Direct Mail Marketing for Real Estate Investors and Wholesalers [A-to-Z Guide]

Over the past 25 years in the direct mail industry, I’ve learned the ins and outs of planning and executing a successful direct mail marketing campaign.

I’m happy to show you how to get started with direct mail in this in-depth guide for real estate investors.

Some of the main points include:

• the benefits of using direct mail
• step-by-step instructions that will take you through campaign conception to delivery
• real-life examples of successful real estate investment (REI) marketing campaigns.

Keep reading to receive my ultimate A-to-Z guide on direct mail marketing.

In this in-depth guide, the direct mail expert Joy Gendusa explained the ins and outs of direct mail marketing for real estate investing. Joy provided examples of mailer designs, effective strategies, mistakes to avoid and included supplemental helpful tools and services listed on her website. Visiting these resources by clicking links within our content may earn us commissions from your purchases. Learn more about our editorial guidelines.

— Kimberly Anderson, Senior Creative Editor at Real Estate Bees

There are so many advantages of direct mail advertising, but here are three main reasons backed by research on why choosing to incorporate mailers into your marketing is worth the effort.

 

#1 Direct Mail Is Affordable and Gets an Incredible ROI

Meta reported in 2021 that digital ad prices increased 24% from the previous year.

By comparison, the average price to mail a single postcard only increased 1.57% in 2021 at my company, PostcardMania.

Using direct mail also gives you access to bulk mail discounts via the USPS or printing houses/marketing firms that can negotiate better rates.

In 2023, 74% of marketers agreed that direct mail delivers the best ROI, response rate and conversion rate of all channels in 2023.

 

#2 Direct Mail Stays with the Prospect Longer than Other Forms of Marketing

MarketReach said that 75% of mail stays in the home for over four weeks and is revisited an average of five times.

As opposed to signs or digital ads, a postcard or letter is a tangible object that people can keep with them over time so it often becomes a reminder to purchase an item or schedule a service.

Prospects can hang it on their fridge, keep it in their bag, or share it with a friend too.

 

#3 Direct Mail Reaches All Generations Effectively

There is a misconception that direct mail is an outdated form of marketing that should only be reserved for Baby boomers, but that is far from the truth.

The USPS published a detailed report on how each generation responds to direct mail and how businesses can tailor their direct mail pieces to each age group.

Sixty-three percent of Gen Z consumers were more excited about direct mail in 2023 than they were a year before, RRD found.

Further, 82% of Millennials view print advertisements as more trustworthy than digital ads and 70% of Gen-Xers say they are excited to see what is in their mailbox every day, according to the aforementioned USPS survey.

However, I’d argue the best benefit of direct mail marketing is increasing revenue!

For more information on this subject, scroll down to the section, “How Effective is Direct Mail Marketing for Real Estate Investing?”

There are a number of factors when it comes to pricing out a direct mail campaign.

We’ve broken up each area and explained your options in detail. Whether you are working from a limited budget or an unlimited one, you’ll still be able to find a plan that will produce results.

 

List Costs

Mailing lists are a part of the cost of running a direct mail campaign. You may be tempted to just use anything available, but obtaining a quality mailing list will more than pay for itself.

It’s worth the upfront cost because you will get a good return on your investment.

However, if a mailing list just doesn’t fit into your budget, there are other ways to create your own mailing list for free.

1. Create your own list by using an Excel spreadsheet, Word document, email or real estate wholesaling CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool. Any contacts you obtain can be entered into this list and updated over time.
2. Create a sign-up form on your website or social media sites to capture visitors’ information. To encourage them to give you their address, offer them something of value in return — like an informational guide or free gift.

Or, if you can afford paying for leads, you can buy them from lead generation providers for real estate investors.

 

Design Costs

Paying for a fully customized design could get expensive depending on who you work with.

Some graphic designers will charge you not only for the design but for any changes you make throughout the process.

Those changes can add up quickly and really set you back if you are not careful.

You’ll also want to be careful about the quality of your design. Some direct mail companies outsource design tasks or use someone who doesn’t have professional skills or experience.

A lower price might not equal a quality design, so choose wisely.

If the cost of a custom design is out of your price range, but you also don’t want a simple black-and-white design or letter, consider using a template.

The best direct mail companies for real estate investors usually have template libraries where you can choose a postcard design that has already been created.

All they have to do is add your contact information and real estate investor logo if you have one, and voila! A winning postcard design is ready to go.

 

Printing Costs

You can attain more discounts by printing your mailers in bulk. As a rule, with most printing companies for real estate professionals, the more postcards you print at a time, the greater your savings are.

Take a look at our current pricing on printing 4.25” x 6” postcards and notice the difference in savings:

• cost per 500 direct mail postcards: 64.6 cents per piece (pp) or $0.646
• cost per 1,000 direct mail postcards: 32.3 cents pp or $0.323
• cost per 2,500 direct mail postcards: 17.9 cents pp or $0.179
• cost per 5,000 direct mail postcards: 10 cents pp or $0.010
• cost per 10,000 direct mail postcards: 9.2 cents pp or $0.092
• cost per 20,000 direct mail postcards: 8.6 cents pp or $0.086

And for 100,000, 500,000, 1,000,000 postcards and so on, the discounts continue…

I’ve seen real estate professionals purchase printing in quantities in the hundreds of thousands because they know they’ll eventually mail them, and it’s much more cost-effective than ordering 10,000 mailers at regular intervals.

By ordering 20,000 or more postcards, you save over 57 cents per piece!

But this isn’t the only benefit of buying in bulk — ordering more at one time ensures your direct mail campaign is consistent, which can bring in more leads and overall revenue.

 

Postage Costs

The cost of mailing your postcard or letter will make up the bulk of your investment believe it or not — sometimes more than printing, addressing and design combined.

However, going through a direct mail marketing company could save you money because they have already negotiated discounted prices based on the fact they mail millions of pieces of mail regularly.

Since PostcardMania is a mail house with a longstanding relationship with the U.S. Post Office, we are eligible for bulk mail discounts.

We even have a full-time, in-house USPS employee who works at our mailing facility. By choosing to work with us, you can save a lot of money due to these bulk mail discounts.

Postage rates are set by the United States Postal Service (USPS), and these costs aren’t very flexible or negotiable.

So, how are postage costs formulated?

Firstly, the size of your mail piece is one factor that will determine how much it costs to mail it.

The smallest size available is 4.25 x 6 inches and it is the least expensive option. As your mail piece increases in size, so will its postage fee.

However, if you feel that a larger size mailer is worth the cost, it could be worth your while and elicit more attention in a mail stack.

Another factor is how many mailers you send at a single time and over the course of the year.

Similar to how high-volume printing unlocks big discounts on print prices, the more you mail, the less it can cost you in postage.

This is why many entrepreneurs and small businesses choose to mail through a bulk mailing house, which can pass its postage discounts onto you.

 

What Exactly Is Bulk Mail?

The USPS defines bulk mail as “quantities of mail prepared for mailing at reduced postage rates.”

To obtain bulk mail discount rates, mailers must register for a bulk mail account with the USPS and adhere to their guidelines.

Real estate wholesaling direct mail services like PostcardMania have access to these bulk mail discounts and will process the mail to give you the best possible postage rates.

For example, a regular postage stamp per postcard would cost you 44 cents, but when we mail for you, that goes down to 33 to 35 cents, which is up to a 25% savings.

And last but not least, area saturation can be another factor in your final postage bill. You’ll only need to worry about this if your mailing is saturation in nature.

For example, you’re targeting every household in a certain zip code or on a certain mail route.

It’s important to understand the different types of postage and what they can and can’t achieve for you.

 

Quick Breakdown of Postage Costs

Standard postage is the more affordable selection out of the two-tiered letter-rate postage (as opposed to package rates). It costs between $0.296 and $0.349 per piece.

• Pros: It’s 30-74% less expensive than first-class postage depending on mailing quantity and area saturation. It also allows for individual targeting based on household demographics regardless of the mailing route.

• Cons: There is no guaranteed delivery time, and it usually takes between 7–14 days. It could also take even longer during peak mailing seasons, like the holidays.

First-class postage is the more expensive letter-rate tier. It costs between $0.455 and $0.515 per piece.

• Pros: It’s faster than standard postage and guarantees delivery 1-5 days from your mailing date (1-3 days locally and 3-5 days nationally). It also provides you with individual targeting based on household demographics regardless of mailing route.

• Cons: It is pricier than standard postage.

Carrier route postage is sometimes called a saturation mailing or resident/occupant mailing (res/occ).

Carrier route is a standard postage class that is discounted more because its distribution is based on mail carrier routes — specific postal routes taken by USPS delivery staff.

It costs between $0.209 and $0.400 per piece.

• Pros: Carrier route postage is up to 146% less costly than first-class postage and up to 70% less costly than standard postage. This option is good for saturating an entire area that you know is well-qualified.

• Cons: There are limited demographic targeting options, and there is no guaranteed delivery time. A specific type of list is also required, and it usually takes between 7-14 days to mail (but can take even longer during peak mailing seasons like the holidays).

Everywhere Direct Door Mailing (EDDM) postage is a discounted carrier route mailing and the least expensive postage rate available by the USPS aside from specialty postage rates (like nonprofits).

It costs between $0.201 and $0.216 per piece.

• Pros: EDDM postage is up to 4% cheaper than carrier route postage and is perfect for saturating an entire area that you know is well-qualified. You can even get more affordable options for large mailings.

• Cons: There are very specific rules regarding mailer size and indicia placement, not as many options for targeting and no guaranteed delivery time. A specific type of list is required, and it usually takes around 7–14 days to deliver (but longer during peak mailing seasons like the holidays).

Which one should you choose? This decision will be determined by your budget, how fast you want the mailer to get into your prospect’s hands, and what type of mailing list you have.

Most real estate investors use their own mailing lists, so standard and first-class postage is common.

 

Presorting Costs

Mailing large quantities of postcards requires them to be presorted, which is mail that has been sorted and bundled by service type, size, and ZIP code.

So it’s not as simple as dropping off a huge load of mail at the post office yourself and cashing in on this discount…

The USPS rewards businesses that do this presorting work for them with reduced postage prices.

Presorting falls into two categories of Standard Mail and First-Class Mail. Standard Mail has a 200-piece minimum, while First-Class Mail has a 500-piece minimum.

Businesses with large mailing lists can gain the most savings.

Why is presorting important?

Presorting is really only relevant if you decide to try to access these bulk mail discounts on your own.

Large mail houses already presort all of their outgoing mail, so it’s done for you. They may charge a fee for it, so be sure to ask them upfront.

But if you’re taking on the challenge of presorting your own mail, you’ll need to set aside a good chunk of time to familiarize yourself with the process, because the USPS requirements are extensive.

You’ll also have to apply for, pay for and maintain your own bulk mailing permit every year.

If you decide to do it yourself, you can follow these guidelines on the USPS website:

• Permits & Postage Guidelines
• Sorting Your Mail Guidelines

 

Addressing Costs

Once you’ve chosen the size of your postcard, the printer, quantity, and mailing class (aka postage), you need to consider who is going to do the work of addressing your mailers so that the USPS can deliver your mailers to the right mailboxes.

Of course, you could DIY it, but addressing thousands of pieces of mail by hand is extremely tedious (much like presorting mail) — proceed with caution!

Again, it goes back to which is more valuable to you: your time or the money you would spend having someone else do it for you.

Typically, if you go to a mail house to address and send your mailers, there is a fee for addressing, so make sure you ask about the cost of that ahead of time so you aren’t blindsided by the additional expense.

Direct mail is an effective marketing tool for real estate investors as well as for many different types of industries.

Here are a few direct mail marketing statistics on how mailers will increase your engagement rates, response rates and annual revenue.

• The average direct mail marketing response rates are high: The Data & Marketing Association say direct mail response rates are 5 to 9 times higher than any other advertising channel, and when compared to email and social media, direct mail has a 9% higher response rate with the former being at 1%.

• Direct mail has a high engagement rate: Direct mail has an average engagement rate of 95% and is interacted with at least 4 times at home, MarketReach reported. The USPS also found in their studies that direct mail is read more often than email among all age groups, and 71% of all consumers are excited to discover what the mail brings every day.

• Direct mail has a high return on investment: The ROI on direct mail goes up 18% when marketing campaigns incorporate direct mail, Marketing Charts said. Comperemedia also recently polled marketers in 2023, and 74% of them agreed that direct mail delivers the best ROI, response rates and conversion rates of all marketing channels.

• Direct mail has a high brand recall: The Canada Post found that direct mail stimulates 29% higher brand recall than digital advertising. The participants in their study had a 70% higher recall of the advertising message via direct mail versus a digital ad which had a recall of 44%. The USPS in the aforementioned study also discovered that direct mail had a stronger recall up to one week later opposed to digital ads due to how direct mail creates a more significant emotional response in recipients.

So, considering its ROI, direct mail can be among your most cost effective ways of investment or wholesale real estate lead generation.

Once you are ready to jump into direct mail marketing, you can follow the steps below.

We recommend you go through each one and carefully make decisions according to your goals, budget, and convenience.

 

1. Choose Your Direct Mail Company

You may be willing to do some of the steps below yourself, but we caution you that it will be very time-consuming and even potentially more expensive.

We recommend you work with a professional to orchestrate your direct mail campaign, especially if they are a one-stop shop that will do everything for you from start to finish.

Some mail houses only print, some only design, and some do a combination of steps but not all of them.

In some cases, our clients do some of the steps themselves, like creating or purchasing their own mailing lists or hiring their own designer to create the letter or postcard and then rely on us to print, sort, address, mail and track.

Other times we simply print and ship the cards or letters to the client to distribute on their own.

Whatever you choose on this journey is dependent on your needs and resources. The main step we stress is just doing research.

Look into all your options, identify any challenges you may run into, and then make a decision that works best for you.

 

2. Define Your Target Audience

Defining a target audience is essential for every successful direct mail campaign.

Targeting is very important because if you send the mailers to the wrong types of prospects, not only will you not receive the response you want, but you’ll also be wasting precious dollars on marketing to people who don’t need or want what you have to offer.

First, work on nailing down exactly who you want to receive the mailer. Is it landowners in a specific zip code or homeowners who live in older properties that need flipping?

The specifications of these details will determine the type of mailing list you need and the pricing.

Answer the questions below to get started on figuring out who your target audience is.

• Where do I want to purchase land/real estate? Is it anywhere in the United States or one particular ZIP code?

• Who do I want to receive the mailer? Are they families with kids or retirees? Do they have a specific level of income? Are they currently residing in the property or are they business owners, developers, etc.?

• What types of properties am I looking for? Are they residential houses, pieces of land, or/and businesses? Is the land vacant or occupied?

• When were these properties built? Are they older homes or new?

• Why would these targets want what you have to offer?

 

3. Create Your Targeted Mailing List

Acquiring a mailing list isn’t a difficult task if you know exactly who you want to target and where to go to get the records.

Mailing lists come in all shapes and sizes depending on who you want to target and how wide you want to cast your net — but they will all essentially fall into one of the categories below.

 

Consumer List

Consumer lists are popular because you have unlimited options for targeting, including age, income, property value, marital status, and more.

The data is 80% accurate and targets homes at the individual household level instead of entire mail routes.

As a real estate investor, you might want to find homes to wholesale or purchase that were built before 1980 if your goal is to flip them or send your mailers to couples over 65 of age who might want to downsize and sell their big property for something smaller.

Another popular approach is mailing to absentee homeowners who don’t actually live at the home you’re aiming to buy.

All of these lists are essentially consumer lists with different targeting criteria.

With a consumer list, you have more control over who receives your postcard, and that translates to less waste by not mailing to people who don’t fit your prospect criteria.

The more precise your targeting is, the more expensive these lists can get. But it could be well worth the money if it gets you the properties or land you desire in the end.

 

Resident/Occupant List

This list is based on mail carrier routes, so every property listed on the route will receive the mailer.

There are a few options for targeting, including median household income, median age, home market value, and dwelling type.

This list would be ideal for an investor who wants to cover an entire area, or neighborhood, that could be limited to these qualifiers.

If the location is important to you, then you may want to consider this type of list. You get some savings on postage with this option, but it is not the cheapest.

In 2021, only 9% of our mailings that year used a resident/occupant mailing list. Out of those that did, less than 1% of them (0.85%) were different types of real estate investors.

 

Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) List

EDDM is a mailing list made up of carrier routes just like resident/occupant lists.

But the difference is there are no options for targeting and it doesn’t include first and last names on the mail piece.

EDDM is the most affordable option, and it will reach every single door on the route. In our experience, this is not the most popular option for investors.

It’s best to target the specific types of properties you want to attain by using a consumer list, but if there is an area (like a certain zip code) you feel fits your criteria perfectly, then take advantage of the savings with EDDM.

 

Subscriber Direct Mail List

The data from this list is compiled via subscriptions to magazines or other types of publications.

Magazine publishers rent out their subscriber lists, but you need to ask how many times you can use the list since there could be a one-time usage clause in the contract.

I’m not familiar with a magazine where the readers have fixer uppers they want to sell fast for cash.

 

Affiliate Direct Mail List

This list is created by two companies that have a special partnership with each other.

For example, if a construction company and an interior designer are affiliated with each other, they could share client lists to increase the scope of their target market.

 

Business-to-Business (B2B) List

B2B lists come from Standard Industrial Classification (SIC), which is the government’s way of identifying the industry the business operates in.

It is a very large database, but you can narrow it down to find the right companies to promote. To search for specific business mailing lists, go to census.gov/epcd/www/sic.html.

 

Opt-in Direct Mail List

When individuals select to “opt-in”, they are allowing the party to give away their personal information freely.

Let’s say a person signs up for a newsletter on home improvement from Home Depot and checks a box that says yes to receiving offers or information from their affiliates.

An affiliate would be anyone they sell their lists to.

Sometimes people can opt in without realizing this and don’t actually want to receive offers from other companies they don’t know.

So just be aware that these lists may not have the best response rates.

 

Provided List

This last option doesn’t cost anything at all and is simply made up of your own list of contacts.

This could be a list of leads you already have stashed away or any list you have obtained by your own means and want to utilize.

However, you need to keep in mind that whether you purchase your own mailing list or use your own contacts, you must find a printer or mail house that is able to easily receive and quickly mail to any list you send them.

Using a reliable direct mail printer or company will make the whole process go smoothly.

You also need to know that purchasing lists directly from larger data companies can come at a high cost.

Vendors like us at PostcardMania, however, are able to negotiate the pricing of mailing lists with them and offer the lists at a discount due to purchasing them in bulk.

When you do reach out to a vendor to buy a mailing list, these are the steps you need to take:

1. Define your target market.
2. Select a record count for the list of that kind, aka choose how many addresses you want to use.
3. Obtain enough usable addresses for your campaign that will generate enough motivated seller leads — we recommend mailing at least 500 cards at a time so that you qualify for presort postage savings, which can be as high as double-digits per piece.

The list is usually provided to you in a Microsoft Word or Excel format. They might also give you files that can open in standard email clients, such as: Gmail, Yahoo, Zoho, and Outlook.

 

List Maintenance

One last thing to note is that mailing lists have to be “cleaned,” which is a process of reviewing your list to remove bad addresses so that you don’t continue to mail to them and waste money on postage.

We recommend you run all of your direct mail lists through the National Change of Address (NCOA) database as well on a quarterly schedule.

You’re wasting money on postage by sending mail to addresses that aren’t good.

Lastly, mailing lists can be used more than one time! Just ask the vendor to make sure that you are buying a list that can be used as many times as you want for a whole year.

The one-time usage lists are less expensive, but not by much, and it’s worth the extra money to be able to mail to the same people multiple times.

Consistency is one of the keys to a successful direct mail campaign.

 

4. Pick Your Mailer Format

You have multiple options when it comes to real estate investment mailer formats. In a sea of choices, you could get overwhelmed or lost, so we are here to help you navigate this journey.

A good place to start is selecting a type of mailer. The most common among real estate investors are letters and postcards, but you could also consider printing a brochure or catalog if it’s in-line with your goals.

 

Yellow Letter Mailers

Yellow letter mailers are a popular choice among real estate investors. They are yellow-colored, hand-written notes to prospective motivated sellers. They look like this:

These letters work well because they come across as extra personal. The good news is that you don’t actually have to hand-write them: designers can use a hand-written font.

To get their attention even more, make sure to include the recipient’s first name. This will require you to purchase a mailing list that has this information — a consumer mailing list.

Once you have your list and design, find a commercial printer that can pull this variable data (the first names and addresses) and include it in your yellow letters.

Our sister company, Rocket Print & Mail prints yellow letters like these, as well as other types of letters, and works with many real estate investors.

Here is another example of a real estate investor letter you can mail to targets:

As you can see above, this letter has a more traditional style as opposed to the more personalized and “handwritten” yellow letter.

This letter also includes a professional photo of the agent, a company logo, and a certification stamp that shows he is certified in real estate services and is a Resort & Second-Home Property Specialist.

After Realtor® and real estate investor Vincent Morris mailed 28,408 of these letters, he received 11 responses, converted 2 of them, and made roughly $50,000 in revenue!

 

Postcards

Postcards avoid the issue of envelopes, which can sometimes be a disadvantage because the recipient has to open them first to even get to your message.

If the prospect doesn’t recognize the sender or is at all suspicious, they may toss the letter in the trash.

With postcards, they immediately see the message and can decide if they want to respond or not. If you decide to choose a postcard over a letter, you’ll also need to pick a size.

These are the sizes available:

• 4.25 x 6 inches (small)
• 6 x 8.5 inches (standard)
• 6 x 11 inches (jumbo)

The smallest size will cost the least, so if you have a stricter budget, this may be a better choice for you.

Typically, our clients choose the standard size of 6 x 8.5 inches most often, however, the jumbo size definitely stands out in a mail stack and could potentially increase your response rate.

A mailer of this size is hard to ignore because of the obvious size reason, but it also gets your message across loud and clear.

Then, you’ll want to decide if you are going to print your postcard in black and white or in full color.

I’ll go with full color every day of the week because you can play with the color scheme to elicit more attention from your prospects.

However, if you want to save some money and go with black and white, mailing these postcards is better than no postcards at all.

Your design doesn’t have to be fancy to get results. Many REIs use postcards just as they would yellow letters or prospecting letters — just include a simple message on the card and a call to action to help prospects convert.

Real estate investor Karam Properties, for example, spent $829.88 on their postcard campaign and made $20,000!

This is what it looked like:

Here’s one more postcard that kept things simple and still brought in a big return on investment.

Red Royal Properties mailed 8,932 of these yellow cards to a list of absentee homeowners.

After mailing them out 4 times over the course of 7 months, they received 150 responses and were able to acquire 8 homes as a result!

 

5. Design Your Marketing Piece

We’ve picked out eight design elements that you can include in your real estate investment postcard.

However, our top three are including a headline, a call to action, and a list of benefits.

Think of them as the “ABCs” of creating a real estate investment design. You can always do all eight, but the first three MUST be there.

 

A Big, Bold Headline

Your postcard should have one main message, and the best way to achieve that is with a large, bold headline that stands out from the surrounding text.

You want this message to be easy to read and understand, as well as cause the recipient to want to learn more.

The real estate investment postcard below has the headline, “We want to buy your home for cash” in huge, bold letters in a neon green color that stands out from the rest of the design.

This investor’s intent can’t be any clearer!

This particular postcard by Turnkey Investments brought in 30 phone calls and it generated $100,000 in revenue!

 

A List of Benefits

Ask yourself this question, “What do I have to offer that makes me stand out from my competition and is highly valued by my clients?”

Then, make a list of the benefits — not services — that you think would raise eyebrows and place them on the front or back of your postcard.

The design below by McLaren Investments listed 6 benefits and included no closing costs, a 100% cash offer, and no fees on their mailer to show why the recipient should call them. This postcard generated 56 leads for them!

 

A Call to Action

When you read a command like, “call now!” you automatically consider responding.

It’s the call to action that forces a prospect to choose — pick up the phone, put it on the fridge for later, or place it in the trash.

Either way, you are helping lead them toward a decision. It also lets them know exactly what you want them to do next.

It may seem obvious that you want them to call, but in today’s world, where there are so many different modes of communication, it’s important to communicate to your target audience exactly how they should reach back out to you.

Should it be through your real estate investor website? On the phone? Via email? Put it on the postcard and there will be no confusion.

As far as contact information goes, you really only need one main form, but if you have additional contact information to add, it never hurts.

If you have a website, be sure to include it on your card. Other options are to add an address, email, or QR code that leads them directly to your preferred source of contact.

QR codes can be programmed to direct scanners to webpages, to call a number or to email an address of your choosing.

The postcard above by Sims Investment Group placed the call to action, “Call Me… Let’s Talk!” on the front of the card.

Their campaign received 3 responses, they converted one of them and made $25,000 in revenue.

 

Positive Reviews

Another option is to place a positive review from a previous client with a five-star graphic on your card.

Reviews are great to place on a postcard because it shows your prospect that you are trustworthy and that this isn’t your first rodeo.

You have experience, are good at what you do, and your clients are satisfied.

The five-star graphic conveys that this review comes from a reliable third-party source like Google, which comes across as more trustworthy than anonymous testimonials.

Properties ATL also included a five-star review on the back of their postcard. We can assuredly say that all of these design elements together — the variable data, the five-star review, the call to action, the offers, and the list of benefits — helped result in a successful direct mail marketing campaign.

Here’s what the back of the postcard looked like:

 

Relevant Images

You could also add a photo, whether it is of yourself, the property you want to purchase, or simply a relevant image that helps communicate your message.

Keep in mind that adding photos of yourself or your business instead of stock images will help increase trust with prospects.

Take this card for example:

The land investor, Iron River Properties, mailed out a postcard that included a graphic of empty land to show that they wanted acres, not developed homes or businesses.

They made $54,000 on their REI land campaign as a result!

 

A Special Offer

Another good design element to include would be an offer. The promise alone of buying a person’s land or home for a good price is often enough to get an owner moving on a decision.

But sometimes adding an extra special offer to the card can make a difference in your response rate.

One of our clients promised cash in their pockets within 72 hours!

Good Guys Mobile Homes placed the offer in the bottom right of the front of the postcard in a bright blue color to grab prospects’ attention.

They targeted the owners of mobile homes who were ready to sell and needed the money quickly.

As a result, Good Guys Mobile Homes purchased 2 mobile homes, which amounted to about $40,000 in revenue for them!

 

Bright Colors

Good Guys Mobile Homes is also a great illustration of how to use bright colors in your real estate investment mailer to generate interest.

Any color that pops on the paper will cause the recipient’s eyes to linger on the information.

Here’s another postcard that used color to make the message stand out:

Southern Hills Property Group mailed 100,000 of these REI cards which were in bright yellow and red colors to vacant and inherited homes in Texas.

They were able to purchase 10 properties as a result, amounting to at least $200,000 in revenue.

 

A Subhead

Lastly, consider using a subhead to entice your prospects to read more of your message. Too much text could overwhelm your prospect.

Most people lead busy lives and don’t want to have to read a lot to understand what you’re trying to sell.

So, to get around that issue, include a subhead that is slightly larger or in a different font or color than the rest of the content.

This subhead should smoothly lead into the remainder of your message.

Take a look at this postcard below:

The subhead, “I’m looking to buy property in your neighborhood!” leads into the paragraph below it that includes information about an offer of $200 at closing.

This real estate investor, The Wyatt Group, ended up making $22,000 from this direct mail campaign.

 

6. Optimize Your Campaign (Optional)

We highly recommend you include the main design elements we mentioned above, but you can also add these following touches if you really want to stack the chips in your favor.

 

Variable Data

One of the best additions you can make to your REI design is to add variable data, a technical print term that means you’re adding individual-level personalization to every mailer.

You’ve already seen variable data on a number of the design examples above:

When you see <<First>> or <<Prop Address>> on the designs featured, that’s variable data. Those codes are a placeholder for each recipient’s individual data, which is pulled from another list at the time of printing.

So the finished piece would instead say:

Hi John Smith, I want to buy your property at 123 Main Street.

Each person’s design is different. The next one might say: Hi Jane Jones, I want to buy your property at 345 Main Street.

We all like things that have that special, personal touch to them because they cater to our individuality.

The same goes for when you see YOUR name on an item. It sparks your interest and makes you stop and pay attention.

You can make one of your prospects feel those same feelings by placing their name and address on your mailer.

But, you don’t have to stop there — you could also include a photo of the property you want to buy, even an offer you want to make if you already know it.

The sky’s the limit as long as you have the data.

According to an InfoTrends study, 84% of people said they were more likely to pay attention to a printed advertisement in their mailbox if it was personalized.

Not only that, but the Rochester Institute of Technology found response rates increased 135% if the postcard had a name and full color!

Here’s an example of one of our successful real estate investor marketing campaigns that used variable data:

Properties ATL included the first name and property address of the prospect and mailed out 6,000 postcards.

This campaign performed so well that they made roughly $30,000 and achieved a 495% return on investment.

 

Google Street View Images

Another way to optimize your marketing campaign is to use Google Street View postcards.

Much like personalizing a postcard with a prospect’s name and address, you place the exact image of their property on the card too.

This works by matching each address on your list to its corresponding Google Maps location, then the current street view image is pulled for that address. The image is placed on the postcard.

If a street view image isn’t present, then a generic home image is used in its place. On average, we are able to pull 80% of the street view images for these mailers.

These images not only grab the prospect’s attention because they immediately recognize their own property, but they also show them that you’ve put thought and resources into getting your message across.

 

Digital Ads

Another way to really grab your prospects’ attention is to add on digital ads to your marketing campaign.

The way we accomplish this at PostcardMania is through a program we call Everywhere Small Business where the same contacts in your mailing list are targeted on Google, Facebook, Instagram, and/or YouTube via the same design concept as your postcard.

It’s rarer for real estate investors to include digital marketing in their marketing campaigns, but it could potentially boost results for you.

The more your prospects see your real estate investor Facebook ads, the more apt they are to consider calling you. It’s the repetition and consistency of the advertisements that make all the difference.

Here’s one example of a real estate campaign that used digital ads to remind their prospects to consider their services. This is the postcard:

These are the matching digital ads to give you an idea of what they look like:

Google:

Facebook:

Instagram:

Ryan Saxman with Saxman Realty mailed out 23,113 postcards to homeowners in North Carolina with the intent of purchasing homes and then flipping them and selling them for a profit.

The digital ads showed up in the feeds of his targeted prospects after his real estate investment mailer hit mailboxes.

As a result of this campaign, he heard back from 73 people, he converted 3 of them, and he made $250,000 in revenue.

Consider digital ads like a safety net. Anyone who received your mailer and didn’t respond right away will have another chance of seeing your message and responding online.

These ads can also run for months after your postcard is sent out. So, they may even see these ads multiple times in their feeds.

 

Website or Web Page

Another facet of a successful marketing campaign is a website or dedicated web page where your prospects can land online for more information.

Do you have one? I highly recommend setting one up, even if it is basic. Common website providers include Wix, WordPress, and Squarespace.

This is important to mention because once you have a website set up, you can make a QR code for your mailers.

These QR codes can be scanned by your prospects and bring them to your website for more information.

Depending on who manages your campaign, these scans can also be tracked so that you can see how many people took action.

So: what about the people who visited your website but didn’t take action?

The good news is that there is retargeting technology available that can locate the website visitor and match it to an address.

At PostcardMania, we have named it Website to Mailbox. Once an address is matched, we can mail them a postcard within 24 hours.

The postcard will not only remind them about your business, but it will also give them a physical advertisement that makes it easy for them to get back in touch with you.

Add an offer on the follow-up mailer too, and it increases your chances of converting them.

Another benefit of using retargeting services is that it is very affordable because you are only sending these one-off postcards to visitors when they match your mailing criteria.

For example, you might not mail to everyone who visits your website, but only to people who stay for more than 30 seconds or those who visit a specific page.

You could be sending 5-10 postcards a month as long as they meet your pre-qualifying criteria, which adds up to less than $15 spent total.

Every individual who visits your website is a lead that you don’t want to miss out on. So sending them a mailer right after their web visit gives you that edge on winning them over.

 

7. Mailing & Tracking Your Campaign

The majority of the work is done, and now it’s time for the big crescendo — mailing!

At this point, you’ve already decided to use a mail house to ship your mailers or do it yourself by sorting, addressing, and dropping them off at the post office.

Then it’s time to anxiously await the responses.

What does tracking a direct mail campaign look like?

The USPS notifies you once your mail has been delivered, but direct mail marketing companies can take this further by tracking incoming phone calls as well.

At PostcardMania, we can place a unique phone number on your postcard or letter that logs all phone calls made and even records them too so you know exactly what kind of responses you are receiving.

QR code scans and performance results of digital ads can also be tracked and assessed so that you know what is working and what’s not.

We have a convenient platform called MyPostcardMania where all of that tracking information is located for our clients to access easily.

However you can always come up with your own methods as well.

One way to track incoming phone calls, emails, and more is to train your team members how to log the data on a worksheet.

Most real estate investors tend to work solo, so you can do this yourself by keeping a form handy that logs who the caller is, why they called in and more.

All you have to ask is, “how did you hear about us?” If it was a postcard, ask them which one it was, that way you’ll know exactly which campaign was successful.

 

8. Follow Up

After your direct mail piece hits mailboxes, you’ll have some incoming responses. The prospects who don’t make a decision right away will need more time to become genuinely interested.

It’s important to stay consistent with your marketing to keep their attention, so keep mailing them letters or postcards. The repeat marketing message will remind them to give you a try.

I also recommend that you run follow-up digital ads like I mentioned in this guide earlier because the majority of people are online.

When they see these ads, they recall them longer as opposed to receiving one advertisement one time.

Email is also a good follow-up tactic, but you’ll need to obtain the prospect’s email address first in order to do this.

Include a sign-up form on your website to help capture them. Make the effort even more enticing by offering them something for free, like a guide on real estate.

Even after all of these follow-up strategies, people may still need more time to make a decision and reach out to you.

I’ve had prospects show interest for years before converting! Don’t give up, keep marketing, and you’ll see results.

 

I hope this guide was informative for you and that you learned a lot more about direct mail.

We know real estate investors are trying to find fix and flip properties and/or land lightning fast, so time is precious.

Consider working with a direct mail marketing professional that you can trust to handle every little detail and optimize your campaign for results — like us!

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About the Author

Joy Gendusa is an entrepreneur, business owner, author, keynote speaker, and philanthropist. With only a phone, a computer and postcards (no funding of any kind!), Joy grew her real estate direct mail company, PostcardMania, from a small startup into an industry leader that generated over $97 million in 2022, currently employs 350 people and spans a 69,000 sq ft custom-built facility in sunny Clearwater, FL.

Joy’s company, PostcardMania, has been featured on the Inc. 500 list, printed 2.3 billion postcards, and helped over 100,000 small business owners with their marketing. Joy’s marketing strategies and accomplishments are much sought-after and can be seen in the pages of Forbes, Entrepreneur, Inc. Magazine, Adweek and on stage at today’s premier business growth and leadership seminars.