A marketing device that has worked well for real estate agents in the past is to cultivate an area with postcards. However, in this market, or for newer agents, there’s more to it than just sending a “Hi! I’m a new agent in your area!” postcard to randomly selected people. If you choose to run a postcard campaign, here are some tips for success:

Sources:

Check with your brokerage first, as they may have negotiated special prices for their agents with postcard providers. If not, or if you want to shop around a bit, there are many online service providers that can generate high-quality postcards. Some even ship them for you! You can create postcards yourself using desktop publishing software like Microsoft Publisher and print them, but the costs involved only make this option profitable for a small, highly targeted list.

Mailing list:

To get the most out of using postcards as a marketing tool, you want your mailing list to be as targeted as possible. While it’s possible to get a list of addresses in a certain zip code or subdivision, having a list of apartment renters can lead to more business, especially if you market yourself as a first-time homebuyer. Where to find these clues? Your title company may create certain lists, and there are many companies online that generate more specific lists.

Fascinated:

So what to say on your postcards? It depends on the reason you are running a postcard marketing campaign. Let’s use the apartment renter marketing example above. Use photos of starter homes and talk about the savings you’ll see by putting the rent money into a mortgage instead of giving it to the landlord. Appeal to his desire to have the freedom of property. Tell them about your experience working with first-time homebuyers.