Summer presents a golden opportunity for real estate agents to connect with potential clients through strategic direct mail campaigns.With longer days and a more relaxed atmosphere, homeowners are more receptive to engaging with personalized outreach. Agents can transform their summer mailings into valuable listing appointments by implementing targeted strategies.
Craft Compelling and Personalized Mailings
To capture attention, your mailings should offer value and resonate with the recipient’s needs.Include local market insights, tips for home maintenance during summer, or information about community events.Personalization is key; addressing recipients by name and referencing their neighborhood can significantly increase engagement.
Incorporate Clear Calls to Action
Every mailing should have a clear, concise call to action (CTA).Whether inviting homeowners to a free home valuation, directing them to a personalized market report, or encouraging them to attend a local open house, a strong CTA guides the recipient toward the next step.
Multi-Property Series is shown above. To see more, Click Here.
Leverage Consistency and Timing
Consistency in your mailing schedule keeps you top-of-mind.Aim to send mailings at regular intervals, such as bi-weekly or monthly, to maintain a steady presence.Timing your mailings to coincide with local events or seasonal milestones can also enhance relevance and response rates.
Utilize Tracking and Follow-Up
Implement tracking mechanisms, such as unique URLs or QR codes, to monitor engagement with your mailings.Follow up with recipients who interact with your content through phone calls or personalized emails to further nurture the relationship and move toward securing a listing appointment.
Real estate agents can convert summer mailings into fruitful listing appointments by crafting personalized content, incorporating clear CTAs, maintaining consistency, and actively following up.Embracing these strategies positions agents to capitalize on the season’s opportunities and build lasting client relationships.
PLUS: When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.
1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazine
Homes & Life Magazine is a customizable magazine with rich, full-color content and a sharp, professional aesthetic. It includes compelling, direct, response-driven articles written by real estate industry experts and engaging lifestyle content. Send out Homes & Life Magazine in Just Minutes – No Minimums Required. Or we’ll ship it to you. Homes & Life Magazine is the ultimate “Coffee Table Lingerer”! …and it costs less than sending a greeting card! – Click Here
2. The Free 2025 Q1 Real Estate Marketing Guide
Kickstart the second quarter of 2025 with our 2nd Quarter Real Estate Marketing Guide, designed to help you achieve your real estate business goals. Packed with tools like a goal-setting sheet, monthly insights, tailored task lists, and marketing recommendations, this free guide is your ultimate resource for success—download it today for FREE! –Click Here
3. The Free Interactive 6-Month Real Estate Business Plan
The Free Interactive 6-Month Real Estate Business Plan allows you to enter your business goals for the remainder of the year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closings, and so on are needed to reach your goals. – Click Here
Summer is a hot season for real estate, and with the right approach, your direct mail campaigns can be too. As buyers and sellers make moves under the sun, a tangible, targeted message in their mailbox can cut through the digital noise.
In 2025, leveraging direct mail effectively means combining smart strategies with valuable content to nurture leads and grow your brand. Let’s dive into five strategies to make your summer direct mail sizzle.
Hyper-Localize Your Summer Message
Generic mailers get tossed. For your summer campaign, focus on specific neighborhoods or “farm” areas. Highlight recent sales in their community, summer-specific local events, or tips for enjoying local amenities.
According to a 2025 report by Lob, “Direct mail is a powerful tool for real estate pros who want to stand out, build trust, and close more deals.” Tailoring your content to a micro-market demonstrates your expertise and relevance. Think “Your Guide to Summer Fun in [Neighborhood Name]” or “Recent Sales Near [Local Park/Attraction].”
Offer Tangible Summer Value
What can you offer that homeowners will actually keep and use? Consider a beautifully designed postcard with a list of “Top 5 Local Ice Cream Spots,” “Summer Home Maintenance Checklist,” or even a small packet of seeds for a summer herb garden. This value-added approach keeps your name in front of them longer. The goal is to be a resource, not just an advertisement.
Integrate with Your Digital Efforts
Your direct mail shouldn’t exist in a vacuum. In 2025, successful campaigns bridge the physical and digital. Include a QR code on your mailer leading to a summer-themed landing page with a free home valuation, a guide to “Summer Staging Tips for a Quick Sale,” or your latest market update video.
REsimpli’s 2025 data highlights that “Marketing campaigns with direct mail and digital media saw a 118% lift in response rate.” Make it easy for recipients to connect with you online.
Time Your Drops Strategically
Summer has its own rhythm. Consider sending mailers just before long holiday weekends when people might have more time to consider big decisions, or mid-summer when the initial rush has passed but serious movers are still active.
A “Mid-Summer Market Update” can be very effective. Consistency is also key; a one-off mailer is easily forgotten. Plan a series of 2-3 touches over the summer.
Focus on High-Quality Design & Personalization
With more marketers increasing their direct mail investment (82% according to Lob’s 2025 State of Direct Mail report), your pieces need to stand out. Invest in professional design, quality paper stock, and vibrant summer imagery.
Where possible, personalize your message beyond just a name. Referencing property types common in the area or a general “Thinking of making a summer move, [Neighborhood] homeowner?” can increase connection. A polished, professional piece reflects the quality of your service.
By implementing these strategies, your summer 2025 direct mail campaigns can be a powerful engine for generating leads and boosting your real estate business.
PLUS: When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.
1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazine
Homes & Life Magazine is a customizable magazine with rich, full-color content and a sharp, professional aesthetic. It includes compelling, direct, response-driven articles written by real estate industry experts and engaging lifestyle content. Send out Homes & Life Magazine in Just Minutes – No Minimums Required. Or we’ll ship it to you. Homes & Life Magazine is the ultimate “Coffee Table Lingerer”! …and it costs less than sending a greeting card! – Click Here
2. The Free 2025 Q1 Real Estate Marketing Guide
Kickstart the second quarter of 2025 with our 2nd Quarter Real Estate Marketing Guide, designed to help you achieve your real estate business goals. Packed with tools like a goal-setting sheet, monthly insights, tailored task lists, and marketing recommendations, this free guide is your ultimate resource for success—download it today for FREE! –Click Here
3. The Free Interactive 6-Month Real Estate Business Plan
The Free Interactive 6-Month Real Estate Business Plan allows you to enter your business goals for the remainder of the year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closings, and so on are needed to reach your goals. – Click Here
Before you launch your next direct mail campaign let’s take a moment to review the three rules for direct mail marketing success.
Choose the right prospect list
Provide a compelling offer
Follow best practices for marketing piece design
Read on to discover how to launch a successful real estate direct mail campaign.
1. Choose the right prospect list
Reaching the right people at the right time is key to the success of any type of marketing, including direct mail. Choosing the people who populate your prospect list is your first job.
To decide who goes on the list, determine your purpose with each direct mail campaign. Are you trying to build brand awareness in a farm area? Generate new clients? Which type, buyers, or sellers? What niche specifically renters, move-up market, baby boomers, fence-sitters, absentee owners, or luxury market (to name a few)?
It’s critical to determine your “why” and “who” before you begin. “Why am I conducting a direct mail campaign? Who do I want to reach?”
Suppose you want buyer leads from a particular subdivision. Sure, homeowners may be thinking of moving, but it’s more likely that those currently renting are the best prospects. NAR states most buyers purchase a home within an average of 15 miles from their previous residence.
Or, you may want to target homes in the subdivision owned by absentee owners but target the tenants living in them with theMapMyMail tool.
2. Provide a compelling offer
The second rule refers to your offer, the second most important aspect of a successful direct mail campaign.
Retailers have an easier time with this one. Offering a percentage off, free shipping or buy-one, get-one-free are all popular.
What about real estate agents? What can you offer that might compel a recipient of their postcards to act?
A free report on the importance of timing your home sale. The direct response report,“Timing is Everything”is ideal.
If you offer enticing seller services, such as free home staging or a free pre-sale home inspection, by all means, play that up as your offer.
If you don’t offer free services, consider choosing one to use as your offer just for the direct mail campaign.
Keep in mind, however, that the number of hoops you force your prospects to jump through to take advantage of the offer impacts the response rate, according to Bob McCarthy at DMNNews.com.
The more they have to do, the lower the response rate.
3. Direct mail piece design best practices
“One strategy we use to get our highest response rates is to make the offer the centerpiece of the direct mail piece”, McCarthy claims.
Whether you choose to include an image of the free report or use text to describe it, mention it boldly and repeatedly.
Your message (its length and graphic requirements) will determine the medium. Keeping it plain and simple? A standard-sized postcard may do the trick, although jumbo, panoramic and mega-sized postcards stand out in the mailbox which makes for a genuinely lasting impression.
If it’s graphics-heavy and you’ll include substantial copy, using one of the larger postcard sizes (jumbo or panoramic) becomes even more important.
Choose a font that’s easy to scan as people sift through their mail. Many direct mail experts recommend using a sans serif font, such as Arial, rather than Times New Roman or another serif font.
Consider varying the font size throughout the text, with more important items highlighted with a larger version of the chosen font.
Additional design tips to keep in mind include:
Ensure your headline is bold and compelling yet short and specific.
Use lots of white space to make the piece appear to be easily digestible.
Sub-headings help guide the reader through the text.
Use a high-resolution photograph.
Avoid placing text over photos.
Ensure that your offer stands out and that your contact information is easy to find.
To save time, take advantage of our already professionally done-for-you postcard designs covering a variety of niches and topics.
4. Send it out . . . and keep sending
Consistency is key when it comes to sending direct mail to your prospect list. Whether you choose to run your campaign bi-monthly or monthly follow the laws of branding and keep sending.
Market conditions may prompt a change in frequency as well. New listings, just sold-homes, and other real estate news deserve an additional “mention” to everyone in your farm area.
5. Track your results
Tracking your results is vital to your direct mail campaign. One of the most popular methods used by agents is the creation of a dedicated landing page on their websites. The URL should be unique to the campaign so that you’ll be able to learn your exact response rate (number of responses divided by the total number of pieces sent).
Marketing experts vary when quoting an “average response rate” for direct mail. The most recent figure puts it at 9% percent. How close or far you are from that figure depends on how closely you follow the guidelines outlined above.
Ready to Launch a Direct Mail Campaign? Schedule a FARM, Call to Action Campaign in Just Minutes.
They’re currently on sale 10% OFF the first month – (sale ends 7/17/21).
FARM, Call to Action Scheduled Campaign (shown above). Learn more, HERE
TO LAUNCH A FARM, CALL TO ACTION CAMPAIGN:
Hit “CLICK HERE”, below, to schedule your campaign (from a desktop or laptop computer).
Use promo code: ACTION10 to save 10% off the first month.
And, remember, YOU DON’T PAY for each mailing until it actually goes out (cancel or change each mailing up until the night before it goes out).
Please reach out to our support team at 866.405.3638 with questions or if there is anything we can do to help you with your success.
PLUS: When you have time…here are some helpful resources we’ve made available to support your success.
1. The Free 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan
The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do when. Four key market segments are included, Niche Marketing, Get More Listings, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence. –Click Here
2. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan
The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan allows you to enter your business goals for this year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closing, and so on are needed to reach your goals. – Click Here
3. Become a Neighborhood Brand
Become branded in a specific neighborhood with a 12X15 marketing piece sent automatically each month to an exclusive carrier route. Watch this video to learn more or Click Here.
4. The Free Real Estate Mailing List Guide
The Real Estate Mailing List Guide outlines the top tools for generating targeted prospecting lists including Baby Boomers, Empty Nesters, Investors, Lifestyle Interests, High-Income Renters, Move-Up Markets, and more. The Guide also defines done-for-you marketing campaigns to match these markets. –Click Here
5. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook
Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here
6. The Free Online ROI Calculator
Consistency and automation are the keys to success. Discover how effective direct mail marketing can dramatically increase your bottom line. Enter your statistics in our Free online ROI Calculator and click the ‘CALCULATE MY ROI’ button to see your results instantly! –Click Here
7. The Free Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”
The “Crush It” Guide includes easy steps to launching an effective direct mail marketing campaign, how to create a targeted prospect list, the perfect way to layout marketing materials for success, seven opportunities available to target in your area right now. –Click Here
“… why are so many business owners still creating, producing, printing, and mailing real newsletters?”
Interesting question.
There’s a perception out there that digital wears the crown as king-of-marketing-methods (placed there primarily by digital marketing companies).
Why would any business actually pay to mail a newsletter?
It’s Kim Walsh-Phillips, author and founder of Powerful Professionals, a multi-seven-figure business, who is asking that question. She hangs out on stages across the globe with the likes of Tony Robbins and Gary Vaynerchuk.
She claims that the effect of printed, mailed newsletters “… cannot be replicated.”
“My business empire has been built with print newsletters as its foundation and a centerpiece around which everything else orbits,” Walsh-Phillips explains.
“Well over 50% of my high-value private clients rise up out of my newsletter subscriber base …”
She’s not alone.
The Market Dominator (shown above)
In the category of “highly-effective” real estate newsletters, the Market Dominator is a branding masterpiece, that stands alone.
Not only is the Market Dominator automated, making your life easier, it’s updated every month with New, relevant content, including direct response offers to promote inbound calls.
Visually, the Dominator packs a punch with its 12 x 15 mega-size is impossible to miss in the mailbox.
If you’re interested in adding a newsletter to your marketing arsenal this year, the Market Dominator is the ideal choice.
Here’s the proof
“Print and direct mail marketing boasts a 9% customer response rate compared to other digital marketing channels, which hover around 1% … or less,” according to a study cited at rcbrayshaw.com.
The Direct Mail Marketing Association finds a minimum 15% ROI from direct mail pieces.
You do understand, don’t you, that your email newsletters are most likely not even opened? A recent study by SuperOffice Marketing finds that only a smidge over 22 percent of business emails were opened.
The response rate, or CTR, is even more abysmal, at slightly more than 2.5%. Compare that to direct mail’s response rate of 9%.
When you think about why there’s such a vast difference, it makes sense.
“Direct mail advertisements give people time to think,” notes Chris Barr, director of marketing for Taradell, LLC at neilpatel.com.
“With print advertisements, we’re not anticipating the next click … We’re not bombarded with competing ads from half a dozen alternatives who bid for our attention … It’s quiet,” he concludes.
Don’t have a newsletter?
While we consider the real estate newsletter as the cornerstone of any successful real estate practice, we are a bit biased. Our Community Newsletters are packed with valuable information for both potential clients and homeowners.
You can even upload your own creation to our website, and we’ll take it from there.
Here are some tips to ensure you create a successful real estate newsletter:
Keep it engaging
Create an eye-catching design.
Keep content focused on one audience. You may need to create several iterations of your newsletter; one for buyers, one for sellers, one for past clients, one for tenants, another for landlords, etc.
Use lots of photos.
Brand it.
Ensure the content is professionally written and of high value.
Give them the news they want, not what you want them to know.
Sneak in a testimonial or two here and there.
Add an occasional human-interest story.
The Market Dominator
Make 2021 the year you ditch the email newsletters that don’t get opened, let alone read and focus on a newsletter that delivers on ROI like the Market Dominator.
Need help targeting a specific niche of buyers or sellers? Use our prospect list tools to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!
PLUS: When you have time…here are some helpful resources we’ve made available to support your success.
1. The Free 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan
The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do when. Four key market segments are included, Niche Marketing, Get More Listings, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence. –Click Here
2. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan
The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan allows you to enter your business goals for this year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closing, and so on are needed to reach your goals. – Click Here
3. Become a Neighborhood Brand
Become branded in a specific neighborhood with a 12X15 marketing piece sent automatically each month to an exclusive carrier route. Watch this video to learn more or Click Here.
4. The Free Real Estate Mailing List Guide
The Real Estate Mailing List Guide outlines the top tools for generating targeted prospecting lists including Baby Boomers, Empty Nesters, Investors, Lifestyle Interests, High-Income Renters, Move-Up Markets, and more. The Guide also defines done-for-you marketing campaigns to match these markets. –Click Here
5. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook
Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here
6. The Free Online ROI Calculator
Consistency and automation are the keys to success. Discover how effective direct mail marketing can dramatically increase your bottom line. Enter your statistics in our Free online ROI Calculator and click the ‘CALCULATE MY ROI’ button to see your results instantly! –Click Here
What if I told you that sending out 200 marketing postcards for less than $150 (postage included) could potentially net you five new listings?
Barbara Todaro, a Franklin, MA agent, sent 200 Just Listedpostcards to an area that surrounded her new listing and her mailing resulted in just that number –five new listings.
Todaro’s advice, “Never eliminate a method because it’s basic, those are often the best methods. The reality is, everyone reads their mail”.
Yes, real estate postcard marketing has been around for a while. And, no, it’s not as innovative as digital marketing, but clearly –IT WORKS.
Left in the dust
We’ve definitely come a long way from the days of AOL dial-up connections to jet-propelled search engine rankings and the availability of real-time information.
It was a steep learning curve, but like most things in life, as agents became more tech-proficient, the demand for high-tech grew.
Just Listed/Just Sold Postcards
Unfortunately, along with this came new-fangled ideas regarding listing generation and conversion; that it should be quick and effortless. And, this false belief came at a price.
Old, yet highly effective marketing methods, were left in the dust by some agents, specifically the method with the longest history of success – direct mail marketing.
Snail mail? Guess again!
Direct mail outperforms email, social media, and all digital forms of marketing by 700 percent, according to research from the Data and Marketing Association (DMA).
In addition, the Marketing Sherpa survey showed that direct mail was the third most trusted form of marketing overall (behind magazines/newspapers and TV ads).
For comparison, search engine ads came in sixth and, at the bottom of the list? Online pop-up ads.
A customer of ours recently discussed his return to direct mail marketing, specifically Just Listed/Just Soldpostcards, after spending some time away.
“My business was starting to be flat. I was still a top producer but where I used to have more listings than I did buyers, I now had twice as many buyers as I did listings”, Joe Cooper stated.
“I took a hard look at my business model and realized that it had been around two years since I’d used Just Listed/Just Sold postcards. I decided to start back up and see if it made a difference. Well, it has. Almost immediately, my listings have picked up!”.
Is farming a thing of the past?
In the past, most agents chose farm areas to target their best potential customers and direct mail marketing was the best way for them to reach these people. Guess what?
Direct mail marketing still is the best way to target your ideal customer.
Neighborhoods that are ripe for the picking include those that haven’t turned over in a while. Or you can choose to circle prospect and campaign in an area surrounding a recent listing or sale.
Just Sold Aerial Series
Your research into the right farm doesn’t stop with choosing your neighborhood; learning the area’s demographics (especially the average age and income of the residents) is vital to a successful campaign.
The easiest way to ensure you are targeting the right list is to source it using our targeted mailing list tools.
The postcard winners
So, which are the most effective postcards for real estate? By far, the top agents we’ve spoken with chose Just Listed/Just Sold postcards.
“We host monthly events at our office and invite local businesses and residents. When we send a Just Sold postcard, it includes an invitation message to the party,” states Laurie Laykish, Engle & Volkers.
Though the invite isn’t the focus of the card (the just-sold home is), “we have had at least 2 people from each drop of 200 cards that attend an event and sign up to buy or sell with us,” Laykish concludes.
A tip to keep in mind, nearly 15 percent of direct mail recipients who responded to a Marketing Sherpa survey say they often discard mailed pieces when they are “too focused on the company’s needs and not enough on their own.”
This is why it’s important to keep your postcard’s focus on what’s important to your target market. Detailing what’s in it for them will engage them far more than self-promotion.
If a year-round direct mail marketing strategy isn’t currently part of your plan – the time to change this is now.
Multi-Photo Just Listed Series
Send a Multi-Photo Just Listed postcard to a radius around your new listing. Use the MapMyMailtool, from a desktop or laptop, to generate this list in minutes.
Need help targeting a specific niche of buyers or sellers? Use our prospect list tools to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!
PLUS: When you have time…here are some helpful resources we’ve made available to support your success.
1. Become a Neighborhood Brand
Become branded in a specific neighborhood with a 12X15 marketing piece sent automatically each month to an exclusive carrier route. Watch this video to learn more or Click Here.
2. The Free Real Estate Mailing List Guide
The Real Estate Mailing List Guide outlines the top tools for generating targeted prospecting lists including Baby Boomers, Empty Nesters, Investors, Lifestyle Interests, High-Income Renters, Move-Up Markets, and more. The Guide also defines done-for-you marketing campaigns to match these markets. –Click Here
3. The Free 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan
The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do when. Four key market segments are included, Niche Marketing, Get More Listings, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence. –Click Here
4. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan
Treat your business like a business it is vital to long-term success in this industry. Some agents may put together elaborate business plans, yet there’s something powerful about keeping it simple. Check out our one page Online Real Estate Business Plan. – Click Here
5. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook
Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here
6. The Free Online ROI Calculator
Consistency and automation are the keys to success. Discover how effective direct mail marketing can dramatically increase your bottom line. Enter your statistics in our Free online ROI Calculator and click the ‘CALCULATE MY ROI’ button to see your results instantly! –Click Here
7. The Free Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”
The “Crush It” Guide includes easy steps to launching an effective direct mail marketing campaign, how to create a targeted prospect list, the perfect way to layout marketing materials for success, seven opportunities available to target in your area right now. –Click Here
If you’re of a certain age, you’ll remember the advent of email and the rhetoric surrounding it.
It was going to put the post office out of business, direct mail marketers would consider it the answer to their problems, and it was immensely less expensive than regular mail.
Well, the post office is still in business and direct-mail marketing is a booming business.
Think email is a more effective tool than direct mail to generate real estate leads? Read on to see the other side of the story.
Direct mail cuts through the clutter
“In the 1970s, it was extraordinary for a person to receive as many as 50 [email] messages a day. Today, it’s not unusual for someone to receive 1,000 messages in a day,” according to Dave Crocker, administrator of emailhistory.org.
Raise your hand if you’ve ever received 1,000 pieces of direct mail on any given day.
The truth is, the volume of direct mail has decreased, starting in 2016, according to the U.S. Postal Service and the Data and Marketing Association. While this may be bad news for the post office, it’s excellent news for real estate agents who use direct mail in their marketing mix. Why?
Direct mail has a better response rate than email.
Though the volume of mail sent decreased, the response rates increased. The decrease in the volume of “junk mail” that each American receives, means less competition for those who continue direct mail marketing.
For real estate agents, that’s even better news.
Go for the best ROI
Let’s face it, many real estate agents are thrifty and when a less-expensive marketing alternative presents itself, they’ll take it. So, these agents rely more on email than on direct mail.
“If competitors are abandoning the mailbox, they’re leaving you with a huge opportunity to dominate the channel that achieves the highest response rate,” says Debora Haskel of IWCO Direct.
According to the Data and Marketing Association, direct mail boasts response rates that are from 10 to 30 times higher than that of email. It also delivers 10 percent more customers than email (according to the Direct Marketing Association, or DMA) and it’s more effective than email at inducing brand awareness.
In fact, 75 percent of people could recall the brand immediately after seeing it in a direct mail piece while only 44 percent of them could recall the brand immediately after seeing a digital ad, according to Proactive Marketing.
The millennial misconception
If you’re targeting millennial homebuyers in your marketing efforts, direct mail should be among your weapons. There’s a misconception that this generation is completely connected electronically in all aspects of their lives.
Studies show, however, that when asked whether they were more likely to read an email with promotional content or a direct mail piece with the same content, 12 percent more millennials said they prefer the latter.
Even more surprising, was their answer to this question: “Which is more effective at getting you to take action?” Thirty percent responded that direct mail prompts them to action, while only 24 percent said email.
Choose your direct mail pieces strategically
The perfect direct mail campaign starts with a plan. Define your goal, set objectives and determine your target audience. With this information, you can put together your mailing list and then design your marketing piece.
Whether you’re mailing newsletters, postcards or anything else, your pieces need to cut through the clutter and stand out. To do that, keep text to a minimum and go heavy on the images.
“Take as much time crafting the look of your mailer as you spend on crafting the words and messaging,” suggests exactask.com’s Adam Treiser.
What formats do consumers prefer? The DMA found that oversized envelopes are opened more frequently than other direct mail pieces, followed by postcards.
Most marketing experts recommend multichannel marketing. If direct mail isn’t among the mediums you use in your marketing efforts, perhaps it should be.
Start getting more seller leads now!
Send the Time is Right postcard from the Listing Inventory Series to at least 100 prospects in an area where you want more seller leads.
Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list toolto create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!
PLUS: When you have time…here are 3 free ways we can help you CRUSH IT in 2018!
1. The 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan.
The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do when. Four key market segments are included, Niche Marketing, Listing Inventory, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence – Click Here – Click Here
2. The Free 2018 Real Estate Business Plan.
Treat your business like a business it is vital to long-term success in this industry. Some agents may put together elaborate business plans, yet there’s something powerful about keeping it simple. Check out our one page Online Real Estate Business Plan – Click Here
3. The Free Online ROI Calculator.
Consistency and automation are the keys to success. Discover how effective direct mail marketing can dramatically increase your bottom line. Enter your statistics in our Free online ROI Calculator and click the ‘CALCULATE MY ROI’ button to see your results instantly! –Click Here
Annual spending on newspaper circulars, coupons, direct mail, and catalogs hit $76 billion in 2017!
Need I say more?
By the way, this was up 85% from 2012, according to a Wallstreet Journal article recently written by Sarah Nassauer.
“Paper ads that arrive in homes spur more buying than emails or texts”, said Jackson Jeyanayagam, chief marketing officer of Boxed.com.
“Email is starting to become a sandbox because you get so much”. Boxed spent 80% more on print advertising in 2017 than 2016.
Emily Frankel, senior director of digital marketing at Jet.com, a Walmart owned company, states, “Jet sent 35 million paper coupons and direct mailers last year”.
She continued, that the mailers have been effective in reaching new, more urban and affluent customers.
So, why is direct mail so effective?
A study commissioned by the Interactive Advertising Bureau discovered that direct mail marketing—leaves a ‘deeper more emotional footprint’ on the brain than digital.
That difference can be pinpointed on MRI brain scans.
It produces brain responses that get stored in your memory. The printed piece itself becomes part of the subliminal messaging.
The following are more reasons for direct mail’s success.
It’s targeted
Most advertising is expensive and casts a wide, but not specific net.
With direct mail, you can match your marketing pieces specifically to your market or niche dramatically increasing your response rates.
Direct mail is your canvas. You can address your customer by name, share specific offers and communicate information that’s specific to your area.
And begin to create a top-of-mind awareness and trust.
By offering calls to action such as Free Reports, lists of homes, a Free Home Market Analysis and more – you create an opportunity for engagement with your audience.
Others mix and match their marketing messages – preferring to keep consumers alert and eager to see what they’ll send next.
It’s tangible
The truth is, as human beings we are tactile people.
So, engaging different senses is just smart business. If I get a message from a professional via email or digital ad, it registers in the moment – but not necessarily long term.
When I get a message that’s directed to me and offers something of importance to me and my family – that’s compelling.
Specifically, when I can feel it, touch it, put it on the refrigerator or tack it to my bulletin board, etc. – that message has a much longer shelf life.
And a better chance of getting a response – not just once but again and again.
It’s measurable
Use a unique URL or make a specific offer on a direct response piece and keep tabs on how many people click or call on that offer. Similiar to our Free Offer Series postcards.
Then adjust future mailings based on that response rate. It’s always advised to make a direct response offer on every piece of direct mail.
As opposed to just a generic, ‘here I am’ mailing.
Give people valuable reasons to reach out to you and they will!
Call our marketing team at 866.405.3638 for assistance. We are here for you!
PLUS: Whenever you have a moment…here are 3 things to check out that will help you CRUSH IT in 2018!
1. The Free 2018 Real Estate Business Plan
Treat your business like a business it is vital to long-term success in this industry. Some agents may put together elaborate business plans, yet there’s something powerful about keeping it simple. Check out our one page Online Real Estate Business Plan – Click Here
2. The Online Sphere of Influence Calculator
Top real estate professionals state 66% of their business comes from their sphere of influence. So how many people do you need in your SOI? Check out our Sphere of Influence Calculator (from your desktop) to find out the answer – Click Here
3. The 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan
The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do when. Four key market segments are included, Niche Marketing, Listing Inventory, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence – Click Here
The Free Interactive 6-Month Real Estate Business Plan allows you to enter your business goals for the remainder of the year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closings, and so on are needed to reach your goals. – Click Here
