Success with direct mail can be a very complex task.
Understanding what makes a piece of mail work well (or poorly) can be a bit of a mystery.
What I found is that there are many aspects of a direct mail campaign that need to be run smoothly to get a good response rate.
One of the most crucial aspects is the message you are trying to send to your recipients.
As obvious as it should be, I constantly find a lot of cheesy, poorly written, and generally thoughtless messages in the ads, letters, and websites that people use to find motivated sellers.
Maybe it’s a lack of creativity. maybe these people just don’t understand the psychology behind written communication. I’m honestly not sure… but it’s hurting them.
for example, it is not enough to launch a message like this:
We buy houses!
555-555-5555
call now!
Will people respond to this type of message?
some probably will… but not many.
why is this type of message not enough?
Because everyone else in your market is saying the same thing, there is absolutely nothing unique about this type of mail-in request.
if you want people to pay attention to the mail you send them; you need to look different. If you want to get someone’s attention, you have to stand out from the crowd.
what catches your attention when you receive a request by mail in your mailbox?
When you only have a fraction of a second to grab your recipient’s attention, you need to immediately show them why you’re worth paying attention to, and ultimately need to move them to action.
I admit it: it’s not always naturally intuitive to look different. so how the hell do you do this?
Fortunately, there are many ways to achieve this.
I have experimented with several different messages and mail formats over the years. After trying dozens of different approaches (some of which succeeded and others failed miserably), these are my top three postcard formats that have consistently produced the best results for me.
related: a closer look at my “blind bid” template
(note: to avoid stifling your creativity, the examples below do not contain the exact verbiage of my postcards. if you want more information about the precise words I use in my letters, you can ask for them at the end of this blog post)
template #1 – the personal letter
why is this noticeable?
This postcard says: “I took the time to write you this personal letter, so you should pay attention to what I say.”
Think about it for a second: If you received a postcard like this in the mail, would you take the time to read it? My theory behind why this postcard has worked so well for me is that it doesn’t look like all the other spam people get.
This postcard is not meant to be flashy. the goal is to be real. When a piece of mail shoots out the door with “sell! sell! sell!”, people pay no attention to it because that’s what everyone else does. Oddly enough, being realistic is different, and people notice.
template #2 – the final notice
why is this noticeable?
this postcard says: “you need me more than I need you”. this may strike a chord with some people (especially if it’s true, and they know it).
Although this postcard has been a little less effective than template n. #1 in my testing rounds (for reasons I can’t fully pinpoint), it still generates a lot of responses for me on a consistent basis.
This template instills a sense of urgency and will likely attract more attention than the generic “we’re buying houses” message that everyone else can’t think of outside.
This concept of including a large advertisement in a postal message was originally conceived in the 1980s by richard roop, a real estate marketing wizard. He has developed many proven direct response marketing ideas.
The actual message copy should be written for your specific audience, but whoever you talk to will have a hard time ignoring this type of design.
template #3 – the double-sided message
rear:
Front Side: 
why is this noticeable?
This postcard takes the approach of asking questions and making the recipient think a bit. “what is your situation? maybe I can help you?”
one look and you will see that this is the most striking postcard I have. The benefit of using this card is partly in the choice of words, the hand-drawn graphics, and the fact that it’s double-sided (meaning we get two chances to make a first impression).
side one is your big, bold, eye-catching statement.
side two is the personal message (a similar approach to template #1).
something that probably caught your eye when you first saw this postcard is the hand-drawn star, lines and arrow…
Am I right?
well, they work. In terms of “getting attention,” I wouldn’t be surprised if they were more powerful than the actual headline and font on the postcard. these charts tend to do the trick.
do qr codes ever make sense on postcards?
It’s also worth noting that qr codes can make sense in some contexts.
why bother with a qr code? because these can be used to minimize the action required by the recipient.
for example, when a qr code is scanned (which will happen automatically with the camera app on every iphone), you can do any of the following:
- send the user directly to the url of a specific website
- automatically dial any phone number
- automatically send an sms text message
- add contact information to the user’s phone
- play a youtube video
- download a pdf
- generate a calendar invitation
- give directions to any location
whether you want your recipients to visit your website, call you, email you, or do anything else, you can make it happen faster and easier by giving them the option to use a qr code.
The biggest trick is making sure people understand what to do with it (because a lot of people won’t).
if you want it to be obvious, be sure to put some instructions directly below or next to the qr code on your postcard, like so…
qr codes are not a necessity for a successful mail piece or campaign (and if not used carefully, they can detract from the core message more than they add), so if you decide to use one, make sure you do. you’re using it for the right purpose and make it very clear to your recipients how they can use it.
related: qr code ideas for real estate agents and real estate investors
what gets the best response rate?
It’s hard to know why some email campaigns work well and others don’t.
The first time I tried a direct mail campaign, I had no idea what I was doing.
I got a list of delinquent taxes from a nearby county treasurer’s office (note: this type of list contains some highly motivated vendors, which plays a big part in every successful campaign); I prepared a basic postcard (similar to template #1) and did a test, sending 106 postcards with an online mail service.
To my surprise, I got a whopping 6% response rate (which, in the eyes of most direct mail marketers, is pretty good).
I thought it must have been a fluke, I tried another campaign two weeks later with 300 postcards. my response rate was 14%.
I started to realize I was onto something, and I was!
Related: How do I find motivated sellers (and get them to call me)
These templates have been very effective for me over the years, but not every campaign is guaranteed to be a home run.
I’m not going to guarantee you’ll be successful with postcards because so many different variables will influence the outcome of each campaign. the message is very important, but it is not everything.
Whether you’re working with old data, emailing unmotivated sellers, or trying to find deals in a highly competitive market, all of these things can affect your response rate.
However, one of the strongest assets you can have as a direct mail marketer is a compelling message that speaks effectively to your recipients and that people can’t ignore. It will make a difference when you say the right thing.
the message is not everything
As I mentioned, the message you send is one of the many variables you need to master in your direct mail campaigns.
You also need to adjust several other important variables. That said, this whole process isn’t even worth it if you’re not going to pack a solid punch with your message.
remember the importance of looking different. be real and you’ll have no problem standing out from the crowd.
Do you want to see the exact postcards I used?
As you can see, the examples above are meant to show you the format of my postcards, but not the exact text. I do this because I don’t want to dictate what you do with your cards.
You may very well be a better writer than I am, so I don’t want to imply that my postcards are the best letters ever written.
In the same vein, I’ve spent thousands of dollars and years of my life testing, retesting, and retesting these templates to get to the final product I use today.
There is nothing particularly “magical” about the words I use; I just spent a lot of my time and resources refining this type of written communication, to the point where I have a pretty solid understanding of how to get responses from the right people.
you can do the same. If you want to spend years of your life and thousands of dollars “testing the waters,” I’m 100% sure you can find some postcard templates of your own that are just as effective…
…or you can save yourself a lot of time and frustration and use the exact same templates as me (and just for fun, I’ll add a couple of extra templates, eye-catching graphics, and a video tutorial to help you along the way too).
Note: When you sign up as a retipster email subscriber, I’ll send you an instant “discount code” for $20 off this item.
In addition, this article is available for free in Module 2, Lesson 7 of the Land Investing Masterclass, and in Module 2, Lesson 3 of the deal for beginners search guide.
No pressure of course, I just want to make sure you’re aware.