Direct mail can be hit or miss, so it never hurts to "try" it in your area to see what kind of results you may achieve.

Rules of Direct Mail

• Consider WHO you are speaking to and only write in terms of how you benefit them.
• Have a "juicy offer" like the ones we recommend you use in our Facebook Advertising section that compels them to your website and your contact list.
• Give them the facts, stats and solutions of your business - Again, it's about how they benefit with you.
• Consider a coupon discount when they mention the mailer
• Speak in the first person, be genuine and try and get your contact's first name for personalization
• NEVER use the bulk mail option that the post office offers (those are easily discarded)
• Handwrite the address on the envelope/postcard and consider handwriting the whole card using gorgeous stationary for a more personal, better chance at getting the mail read.

Direct Mail to Sellers

Unfortunately there is not an easy way to find the first name's of sellers who recently list. However, it is very easy to get their address auto-delivered to your email box the moment they list, so I recommend starting there. Here are the easy steps:

1. Go to www.realtor.com or www.redfin.com and create a search that encompasses all the homes in the area you are willing to drive to. Remember, the more "open" your search, the more email results you'll get.
2. Create a folder in your email box for "Seller Listings" and set up an action in your email that automatically files those emails to this box (or you can drag it there by hand). This way you are being very efficient by filing them quickly and doing the mailers at the end of the week.
3. Create your direct mail piece to sellers. When you go to the Marketing Materials section, the postcards are designed for specifically for this but it's also a good idea to use our letter examples below to get more personal and print them on stationary.
4. At the end of the week, go into your email folder and quickly write down the addresses of the homes that are newly listed on each of your direct mail pieces, a "Dear Home Seller" will suffice. Better yet, go to http://www.whitepages.com and do a reverse address look-up to find the name of the home owner and personally address each letter.

Direct Mail to Real Estate Agents

You know that I mostly recommend a more personal touch with agents (see Wave Marketing ) but also know that a "touch" is still a good thing! Luckily your local Realtor Association is very good at working with you as an Affiliate when you join to connect with their members via mailings, flyers and during events so you'll want to contact them first. You may even be able to get the labels of all the agents in your area to send a large mailing to.

**Never is it acceptable to mass email agents (your email account will be suspended for this) while you can mass direct mail them.

Direct Mail to New Home Owners

One of the great benefits to staging is the fact that we are working with client's who are also very likely to want to use us for their new homes! Luckily there are "New Movers & New Home Owner" lists that you can buy and auto-mail to through websites that can do this easily and efficiently. Even our very own Vista Print Dealer Portal has an easy way for you to send postcards to New Movers and New Home Owners starting at 18 cents a name.