Direct Mail Marketing for Real Estate Agents
Direct mail has always been a hot topic of discussion in the real estate industry. Real estate is unlike other industry verticals that have only started using direct mail recently. More businesses other than real estate are now enticed by direct mail as a marketing channel because it can now be fully automated.
Real estate direct mail has always been popular long before the introduction of automation in direct mail. However, new and advanced automation tools like PostGrid have made it easier to streamline real estate direct mail marketing.
That being said, automation tools can only give you power over your real estate direct mail marketing. How you exercise that power effectively to drive more engagements and generate more leads is entirely up to you.
We hope to present you with an ultimate guide to real estate direct mail marketing to help you understand its importance. Furthermore, we look at various real estate direct mail campaign ideas that can help you along the way.
Apart from discussing different real estate direct mail campaign ideas, we also discuss why direct mail is essential for the real estate business. This guide can also teach you valuable tips and tricks to make the most of your direct mail campaign real estate.
Why Should You Use Real Estate Direct Mail Marketing?
We know that all the top real estate companies and marketers in the world have always employed direct mail for lead generation. In fact, it wouldn’t be farfetched to say that direct mail had a crucial role in the growth of many of those leading real estate companies.
But, how or why are real estate direct mail letters so effective? What makes automated direct mail campaigns unique from digital marketing campaigns? Let’s look at some of the things that make direct mail marketing special for real estate marketers.
Directly Connect With The Prospect:
New and advanced tools enable you to access lists of any size and area. You buy or rent such lists and pitch your ideas or offers to prospects who live in a local geographic region.
Tangible Resource:
Even the most advanced digital marketing solutions are not tangible. But, on the other hand, direct mail offers a tangible resource that your prospects can hold on to for days, weeks, or even months.
Continuously seeing an attractive image of a property that interests the prospect is bound to generate a response from the recipient. Even something as simple as a postcard that the target audience sticks on their refrigerator can serve this purpose.
Easily Engage Drip Campaigns:
Apart from being tangible, direct mail is also popular for being an ideal channel for drip campaigns. As we mentioned before, its tangible nature makes it easy for the recipients to hold on to. Therefore, you can effectively use it for nurturing your prospects over extended periods.
Direct Mail Scalability And The Real Estate Market
We know that real estate is a major player in the modern economy. According to “Mordor Intelligence,” the residential real estate market alone is estimated to be around GBP251 billion in 2019. Furthermore, this data only considers England and Wales.
Did you know that the average house prices have increased significantly all over the UK? According to the Office of National Statistics, England house prices saw a rise of 7% in house prices which is the lowest of the lot. At the same time, Scotland saw the highest increase of 14.6% in their house prices.
The real estate market is a massive one that keeps on growing every passing day. Hence, it requires a marketing system that can scale up with the growth of the real estate market. When coupled with an advanced automation tool like PostGrid, direct mail is highly scalable and ideal for real estate marketing.
There are a few factors that make direct mail the perfect fit for real estate marketing campaigns, and this includes:
- The clientele often belongs to specific localities and share similar traits.
- The built-in social proof that you get being a real estate company/agent.
- The real estate campaigns are often focused on a local geographic area.
- Automated systems enable you to conduct highly targeted campaigns.
What Makes Direct Mail The Perfect Fit For Real Estate Marketing?
Real estate direct mail marketing has survived despite the phenomenal steps we have made on digital platforms. In theory, digital marketing should be more efficient than any offline marketing strategy, including direct mail.
We know that digital channels, including emails and text messages, can communicate with the target audience instantaneously. In contrast, direct mail can take several days to deliver your message to the target audience. Yet, businesses choose to send out real estate direct mail postcards.
So, why do real estate companies and agents still choose to use real estate direct mail campaign ideas?
There are several reasons for this, and a prominent one among them is its high response rate. But, that’s not all. Listed below are some of the significant reasons direct mail is the perfect fit for real estate marketing.
Showcase Your Expertise in a Local Area
As far as real estate buyers are concerned, they always prefer to pick a real estate agent who is familiar with the locality. Real estate buyers know that a local market expert is more reliable than the other. It is mainly because the buyer expects them to have extensive knowledge of the local area.
Both buyers and sellers in the real estate industry prefer to do business with local market experts. More often than not, a local market expert has profound insights about a property in their areas than any outsider. The insights can include everything from the ZIP code to identifying the ideal street for the buyer.
Hyper-Targeted Direct Mail
Using a hyper-targeted direct mail campaign, you can successfully showcase your extensive knowledge of a locality. You can use direct mail to create the impression that you know the salient features of a geographical area and what goes on there.
You may use your direct mail strategy to establish your expertise in a local area, even if you are not from there. But, making it convincing enough for the real estate buyer or seller is easier said than done. Consider the guidelines provided in the following table before drafting real estate direct mail letters.
| Real Estate Direct Mail Letters For Buyer | Real Estate Direct Mail Letters For Sellers |
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As we have already mentioned, the most crucial part is to convince your prospects that you are well aware of the locality. Direct mail letter real estate can accomplish this with relative ease and enables you to connect with the prospects.
Direct Mail Automation Capability
One of the crucial reasons direct mail is still relevant and growing in popularity is automation. Today, you have access to advanced tools like PostGrid that enables you to fully automate your direct mail process. As a result, you now have access to every direct mail capability you need right at your fingertips.
Direct mail automation enables you to send real estate direct mail postcards to your prospects in practically no time. Using an advanced automation system like PostGrid, you can even schedule when to send your real estate direct mail letters.
Connect to Your CRM
You can connect direct mail automation systems like PostGrid to your CRM. Executing real estate direct mail campaign ideas becomes highly convenient once you connect your CRM with a system like PostGrid.
With the direct mail automation tool connected to your CRM, you can keep track of prospect engagements and get valuable insights. Furthermore, it allows you to personalise your real estate direct mail letters.
Save Time And Resources
Automation enables you to get rid of many manual tasks that are painstakingly slow. For example, you can automate everything from personalising, printing, and mailing your real estate direct mail letters. This frees up your time and saves valuable resources, including a workforce that can now be redirected elsewhere.
Social Proof
Social Proof is an essential part of all real estate direct mail campaign ideas. It is one of the best motivators for real estate clients. Although social proof is applicable for every industry, it is more vital in the real estate industry.
Anyone who’s thinking about making a real estate purchase would be reassured to know that their agent has helped people in similar situations. Seeing that you have delivered positive results in the past will put your prospect’s mind at ease before making a high-value purchase like real estate.
Social Proof For Pitching to Sellers
When using real estate direct mail marketing for pitching to real estate sellers, you need to focus on your successful sales history. In this case, you should highlight sales stories where you were able to sell properties above the market value.
Social Proof For Pitching to Buyers
Highlighting the same sales story you sent to your prospective sellers would be a recipe for disaster when targeting prospective buyers. Here, you should carefully choose social proof where you were able to sell properties to your clients at a price below the market value.
Well-Timed Offers
We know that certain times of the year see more sales and leads for real estate agents and marketers than others. Usually, summer sees a huge number of real estate sales than any other time of the year. Direct mail is the perfect tool you can use to pitch seasonal offers to your real estate targets.
Real Estate Direct Mail Marketing During Summer
Summers regularly see a spike in real estate sales because most families tend to move to a new place during this time. Otherwise, can you imagine the nightmare of packing your kids and getting them enrolled in the middle of the academic year?
Generally, the real estate sales pick up in March, and it keeps on increasing up until June. After June, the real estate sales tend to dip down slightly, only to be picked up again in August. However, the spike in August is a minor one as compared to the summer sales.
Real Estate Direct Mail Marketing During Winter Break
Like in summer, many families also opt to move to a new place during the winter break to minimise the impact on the children. Hence, you can notice a significant spike in real estate sales starting from November.
Real Estate Direct Mail Marketing During End of The Year
Another time of the year where you can see a spike in real estate sales is during the end of the year. However, the real estate sales during this time are not as big as those in summer or winter break.
However, it is still worth your attention. Generally, people tend to move during this time because of tax-related or financial reasons.
Ideal Time to Connect With Prospects
As you can see, there are certain times of the year where the demand for real estate properties is higher than the others. However, that does not mean that you can sit ideally until the time comes. Real estate is different from usual products or services that see a seasonal demand.
You need to ensure that you have connected with the prospects way before they intend to move to a new place. Therefore, you need to send real estate direct mail postcards or letters to your prospects in the months leading up to their move.
It is essential to plan your real estate direct mail marketing ahead of time. Most real estate prospects tend to start planning for their move months before the actual move. So, you need to ensure that you are there for the prospects during their consideration stage.
Only if you can stay on top of the prospects can you hope to monetise the seasonal demand for real estate properties.
Building Long-Term Relationships
When it comes to the real estate business, building and maintaining long-term relationships is of vital importance. People tend to move to a new place for work or family or better living standards all the time. So you need to monetise this by establishing a long-term relationship with your clients.
Once you have established a long-term relationship with your real estate customer, they are bound to reach out to you every time they move. Furthermore, it is also likely that your long-term clients will suggest your real estate business to their friends and family.
There is no better medium to build this kind of relationship with your clients than direct mail. Direct mail is personal, tangible. But, more importantly, it is capable of generating an emotional response from the recipient. As long as you have provided them with quality service, direct mail is all you need to use to stay on top of their mind.
5 Ways to Ensure Effective Real Estate Direct Mail Marketing
Real estate direct mail marketing is hard, and there is no denying that fact. However, with the correct information and proper timing, you can ensure the best possible results. We have listed below five ways to ensure effective implementation of your real estate direct mail campaign ideas.
1. Take a Localised And Relevant Approach
Generally, businesses of all kinds tend to take a fancy global approach to their marketing. Although it may work in most cases, that is not the case for real estate direct mail marketing. Unlike other products or services, the target audience here prefers a local expert for their needs.
The real estate client wants to know how you could help people with similar requirements as theirs. Furthermore, it means that your prospects are looking for instances where you have sold homes within their locality.
Therefore, you should consider including geographic information in your real estate direct mail letters. This way, you can quickly grab the recipient’s attention and establish your experience in the local real estate market.
Use Real Images of The Property And Locality
You should be careful when creating real estate direct mail postcards or letters that you should always use original images. You must not use unrelated stock images unless absolutely necessary. Do not make your prospects think that you have misled them with fake photos.
Using attractive pictures of a specific property in a particular neighbourhood indicates that you have access to and knowledge of that locality. So, you should try to include images of the local attractions or amenities like a children’s park.
Highlight Local Events
Your real estate marketing cards can highlight the popular local events that your target audience might enjoy. It will also help your prospects get a picture of the kind of lifestyle they can expect from that locality. Such small details can have a significant impact on your prospects. Therefore, you must make it a point to utilise them on your real estate direct mail letters.
2. Timing Your Real Estate Direct Mail Marketing
We have already discussed above that the summer and holiday seasons are the busiest time for real estate businesses. Perfectly timing your direct mail letter real estate gives you a significant advantage and helps boost the lead generation rate.
You can use real estate direct mail postcards to wish a “Happy Holiday” to your prospects. It will show that you value your prospects. Furthermore, it also serves as a subtle reminder about your brand and the services it offers.
However, it would be best to remember that the holidays are also a busy time for postal services like Royal Mail. Therefore, there is a chance that the postal mail you sent will take more time to reach its destination. So, you should consider this and send such postal mails earlier to ensure that they are delivered on time.
3. Use Resources That Prospects Can Hold Onto
Sometimes, the prospect tends to dispose of real estate marketing cards they receive even if they find the offer relevant. It may be accidental or intentional since the postcard serves no other purpose to the prospects.
Delivering useful resources is one of the best real estate direct mail campaign ideas. The reason for this is that the prospects are more likely to hold onto them. However, you must first be willing to put your time and head into it. Identify and analyse the target audience and find something that they are interested in.
The goal of sending resources to your target audience is to provide them with something of value that they are not likely to keep. That way, even if they are not currently interested in your service, they may change their mind in a year or so. Repeatedly seeing your brand will help you stay on top of the prospect’s mind.
Send Game Schedules
One of the popular resources used in real estate direct mail marketing is game schedules. You could send a game schedule of a popular sport such as football or cricket to your target audience. Try focusing on specific sporting events like “The Ashes” series or the FA Cup.
4. Create a Sense of Urgency
Creating a sense of urgency is a strategy that can boost the sales of any business, and real estate is no exception to this. Perhaps urgency works even better when employed in real estate than most other industries.
The thing about real estate prospects is that they spend a great deal of time and money on a purchase. A real estate property is unlike any products or services that you can buy. It could be the home for a new family or working space for a dream business.
Naturally, the real estate customer doesn’t want to pass up on a good opportunity. So, when you create an impression that their dream home could get sold to someone else, your clients are forced to take action.
Use Phrases Like “Move-in Ready”
Generating urgency in real estate buyers is easier than you might think. Even a simple phrase such as “move-in ready” can convey the message that the property intends to sell quickly.
This alone is enough to generate urgency in a prospect who genuinely likes the property. As the prospect doesn’t want to let such an opportunity slip by them, they will likely take action and respond to your mail.
5. Pitch an Incredible Offer
Even if all else fails, there is still one thing that can save the entire direct mail campaign real estate. And that one thing is the real estate offer you pitch to the prospects through direct mail. A good proposal is likely to deliver good results for your real estate direct mail campaign ideas.
The offer you use in your real estate marketing cards doesn’t necessarily have to be monetary. The perfect real estate offer is dependent on the clients and their needs. So, even finding the right home in the right area where it is hard to find a property is considered an irresistible offer to the prospect.
Discount on Down Payments
The biggest practical challenge that often stands in the way of a prospect making a real estate purchase is the down payment. Although most down payments start from 5%, it is not unusual to advise the buyers to put down higher down payments.
A 10% or even 20% down payment can help the customer avoid costly mortgage payments when necessary. In addition, you can offer discounts to real estate down payments to encourage more prospects to respond to your real estate direct mail marketing.
No Down payments
Requiring no down payments from the real estate prospects is also a highly effective strategy to generate a response from the target audience. A property that requires no down payments is ideal for generating an immediate response from prospects.
However, you need to ensure that the offer is highlighted in the direct mail, so the reader does not miss it. Furthermore, you can also include the monthly mortgage prices for the property that is affordable for the prospects. You should also try to ensure that the prospect is qualified for the given mortgage prices.
Top 4 Real Estate Direct Mail Campaign Ideas
We have established the general guidelines that you should follow for effective real estate direct mail marketing. But, you need feasible real estate direct mail campaign ideas to effectively impact the reader. Below are some of the most effective strategies you can use in your real estate direct mail marketing campaign.
#1 Handwritten Real Estate Direct Mail Letters
One of the most effective real estate direct mail campaign ideas is handwritten direct mail letters. Why is it so effective on real estate prospects? Well, the answer to that question is another question, and that is, “how would you feel to receive a handwritten letter?”
Handwritten real estate direct mail letters are bound to make your prospect feel valued by your real estate business. This is because the prospects notice every detail of the mailer. It includes the envelope and even the ink on the envelope.
Since almost all mailers are now printed, even the address written using an actual pen is enough to make it stand out. Furthermore, it makes the recipient feel special because no one writes personalised handwritten letters anymore.
Challenges in Implementing Handwritten Letters
Despite its hyper-personalised nature and ability to generate responses from the recipients, handwritten letters are not very practical. Unless you have a minimal list of prospects, you can not hope to implement handwritten notes for real estate direct mail marketing.
However, real estate businesses can choose to narrow the prospects down to a dozen highly convertible ones. You can then send handwritten real estate direct mail letters to these select few and boost your chance of a conversion.
#2 Real Estate Direct Mail Postcards
Postcards have always been one of the most effective direct mail marketing methods for real estate businesses. You can use real estate direct mail postcards to stay on top of the minds of your prospects. Furthermore, postcards use up very little paper and ink, making them relatively inexpensive.
Apart from being economical, postcards can easily spell out your message to the prospects. As they have no envelopes, conveying the message becomes even easier. Additionally, you can also use pictures on postcards to showcase potential properties to the recipients.
However, there are a few things that you should include in your postcard to ensure the best results, and these include the following:
- Call to Action: Make sure that the postcard has an attractive CTA that pushes them to take the desired action, such as visiting your website/landing page.
- Branding: Ensure that your branding is consistent by including your brand logo, photos, and contact information. You may also want to use similar colour schemes to your brand logo.
- Professional Images: You need to use clear, high-quality images of the properties to grab the attention of the prospects. Ideally, you should employ an experienced real estate photographer for this purpose.
- High-Quality Paper & Ink: The quality of your postcard is likely to be used to judge the quality of your services. Outsource your direct mail printing to reliable companies like PostGrid to ensure top quality paper and ink for your postcards.
Automate Your Real Estate Direct Mail Postcards
To make the most of your real estate marketing cards, you need advanced automation capabilities. For example, with an advanced automation tool like PostGrid, you can personalise, print, and deliver your postal mails via the Royal Mail.
Using an automated direct mail system enables you to save valuable time and resources. These resources can now be used on more critical business operations. Furthermore, PostGrid can verify whether an address is deliverable using the PAF (Postcode Address File) database.
#3 Direct Mail Newsletter
If we are brutally honest, we would have to agree that newsletters are perhaps the most boring piece of mailer one can receive. But, it does not have to be like that, and it depends entirely on how you can innovatively use newsletters.
When used correctly, newsletters can be beneficial for your business. A direct mail newsletter should look professional and be attractive enough to grab the recipient’s attention. What’s even more important is the title of your newsletter as it is the first thing the reader notices in it.
Coming Up With a Title For Your Newsletter
When trying to come up with a title for your newsletter, it is best to base it on an issue the recipient is facing. For example, sellers may find it hard to get the desired property because of the geographical location of their property.
In this case, the title can be something like, “Is your location stopping you from getting the best property pricing?” Similarly, you can use the pain points of real estate buyers to formulate a relevant title for your newsletter.
Things to Consider When Creating a Newsletter
It would be best to consider a few things before creating a newsletter for your real estate direct mail marketing. Not doing so is an easy way for your newsletter to end up in the waste bin. By considering the following points, you can ensure that your newsletter is relevant to the target audience.
- What are the interests of the target audience?
- What are the problems faced by your target audience?
- What goals does your target audience wish to accomplish?
By answering these questions, you can get a broad picture of what your newsletter should look like.
#4 Gifts And Keepsakes
Gifts are a sure-shot way of making an impression on your prospects. Your prospects are unlikely to forget a tangible gift that is given to them. Furthermore, a tangible gift is something that the prospects can keep with them and, hence, a reminder for your brand.
According to Corporate Communications: An International Journal, corporate gifts can play an essential role in strengthening your relationship with the customers. Furthermore, gifts and keepsakes promote goodwill, nurture new connections, and advertise your business.
Timing is Everything
When sending gifts to your customers or prospects, timing is everything. The gift you send is meant to convey the message that you value the relationship with the customer.
Hence, what really matters is that your gift is timed and appropriate for your prospects or clients. More often than not, it is the thought that counts and not the actual gift.
Go For Inexpensive But Thoughtful Gifts
Unlike what some of you might have thought, the gifts you send to your real estate prospects or clients do not have to be expensive. A research carried out by Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business confirmed that it’s the thought that counts and not the gift itself.
Finding affordable gifts for your prospects/clients shouldn’t be so hard. However, finding an appropriate one may be more challenging than you might expect. Even something as simple as a birthday card along with some candies could help you connect and form a relationship with the audience.
Pick a Direct Mail Appropriate Gift
Another challenge in sending gifts in real estate direct mail marketing is that it has to be appropriate for direct mail. It means that your gift can’t be too heavy or fragile. Sending heavy gifts is not a cost-effective way, and fragile ones can get messy for you and the recipient. Some of the most common gift items in real estate direct mail marketing include the following:
- Keychains
- Refrigerator Magnets
- Playing Cards
Automation For Streamlining Real Estate Direct Mail Marketing
Executing your real estate direct mail campaign ideas is not an easy task, and you need all the help you can get. However, direct mail automation tops the list of things that you need for streamlining your real estate direct mail campaign ideas.
It would be best to employ powerful direct mail automation tools like PostGrid to streamline your direct mail operation. For example, using a tool like PostGrid enables you to personalise and print real estate direct mail letters easily.
Additionally, tools such as PostGrid enables you to run address verification using Royal Mail’s official address database. As PostGrid also comes with GDPR, DPA (Data Protection Act) compliance, you can ensure that all your data is safe and secure.
Conclusion
Real estate direct mail marketing has come aeons ahead of what it once used to be. Today we have a highly competitive market for real estate all around the UK. Therefore, you need to have innovative real estate direct mail campaign ideas to succeed today.
However, innovative ideas can only get you so far if you don’t have the tools to complement those ideas. Hence, you need advanced automation tools like PostGrid to ensure the execution of your real estate direct mail campaign ideas.
Using a tool like PostGrid, you can automate the entire direct mail process. You can even schedule direct mails to be sent to your audience on a timely basis. Furthermore, you can also access its advanced address verification API to ensure the deliverability of your direct mail.
Automated real estate direct mail marketing is more efficient and cost-effective. You can save valuable time and resources using a computerised solution like PostGrid. Therefore, it is high time to switch to an automated solution for your direct mail campaign real estate.
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source https://www.postgrid.co.uk/real-estate-direct-mail-marketing/
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