Jason (AL)

Hey MC, Your New York Football Giants are, indeed, headed to the Super Bowl. They're set to scrimmage some team from the Massachusetts area. What's that?! Adam & Jason found in the same thread? That's a server meltdown waiting to happen. Adam's talking about goat sacrifices via a blender, and I know there's gonna be an issue with the horns. I had a "friend" that had the same problem...ya gotta saw them suckers off beforehand.

I visit the board almost everyday...I just forget to log-in, so it looks as if I haven't been around. Whoever said, "Pimpin' ain't easy.", didn't know what they were doing.

It will probably read as, "Local Postal Customer". If you can't afford to send a mass mailing, why not get creative and have real estate-related businesses partner up with you? You could have your We Buy Houses message in the center of the postcard (as the most visible), while offering advertising around the edges. If you were to mail 2,000 postcards, it will cost you $284 ($0.142/postcard x 2,000), minus printing & design fees. You may not have to get that many to "partner" with you. I'd suggest a mortgage broker (a financing source for these folks' next home, IF they are in a position to purchase another house), a pawn shop (they may be in a bind, thus needing some extra cash to move), a storage facility (they may be downsizing and will need somewhere to store their extra stuff), a divorce attorney (divorce makes for motivated sellers)...you get the idea. Just explain to these businesses that you're blasting out 2,000 targeted/business-related postcards in the area and they can jump on board for mere pennies per house. Depending on your costs and how many postcards you're sending, you can charge anywhere from $100-$500+ for their ad space. If you were to mail out 2,000 cards and charged them the higher figure of $500, it would cost them $0.25 to reach each house ($0.88+ if they were to do it themselves). Say you only put 5 advertisers on your card, you'll collect $2,500, use that to pay for your cards, and give me & Michael C the rest. You can do the math, but this is a very lucrative endeavor...not to mention, you're pretty much getting paid to market. This same approach gave me the idea of doing this for local businesses. Good luck!

Yessir! It's a relatively new program that very few know about, much less take advantage of. I'm in the beginning stages of using it myself for non-real estate-related campaigns. I'm using a massive 9x12 card for mine (this is the largest the post office will allow without having to fold it). It costs $0.142 cents for each one you want delivered vs. the usual $0.88. I'd suggest bundling in groups of 50 for each carrier with a rubber band and write on a standard 8x11 piece of paper for each respective route you want them delivered to. Like you said, it's not ideal for targeted lists, but is awesome for blanketing entire neighborhoods or small city with your message. If you want to target certain demographics for whatever type of campaign you're wanting to implement, I suggest using Melissa Data (you have to create an account to use this, but well worth it). What are your plans with it?

I beg your pardon! Steve, Perhaps you're reading that as sex services...sext services? To reiterate... Provide a platform for real estate agents and/or investors. Create keywords in which potential house buyers can text to get info on a particular property. All of this info can be placed on the agent's/investor's For Sale signs. Rather than calling the agent directly, folks can simply text (and get an instant reply) and get any type of information they want. The agent/investor now has a database of #s in which he/she can send a message to each time they have another house within the same price range/location. You can also provide a link for a virtual tour of the house. Implementing text message marketing now allows them to track their results and they can focus on targeted potential house buyers that are interested in houses similar to the ones they're texting to receive info on. This also saves the agent/investor time by having the text replies answer the basic questions (rather than them taking calls). It also saves money, as one no longer has to waste it on paper and ink to print off property info sheets...not to mention, the gas it takes running around to keep them filled. Granted, different approaches would be used for mortgage brokers, title companies, and any other real estate professional...but you get the idea. Hope this helps.

Don't fret, there's still TONS of potential with it. With the model you're creating, it's not a bad way to go with it. Have you thought of offering text services to real estate professionals?

Yeah, but not paying anywhere near that.

I kinda suspected it would be advertising that you'd seek out once you got your list built up. $3k per month?! Wow. I've got a different platform (cheaper) and offer text services to local businesses. Tons of ways to implement text marketing. Good luck!

After the 3 initial messages are used, then what? Or is the 3 just for those that do not have an account? Do account holders have free unlimited texts? Thanks for the share.

I think you're onto something! If you're not, I definitely am. I've been using text marketing for the past year and it's effective for virtually any business you can think of. I'm even working with MC to build a list of lonely house wives looking for a good lasagna recipe. What he does with those #s we collect and whatever "special sauce" he introduces them to is totally up to him. Needless to say, it's super targeted. "Fish in a barrel", they call it? MC, if they smell like fish, throw 'em back.

I kinda got drawn into your benefits & figures*, amigo! Had I had a house for sale, I would've signed up right then and there! Cooperative assignments aren't too shabby for all parties involved, eh? *Normally, said to chicks.

Arbitrage at its finest. I wouldn't step over dollars to get to the pennies, Darin. That being said, there's nothing wrong with making an easy buck either. You could probably get some sort of gauge by asking, "What's listing all these houses worth to ya?" ...kinda tongue-in-cheek, with an ever-so-charming demeanor. But, if you were to think about it, how much would she stand to profit if your marketing efforts were to result in her getting her houses filled/sold? With that in mind, you could find a happy medium by making your offer a no-brainer decision on her part.

I always used Postlets.com when advertising online. It's free and very simple to use. It will post to tons of other sites as well. Also, don't discount Facebook's Marketplace.

Who was that masked man? Whoa?! A Jason sighting?? The south has risen again! I'll peek in about every so often, unlike a certain Canadian and p-whipped hunk. We got 10 inches of snow, so I've been mingling on some of my most favorite sites. (enter porn site references here) Toodles!

Nice stuff. Whenever I'm surfing CL, I use searchtempest.com. It cuts down on time and streamlines everything.