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colehaynes

Best ways to gather direct mail list

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You'll want to send out as many mailings as you can in the next 60 days Cole.

Timing is everything.

Nov is historically the slowest month for me, so I like to try to build up inventory in Nov/Dec because Jan begins the onslaught of t/b's looking to find a house and put money down with their tax return that they're going to get.

So build up that inventory over the next couple of months!

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Hey Lynn,

 

The response I got from the brochures wasn't very good. I think I wrote a post shortly after this one with concerns about the mailing and the company I used. I almost thought there was a problem with the company I was using but I am sure the low response was based on the brochure I made and the quality of the list. I will try to attach the brochure if any one wants to look at it for ideas when making their own. I wouldn't use this one for more than ideas based on my low results, lol.

 

I sent out a "We Buy Houses" type letter about a year prior to this brochure campaign and it worked VERY well. I went back to using that letter and calls have been flowing in pretty well. Rather than one HUGE mailing I am only doing about 500 letters a month along with my other marketing(emailing, texting, website).

 

Direct mail is costly compared to other forms of marketing we usually discuss here. But I really like the leads from direct mail because the seller usually needs REAL help. I get a fair number of deals from Craigslist emailing and the leads are great because they are free. But these sellers already know how to do Craigslist marketing so a nice buyers list is helpful.

 

What about you Lynn, I think I sent you a copy of my final brochure or a rough draft of one, did you get any out?

 

Any one else using direct marketing with success besides John?

post-8264-1297824131.jpg

post-8264-1297824178.jpg

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I too get a good response with the "We Buy Houses" type letter, but then you have to weed thru all the garbage deals. In your brochure, we you promoting only Lease Purchase (the attachments did not work).

 

Lynn (FL)

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I'm by no means a brochure expert, I've never used them myself so this is simply what my thoughts are.

 

On the second picture, the outside part of the brochure, I'd think this would be where you want to grab the persons attention by pointing out the problem or bringing up the problem that they're having. ("Did you know that 70% of the homes listed for sale on the MLS in our city have been on the market for over 3 months?" or "Foreclosures in our city have driven home values down over 30%" perhaps?)

 

Make them curious, "Learn how you can sell your house in less time for more money and pay no commissions or fees" or even just bullet points like that, highlighting the benefits for them. They could give two hoots about the buyer or your company, they're thinking "What's in it for me?"

 

Once you've caught their attention, they've decided to open the brochure and skim over it really quickly, then you can identify the problem that they are having, give them more of what they want (benefits), sum up the details about selling on a lease option, tell them who you are, and what they need to do right away (pick up the phone and call you).

 

I think you've got great content but try playing with the layout maybe, mail another batch and see what happens!

 

I do direct mail, expired listings and a letter campaign. I like to mix it up... yellow letters (Big ones and small ones), formal letters, #10 envelopes, greeting card envelopes, invitation envelopes, those little 4x6 envelopes....

I get an alright response, but nowhere near what I want to be getting. I'm thinking that I'm gonna scrap the 7 step campaign and go back to basics: the simple yellow letter. (thanks, I just decided that!)

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Chris,

 

I appreciate your thoughts! I have always been more mathematical and writing is my weaker area, lol.

 

I definitely agree that the brochure doesn't really point out all of the benefits to the seller, actually I didn't see that before you pointed it out. The "We Buy Houses" letter I used was originally put together by a mentor I worked with in the past and I modified it to fit more of what I am doing now. What type of yellow letter do you use?

 

If you, Lynn, or anyone else doing direct mail wants to see the "we buy houses" letter just PM and I will email it over to you.

 

Chris, I haven't seen many of your posts about your direct mail marketing but it looks like you have/had a lot of mail campaigns going on. Do you write most of the letters yourself?

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Lynn, I'll still send probably 3 letters, but based on the results I've been getting, even though I get a decent response, I've been noticing that most of the calls I get after letter #4 are people just saying "You keep sending me letters, we've decided not to sell" or "my real estate agent is my daughter/son/friend, I'm not selling it without them" sorts of responses. In other words, with the 7 step campaign I've been getting more and more calls from people who aren't motivated at all to sell, but just want to stop getting letters from me in the mail. LOL

 

It's not to say that the 7 letter campaign doesn't work, but at this point it makes more sense for me to go back to just the basic, one or two sentence yellow letter and maybe hit them 3 times spread out a little more than every 9 days. Maybe it'll get me the response I want, maybe it won't, but I'm not 100% happy with what my current campaign has brought in so I'm gonna try it!

 

Cole, do you mean write them myself by hand, or write the content of the letter myself?

No to both, actually. I've collected a bunch of direct mail letters from different investors (online and offline) and mixed up a few of them in to one campaign. And they all get printed from my trusty Canon iP1800 :(

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