.
“These cookies are delicious! How did you make them?”
“A realtor sent me the recipe in the mail. Let me show you the card!”
Then, later down the line when the homeowner is ready to sell or buy a home, they’ll know who to call since you spread awareness about your brand thanks to a simple recipe card!
7. Free services
If you’re looking for a for-sure attention grabber that almost always leads to clients, you need to include the word “free” in your direct marketing campaign.
This powerful word is enough to draw attention to your brand and offering while establishing trust amongst prospects since there’s no risk involved.
Mail out advertisements offering homeowners a free comparative market analysis, consultation, or property value analysis.
Then, sit back and watch your schedule get booked out from the leads you’ve acquired.
8. Seasonal cleaning checklists
When the warm and cooler seasons begin to approach, mail homeowners a nice reminder of tasks to complete for the changing seasons.
Spring and fall cleaning checklists provide value to homeowners with actionable advice for prepping their homes for the weather while also reading your CTA at the bottom of the flier.
9. Community insight
As a realtor, you’re automatically deemed an expert on the local area. To boost your local expert knowledge further, start a newsletter that educates homeowners on the area around them.
Mail a digest letter a few times every year highlighting local events, new restaurants or things to do, and other area-specific information.
Not only will this teach homeowners about their local environment, it’ll also position your brand as a trustworthy source of information while being a constant reminder of your services the more your pieces are mailed.
10. Home knowledge & tips
As you start a blog on your realtor website and begin to write posts educating readers on making the most of their homes, spread the word of new posts through the mail.
Mailing postcards with the titles of your recent blogs entice homeowners to visit your website to learn more about what you wrote.
Not only does blogging increase your brand, it also boosts your website traffic and engagement with readers.
On your postcard, remember to use brand colors and eye-catching visuals with legible fonts and with a link to your website and relevant contact information.
11. Advertise an upcoming open house
Obviously, one of the best advertisements to include in your direct mail campaign as a realtor is upcoming open houses.
Showcase stunning, professional photos of your listing on your postcard while informing homeowners of the open house date.
Generate Actionable Leads With a Swift Click
It’s easy coming up with good-looking mailers, but without knowing who you’re sending them to, all you have is a craft.
Instead of spending hours researching addresses for your direct mail campaign, let Cole Information take this task off your hands!
Our Realty Resource platform makes finding leads easy with the click of a button.
After filling out our form of specific criteria you want to search, our database generates hundreds of local leads in just a few seconds, including their address!
We’ve simplified the marketing process for you by knowing who you’re targeting with every campaign every time.
All you have to worry about is designing the fun mailer.
Ready to meet your next client?
Schedule your live demo today to get started with Cole and make your real estate business work for you.
