Direct Mail is Dead

“Direct Mail Is Dead” read a headline on a busy real estate forum recently. Maybe you’ve seen it. What followed was a frustrated post from an agent complaining about not getting any returns on his Just Sold post card campaign.

Nice design, heavy gloss paper, nice photo of the property. This poor guy mailed hundreds and hundreds of those expensive things to a neighborhood…

And yet not a single good lead, let alone a listing. Is direct mail really dead? No, of course not. The missing (and critical) part of the puzzle was, obviously, THE CUSTOMER. Let me explain…

We all get bunch of direct mail every day. Why is it that sometimes it flops, but other times works like magnet? Here is what goes on…

Normally I trash new car promotions as soon as I get them (unless there is a good idea that can be used in real estate). But recently, I was on the market for a new car. For several weeks I paid more attention to mail about cars and car buying – even junk mail. And several good postcards did get my attention, especially those promoting SUVs.

What changed? I became a potential customer.

• My car-buying radar was on
• I responded to interesting cards with SUVs promotions or pictures
• I particularly remembered dealers that sent more than one piece
• I responded to specific messages focused on ME – THE SUV CAR BUYER

So how does all that apply to a real estate mail campaign? It’s OK to mail to a geographic farm, a list of FSBOs, or expired listings. But NOT ALL the SAME card or a letter. So here is my secret formula for killer direct mail campaign:

Targeted List + Specific Need + Relevant Message x Repetition = $$$

Makes sense, right? Now go out there and get some expired listings!