90 Day Marketing Strategy

Mar 6, 2017

To Reach More People In Your Sphere and Farm

by Julie Escobar

Agents often ask us for ideas on what to send and when. We’re happy to help so they can get back to what they do best: Prospecting, Presenting and Closing. We know there are LOTS of option to choose from, and no real one-size-fits-all. That’s why we put new marketing tools on the site each and every month. It’s also why we have over 1,000 postcards in the standard-size alone, and thousands more in Jumbo and Panoramic.

What we’ve found is that postcard marketing makes it easy for agents to “pull the trigger”, get their marketing ordered and move on to the next task. Expediency and ease are two factors that agents tell us are important to them. The fact that the content is done, customization is easy and data is readily available to create marketing lists all help make the process quick and easy.

One series that’s really popular right now is the Listing Inventory Series, because it highlights the need for more listings! Agents love having a series that has a wide selection because they can send month after month to your sphere and farm with consistent branding and similar messaging.

Here are some suggestions for the next three months using this series with a little bit of a twist! Pairing a
postcard with a Free Report Offer is a great way to offer something of value, brand yourself as a resource, and get people to pick up the phone or text you for the offer.

March: Send the Buyers are Waiting postcard from the Listing Inventory Series. When choosing a back, choose the “Standard Back with Message” option so you have a little more room.

Change up the front if you like, and on the back, change the copy to say something like:

There’s never been a more important time to have resources you can count on when it comes to buying and selling a home. We currently have more buyers than listings, which makes them motivated to pay top dollar while interest rates are low and demand is high. If you are interested in selling, or know someone who is, please call or text me today at (your cell number) to get a copy of my Free Report: 5 Tips for a Smooth Quick Home Sale.

April: Send the Take Advantage of the Market postcard. Again, choose “Standard Back with Message” option so you have a little more room.

Change up the front if you like, and on the back, change the copy to say something like:

Timing is everything in the real estate market, and the time to get more for your home is right now. We currently have more buyers than listings, which makes them motivated to pay top dollar while interest rates are low and demand is high. If you are interested in selling, or know someone who is, please call or text me today at (your cell number) to get a copy of my Free Report: 9 Strategies for Getting Up to 17% More for Your Home.

May: Send The Big Question postcard, and change up the back message to:

Selling your home is a big decision. One of the biggest for most people. You’ll want to make sure you have every question answered before diving into this competitive market. I can help. If you are interested in selling, or know someone who is, please call or text me today at (your cell number) to get a copy of my Free Report: 5 On the Money Reasons to Use a REALTOR.

Get the full impact from your marketing tools.

Add the report PDFs to your blog.
Or as an opt-in on your site.
Print them out to share at Open houses.
Share the jpg’s on your social media with a link driving people to your site to download.
Or use when you are walking your farm to follow up on your mailings.
Add additional marketing “touches” by sending Just Listed/Just Sold or Open House postcards.

Be sure to block time to speak with at least 100 people per week from your sphere list as part of our March challenge. The market is competitive. That means it will take bold ACTION to gain market share. We challenge you to do just that.

Need help? Contact our team at 866.405.3638. They are there for you!

Showing Up When Competition Slows Down

Nov 21, 2016

3 Great Strategies for Creating PRESENCE This Season

By Julie Escobar

It’s that time of year. The holidays are here and with them much of your competition is settling in – for shorter days, slimmer work calendars and that ‘wait ‘till the first of the year’ slump. Not you. You’ve got your eye on a new year filled with promise and kicked off with momentum-right?

Here are three things you can do to create vital PRESENCE now that will carry you through the holidays and long into the New Year with powerful, forward, full-steam-ahead strength.

Commit to Consistency

You know what you see a lot of? Agents who ONLY send a postcard or greeting card once a year. Start now and make it a point to ‘touch’ your sphere and farm at LEAST once every 21-30 days for the duration. Consumers today are savvy – they’re not swayed, influenced or impressed by the ‘one-and-done’ marketing efforts. From their perspective? If you’re that lax in how you market YOURSELF – how will you be at marketing THEIR property? Show the consumers in your market place that you’ve got the chops – and the commitment to be front and center not just once, but again and again and again.

Community Counts

Want to be known as the neighborhood resource or the market specialist? Get out of the office, out from behind your desk and out in FRONT of the people in the community you serve. Make it a point to calendar at least ONE community event in your market per quarter – or even per month. It’s an edge that will set you apart, win favor and create a presence that you’re the top agent to talk to. Team up with your local schools, libraries, chamber of commerce, or even a network of like-minded business professionals to help create awareness, increase attendance and bring a wide spectrum of information to those who want it most.

Think AHEAD

The smartest agents in the business are never satisfied with doing things the ‘same old way’. They’re keeping their ear to the ground, eyes open, and thinking ahead. What can you do to make a splash? How can you best keep the ‘buzz’ going? I love Tony Robbins who has served up the motto ‘Constant And Never Ending Improvement’ for years. In a 24/7, 365 world, you can’t let your skills, your top-of-mind awareness, or your passion to coast or slip to the back burner.

Need help? Call us at 866.405.3638. We’ve got answers you can count on. From direct response postcard marketing that keeps you top-of-mind, to Holiday messages that make a difference, to real world resources that you can adopt and make part of that empowered new marketing and business plan for 2017 that we know you are ALREADY working on! Have a great week!

Tracking Your Results…

Nov 8, 2016

Taking the Guesswork Out of Real Estate Marketing

By Julie Escobar

You’ve got to love technology right? As real estate professionals in today’s competitive world, every marketing step counts – and every marketing dollar is important. We get that. That’s why we put systems in place to track 100% of all postcard and mailing orders. That way, you know what’s been delivered, when there’s an issue and exactly when you can start following up on your important real estate marketing mailing.

Here’s a quick video to show you how it works:

As you kick your marketing and momentum into high gear – here are four things you should know:

1. Track My Mail is a Resource You Can Trust. We know that every dollar counts and you want to know that your marketing is not only being sent, but is being delivered. We want the same. Every time you place an order, you will be sent a link when that order is shipped so you can track your mail every step of the way. When we deliver it to the post office, when and where it’s routed, and when it gets delivered. That way you’ve got total confidence that your marketing is working for you. There’s no extra cost, no fuss, no questions. We’ve got you covered.

2. There are LOTS of options available. Marketing is a big decision for agents today, and budgets are a giant factor. We’ve got tools that can match any budget, and can help you reach as far or as limited a target as you are comfortable with. From Every Door Direct options that allow you to blanket entire geographic areas, to Just Listed/Just Sold Postcards which are a foundation for any real estate marketing plan, to the collateral pieces you need for fair trade items, blog fodder, consumer friendly website downloads and presentation content and more. We can work with you one-on-one to meet your budget and extend your reach with ease.

3. By real estate professionals for real estate professionals. With our organization, you’ll know that your marketing is being written and produced by people who have long ties and experience in this industry we love. We’re constantly watching market trends so we can keep you on the cutting edge when it comes to always having the right piece for the right person at the right time. It’s the difference – that makes all the difference.

4. Totally editable. We get that creating is HARD and clicking is EASY. That’s why we try to do as much of the ‘heavy lifting’ as possible so that when you choose your marketing materials – be they real estate postcards, newsletters, flyers, brochures, or even kits – you don’t HAVE to change a thing if you don’t want to. You can simply have our system apply your contact and profile information and go – but if you want? You can totally change whatever you like. Change the words. The images. Upload your own piece even. Flexibility is key in today’s busy world. You have our commitment to continuously make that an easy solution.

Get started today!

We know that a successful agent is a busy agent. And time – is really of the essence. So giving you the options, materials, resources and support you need is our top priority. Call us today at 866.405.3638 and speak to one of our marketing professionals about building your book of business this year. We’ve got just what you need to succeed.

Fifteen Facts About Every Door Direct Mail™

Mar 28, 2016

Getting the Inside Scoop to See If EDDM is Right for YOU and Your Business

By Julie Escobar

Wow. We’ve had a lot of calls recently about this powerful (and affordable) service now provided by the U.S. Postal Service. It allows you to literally get in EVERY DOOR in a geographic area for as low as 18.3 cents in postage per piece. But there are a LOT of questions out there – and a lot of folks unsure about which way to go in terms of getting their message in the right hands to help brand themselves in a market. So I put on my fact-finding hat so that I could give you guys the inside skinny on some things you need to know about this service to determine if it is really right for you.

Fact #1: According to direct marketing statistics, businesses which get the majority of their clients from within a 3 mile radius of their office are: REALTORS®, mortgage brokers, insurance agents, dentists, chiropractors…(the list goes on – but did you catch that first one?) Love that!

Fact #2: This is the most cost-effective means to deliver your message to an ENTIRE market area. As a SATURATION mailing tool – you can literally send up to 5,000 pieces each day (to be delivered to EVERY SINGLE mailbox on your chosen carrier route) still pay no more than 18.3 cents in postage per piece.

Fact #3: There is no postage permit necessary – only the required indicia which is fairly small needs to be placed on your mailing piece. (We’ve got that for you- no worries!)

Fact #4 – You don’t need a mailing list. This is a biggie! One of the toughest components that agents find in building their book of business is developing their LIST. While it IS one of the best practices you can ever do to build long-term referrals and keep your customers and clients calling YOU back for the duration of your career – it is a stumbling block for many. So while you’re waiting to get your list together (go ahead and hire a broke college kid to start data entry today – they need the money and you need a database!) – the EDDM™ system is the perfect way to start branding yourself and discover NEW PROSPECTS to put into your sphere!

Fact #5: You can send standard mail flats, irregular parcels, periodicals, and bound printed flats. But – your
mailing piece cannot be more than 15′ long, 12′ high and .75′ thick.

Fact #6: The common mailing pieces for EDDM™ used by REALTORS® are newsletters, open house postcards, just listed postcards, just sold postcards, introduction/neighborhood specialist announcements or workshop invitations (first time home buying seminars, short sale seminars, workshops for seniors, renters. buy workshops, etc.)

Fact #7: You can select whether or not you want your mailing delivered to P.O. Boxes and Farm mail routes!

Fact #8: Your mailing will saturate every consumer within your carrier route AND it can also include delivery to businesses. However – you CANNOT just send to businesses.

Fact #9: When choosing your carrier routes – remember to choose WISELY. With this system – you must mail to EVERY home on the carrier route. So it’s important to look at the market you want to saturate and budget accordingly. If your route has 1,000 homes in it – then you’ll need to provide mailings for every home. The average carrier route has about 250-500 homes in it. When using the carrier route selection tool from USPS – we always recommend ‘de-selecting all’ first – when you get to that screen so it doesn’t pull up every route in your zip code (that can be a little intimidating!) Then, based on YOUR budget, you can choose the carrier routes in your market with the number of homes you can comfortably afford to send to repeatedly.

Fact #10: To piggyback on #9, while this is a much more affordable mailing option for most agents, remember this is still direct marketing. So if you can only afford to (or care to) send a mailing ONCE to an area – then it will more than likely not glean you the results you are looking for. Keep that 3-7-27 rule in mind. It takes 3 impressions for someone to recognize your name, 7 impressions to put your name with your business and 27 to become a ‘top of mind’ brand name in someone’s head. So better to mail to 300 people ten times for example than to send one mailing of 3,000 if you want to build that awareness and trust.

Fact #11: You’ll need to include a form (PS Form 3587) with your mailing that identifies the carrier routes, number of homes in the route, etc. It’s a government form so – while it’s a little mind-boggling – it’s not too bad! (And with our service we’ll even fill it out for you so no worries!)

Fact #12: Your mailers have to be bundled and banded in groups of 100 and include a “facing slip” on each bundle. So that’s not a lot of fun – but again – we do that for you if you like. Besides – you’ve got to think about those delivery folks! Can you image if you gave them one giant stack? Yikes!

Fact #13: If your best target market is actually in other cities or states, you can use Priority Mail® to ship your Every Door Direct Mail mailings to the Post Office in that area. How cool is that? This is especially helpful if you are working with vacation properties or investors.

Fact #14: You have OPTIONS. Whether you’re an all-hands-on-deck kind of person and want to do everything yourself or whether you just want to choose your mailing piece, pick your routes and have the rest all done for you – we’ve got a solution that works for you, your market and your budget. Learn more about how Every Door Direct Mail – just click here!

Fact #15: You don’t have to do it BY YOURSELF. The truth is, this is an exciting and affordable opportunity to saturate a market with your message but there are variables, budgets and geographic areas to consider. Sometimes (all right – most of the time) it’s good to have another person to help walk you through the process. Our EDDM specialists have the experience and knowledge to do just that – just give them a call at 866.405.3638. They’re happy to help.

Hope that helps! Happy marketing!

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