Real Estate Postcards Six Ways To Improve Them

A s an agent or broker, you       market analysis, or CMA. There     probably already know the       may have been a time when the      benefits of using postcards     consultation and CMA got people    to market yourself. Postcard          excited, but that time has         marketing — a.k.a. direct mail      passed.                            marketing — is quick,                                                  affordable, versatile, and easy       So what do you do?                 to target and test.                                                                                            Simple. You offer something        What you may not know is that you     unique and valuable in exchange    can often improve your postcard       for their response. (Keep in mind  marketing results just by making      "valuable" does not have to mean   minor adjustments to your             "expensive.") What you offer is    approach. Here are seven such         limited only by your imagination   adjustments.                          and the law. You might offer a                                           local entertainment guide, a       1. Increase the Value of Your         home-buying seminar, a seller's    Offer                                 guide, a no-cost landscaping                                             assessment ... the possibilities   If you're relying on the "free        are nearly endless.                consultation" to motivate your                                           prospects, you need to rethink        2. Segment Your Audience           your approach. The free                                                  consultation fails as an offer        A segmented mailing list lets you  because it's not really an offer.     get more specific and relevant     Your prospects view the               with your postcard message. If     consultation as part of your job,     your audience includes both        not any kind of bonus.                homeowners and renters, split                                            them into separate lists. This     The same goes for the comparative     will free you up to say exactly    what you want to exactly who you      into groups?                       want. For example, you could                                             speak directly to renters by          Optimize your list(s) every        offering them a first-time            chance you get. And make sure you  buyer's seminar.                      protect it by saving it in                                               various places — on your         That's just one of many ways to       computer, on a disc, on the        segment your list. You can also       Internet somewhere. Can you        break it up by age, neighborhood,     imagine how devastating it would   buyer vs. seller, prospect vs.        be to lose a list of past          customer, home value, etc. Sure,      clients?                           it takes more effort on your                                             part. But in this age of              4. Simplify Your Message           information overload, you have to                                        make your message specific and        Postcards are small and direct.    relevant in order to make a           That's an advantage they have      connection.                           over a direct mail letter. With                                          no envelope to get between you     3. Analyze Your List                  and your recipient, the message                                          can make an immediate connection.  Your list connects you with your                                         audience, and your audience                                              determines your direct mail           "Immediate" is the key word here.  success. So give your list the        Limit your postcard to one main    attention it deserves. Ask all        idea, and keep your language       the hard questions: Is my list up     clear and simple. That doesn't     to date? Is this the best             mean you should talk down to your  possible list for me to be using,     audience. It just means you        given my objectives? Is my list       should make your message and your  too general? Should I segment it      offer so clear that readers "get   it" upon first glance.                6. Offer Multiple Ways to Respond                                                                           When you confuse a reader, you                                           lose a reader. So make your           Give your recipients as many ways  message clear.                        to respond as possible. Some                                             people don't like to call          5. Clarify Your Call-to-action        strangers right off the bat, so                                          cater to this by pointing them     First off, make sure you have a       toward your website. Other people  call-to-action. Without one, your     are more direct, so cater to them  postcard is just a piece of paper     by listing your phone number and   in a mailbox. It doesn't give         email address. If you're           anyone a reason to do anything.       marketing to relocation prospects  So make sure to include a             (who might not live in the area),  call-to-action on your postcard.      give them an 800 number to call.   Just as important, make your                                             call-to-action clearly visible.       ** You may republish this article  Put it in a colored box where it      on your website as long as the     can't be missed. Or put it in a       byline, author's note and          bigger, bolder font than the rest     hyperlink are left intact. Please  of the copy. Make it impossible       include the article in its         to miss.                              entirety.                                                                                                About the Author: Brandon Cornett is the editor of http://PostcardSmart.com, the Internet's largest website dedicated entirely to direct mail marketing with postcards. For more expert articles on postcard marketing, visit http://www.PostcardSmart.com. Source: www.isnare.com