Real Estate Postcards That Turn Prospects Into Clients

Many people believe the internet trumps all in terms of marketing, but the reality is that effective real estate postcards will actually capture a lot more attention than email. In fact, studies have shown that 4.4 percent of direct mailers receive a response, versus a mere 0.12 percent for email. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you should simply send out a big batch of real estate marketing postcards without carefully considering your goals and options.

The Benefits of Realtor Postcards

1. Builds Familiarity – One of the most important rules of marketing is also one of the oldest. Known as The Marketing Rule of Seven, this time tested and proven method for generating sales requires you to connect with prospects on multiple levels. In a nutshell, this rule states that most consumers won’t feel comfortable enough to make a purchase or, in your case, to work with a specific realtor until they’ve been exposed to their products or services an average of seven times. Therefore, the first major benefit of real estate postcards is that they help familiarize people with your name.
2. Puts Something Tangible in Each Prospect’s Hands – In today’s world, the vast majority of advertising comes in the digital realm. Although this can be a highly visual way to get attention, your ads are also more likely to be forgotten as soon as something else eye-catching pops up on the screen. On the other hand, real estate mailers provide prospects with a tangible item that they’re less likely to forget about. If they are interested in your message, the odds are high that the postcard will be put on their refrigerator or in an area for important mail.
3. Provides a Good Return on Investment – Real estate postcard mailers are typically much cheaper than you’d probably expect. When you combine this with their 4.4 percent response rate, most realtors receive a solid return on their investment. Even better, with a targeted service such as Map Your Sales, you can reduce your expenses and increase your odds of getting many new clients. Check out a demo of Map Your Sales now to see how it enables you to easily connect with specific prospects.

Tips for a Successful Realtor Postcard Campaign

Taking the right approach to your advertising is essential. Keep in mind that most of the prospects you reach out to won’t have any idea who you are. This means that your sales background will have less sway over them than the presentation you put together on your mailers. With that in mind, there are a few techniques that will help you make the right first impression.

1. Choose a Consistent Branding Theme – Consumer recognition goes a long way toward building brand loyalty. It also makes a major difference in a prospect’s initial decision to become a client. You’ll want to select a specific branding theme that includes colors, fonts, the layout and the overall message. Choosing a consistent color theme will, over time, improve brand recognition by up to 80 percent. Don’t forget that even individual sales professionals should focus on creating a personal brand for themselves.
2. Show Your Face – Relationship sales are still king. To tap into this vital technique, you should put your picture on both sides of your real estate agent postcards. Make sure the image is smaller on one side. Consumers tend to be driven by an emotional connection to the brands and companies they trust the most, and relationship-based sales can play a big role in building trust. Studies show that between 64 and 68 percent of people acknowledge forging these emotional connections, and the vast majority of them are positive.
3. Showcase Homes – Whether you choose a home you’ve recently sold or one that you currently have listed, it’s always wise to include eye-catching imagery of real estate. This will help ensure that prospects instantly recognize what you’re trying to offer them. Vague, confusing imagery may work in the art world, but it’s often a deal breaker for sales.
4. Be on Point – The best real estate postcards don’t use a lot of unnecessary words. Instead, they employ messaging that’s brief and to the point. You can also impress your prospects by speaking directly to their market. For instance, you can use the name of the specific community you’re targeting. This will make your message more memorable, and it will also eliminate the assumption that you’re a big, impersonal company that sent the same postcard to everyone in town.
5. Always Be Closing – Keep the ABCs (Always Be Closing) of sales in mind. Your real estate direct mail postcards must include a strong call to action. You’re not going to ask for a sale on the postcard, but you are going to ask the reader to do something specific such as visit your website, call you or attend an open house. Don’t take a passive approach, either. Rather than saying, “Call X if you decide to sell your home,” put it in more confident terms: “Call X when it’s time to put your current home on the market.”
6. Tell People Why Responding Benefits Them – Salespeople tend to get wrapped up in their goals, closing ratios and commissions. This isn’t without a good reason, but it can cloud your judgment when it comes to marketing messages. However, the absolute best way to get people to respond in a positive manner is by telling them what they’re going to get out of following your call to action.

If you’re inviting them to an open house, will there be free food or a contest? If they sign up via your website, will you waive part of your commission fee? Whatever you choose to offer, even if it’s just the knowledge that you’re an award-winning salesperson who is uniquely positioned to sell their home quickly, you must let each recipient know how responding will personally benefit them.

Building Your Community with Real Estate Direct Mail

A phrase that many in the real estate world hear again and again is that it’s important to build your community. This means reaching out into the local area to build a community of people who are aware of your presence and who, hopefully, have a positive opinion of you and your services. Unfortunately, this concept remains elusive to some newer realtors, which can cause a lot of frustration.

You should never expect every campaign to generate a lot of sales or new listings. The idea is to let everyone in your target market know you’re available to help them. Start by inviting them to contact you with questions or to come meet you at an open house. From there, they’ll become part of your community. This doesn’t mean they’ll use your services in the near future. They might never use your services, but they will be more likely to mention your name when a friend, family member or coworker wants to sell or buy a house. Remember: a whopping 84 percent of consumers turn to personal recommendations and online reviews to make a decision.

Finding the Best Realtor Postcards

There are lot of direct mail companies available, but they’re not all created equally. Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) by USPS is a prime example. While this is a way to get your postcards in front of a lot of people, it also doesn’t provide you with any targeted marketing. The end result is that EDDM wastes a lot of money. Fortunately, you can avoid this problem by choosing a service that’s easy to customize.

Map Your Sales gives realtors many viable reasons to opt for our direct mailers over any other similar company. Some of the many perks of working with us include:

1. We provide a library of pre-built real estate postcard templates for agents to choose from, which can save you a lot of time and money.
2. You’ll be able to target the exact geographic location where your ideal prospects live with our mapping technology. Whether that’s a single address, one block or an entire neighborhood, you’ll retain complete control over how many postcards are sent out and who receives them.
3. You can use your favorite real estate postcard design for every campaign or choose a new template each time.
4. Map Your Sales is ideal for single campaigns or automated campaigns. With the automated function, messages will be sent out to your target market based on a pre-determined schedule.
5. We offer much more than just realtor postcard templates and targeted mailing services. You’ll also have the opportunity to get the word out by sending prospects a text, email, ringless voicemail or even a gift.

Learn more about the Map Your Sales approach by watching our demo. Once you’ve seen how easy and useful our tool is, be sure to sign up for your free trial!