Bring Postcards Back Into Your Marketing Mix

Real estate agents nationwide note that direct mail and other old-school marketing channels are making a comeback.

With more people staying home, direct mail has become essential to marketing efforts. For real estate agents, direct mail is part of a key marketing strategy that involves planting, nurturing and cultivating leads that grow into future business. Here are some essential factors that improve postcard campaign success:

Understanding Why Real Estate Postcards Work

Just listed and/or just sold campaigns are hyper-local so that agents can target local areas. Postcards expose prospects to your brand over time. You’re building a pipeline and strengthening your sphere of influence. Don’t be surprised to see an uptick in inbound calls over time. The quality of leads, not the quantity, drives an excellent ROI.

Designing Compelling  Postcards

The good news is that 37% of consumers are now more excited to receive their postal mail compared to before the coronavirus pandemic and 48% of people retain direct mail for future reference. But you still must craft a compelling message that shows the what’s in it for me. It’s not all about you; it’s about them (or their friends or family).

Understanding your costs

As you may imagine, the cost varies. It depends on how much you choose to do on your own and what service you use if any. But the four main costs associated with postcard campaigns include mailing, printing, designing and acquiring mailing lists.

Of course, there’s also the cost of your time.

If you’re on a budget or don’t have the time or expertise to pull together and manage a complete direct mail campaign, consider automating the whole process with Postcard Pro by Real Estate Nexus, which offers postcards as part of its all-in-one real estate marketing platform.

Using Different Types of Postcards for Different Audiences

Your postcard marketing campaigns should not focus only on just listed and/or just sold messages. Here are examples of other campaigns you should include:

• Expired listing postcards – Targets sellers.
• Real estate farming postcards – Targets specific neighborhoods.
• Open house postcards – Targets prospective buyers.
• Free offer postcards – Targets potential buyers or sellers depending on the offer.
• Local information postcards – Keeps your brand top-of-mind while providing helpful market information.
• Social media marketing postcards – Highlights how you use social media platforms to get homes sold.
• Recipe postcard – Useful information that people will hang on to or share, keeping your contact information handy in the process.

REN’s Postcard Pro system gives agents 12 postcard templates to reach all lead types.

Postcard Frequency

Leading real estate coaches advise that agents need to send postcards out nine to 12 times annually to be effective in high-value markets. Agents can run campaigns every month with the automated Postcard Pro system.

Measuring Results

Are your direct mail campaigns working? How do you know you’re getting a return on your investment?

• Ask the lead how they heard about you.
• Ask for the card back when leads redeem offers.
• Direct leads to a landing page where you can track visitors and lead form submissions.

Postcard Pro ensures agents also have unique tracking numbers and QR codes in addition to branded lead-capture landing pages.

Including some of these measurement strategies in your postcard campaigns allows you to refine your strategy and ensure its effectiveness and positive ROI.

This shift in consumer behavior means that savvy real estate agents can dust off the tried-and-true postcard campaigns to build their lead pipeline. Doing so, you’ll see a significant impact if you mail the right card to the right people, keep your message targeted, offer value and measure the results.