It's In The (Direct) Mail: Campaign Crea...

The U.S. postal service delivers 493.4 million pieces of mail every day. That’s almost 6,000 pieces per second!

Crazy, right?

So, as an investor, when you think about creating a direct mail marketing campaign, the thought can be overwhelming.

How in the world can you make your piece of mail stand out from the other 5 million?!

Well, Cody Sperber here to tell you... there is a way, my friends. Or, I should say, multiple ways.

Creating a killer direct mail campaign is all in the details. (BTW, I recently talked about the details of an amazing campaign in this awesome lesson – so be sure to check that out if you want to learn more.)

If you slap together a generic postcard that’s vague and boring, you won’t get any responses. But if you take your time, use your creative thinking skills (trust me, you have them!), and put enough effort into a direct mail piece, you’ll reap what you sow.

So, today, I want to talk about how to develop an awesome direct mail campaign, plus I’ll mention a few specifics about getting your pieces ready to send and determining your costs.

Personalize, Personalize, Personalize

Really, this is super simple: If you want your direct mail piece to stand out, you need to personalize it.

Granted, this is going to take more of your time. But time is money, my friends! In this case, more time spent on the creation of your direct mail campaign will most likely lead to more deals.

Plus, if you’re looking to save time, you can always hire someone to do this work for you. Just remember that it’ll obviously cut into your marketing budget.

When you’re ready to get creative, consider these techniques for your mail pieces:

Use real stamps. What I mean by this is: don’t use postage meter stamps. Take the time to affix real, in-the-flesh sticker stamps to your mailings. Bonus: use stamps with colorful characters or something interesting on them.
Incorporate something that’s handwritten. You may consider addressing the envelopes by hand (or hiring someone to do this). Even if you decide to go with printed labels, however, you can still add a handwritten greeting or smiley face – to catch recipients’ attention. You could even go so far as to let your children draw on the outside of the envelope with crayons. Whatever you gotta do to make someone open that envelope and read your message... do it!
Choose your envelopes wisely. Colorful envelopes, although more expensive, tend to draw the eye. Also, don’t use standard business-sized envelopes (they scream “boring junk mail!” or “here’s the bill you’ve been dreading!”) Instead, use smaller envelopes that make it look like a card or handwritten letter is inside.
Personalize the piece to the exact homeowner. I like to include the homeowner’s name and property address somewhere in the headline or toward the top of the piece, so they immediately see it. Again, handwritten is best. Include something like: “Hello, Jim Smith. I want to buy your property located at 123 Main Street, Anywhere, USA.” The property address is particularly important, because you never know if that person owns more than one home.

Now, once your direct mail piece is created, you’ll be ready for the print and distribution process.

Getting Your Mail Out the Door

Depending on your budget, you need to figure out how you’ll actually put these pieces together.

You can address, post and assemble the mail on your own (which, as I mentioned, can be great for the “personalized” aspect). But, this can get time-consuming and tiresome.

fits Instead, I recommend using a direct mail print shop, or a similar service. Finding a local shop is your best bet. These are typically small businesses that are owned by people who will be eager to help.

To help you determine a ballpark range for your budget, remember that a standard 3.5 x 5 inch postcard is probably going to cost about .45 cents to send. So, 1,000 postcards will set you back about $450.

Now, of course, your price is going to increase with more elaborate or colorful pieces. I recommend starting off simple, and then gradually spending more once you know you have a few highly motivated sellers to market to.

As you gain more experience sending these pieces and decide which techniques generate the most interested buyers, you’ll be able to change and improve your direct mail process. It just takes a little bit of time and tracking – plus a splash of ingenuity – to score some awesome deals.

Get the Creative Juices Flowing

Have you ever received a marketing piece in the mail that had a strange-but-effective way of making you open it? Let me know! This could be a great starting point for your own direct mail pieces.