Postcard marketing

**ConsiderThis** · 07-09-2005, 07:09 AM

What I used to do, with considerable success, was send out postcards of my listings to Realtors who I knew did a lot of business.

I got the idea because I live in Santa Fe and art galleries consistently do that to announce shows.

What I did was take pictures of the property, then choose 5 or 6 that I liked, and I showed them to everyone in the office. There were onlly about 9 or 10 of us. Each person chose their favorite, and I recorded the answers on the backs. The photo that was the favorite, was the one I used. I'd get a few dozen copies made, and then I'd glue them to card stock that was cut postcard size. Later the front desk person did a lot of the cutting and pasting for me.

Under the photo I'd write a caption, and on the back I'd handwrite a message, basically the features, and I'd ask the agent to please show the property.

I hand wrote them because I had read that hand writing makes a strong impression on people. But I think that you could write something in a distinctive font, copy it on, then sign it by hand in another color ink.

See, what this does is market your property, but it also markets you. So people think about you and want to show your properties. Only I have no idea if things are still the same because IRS put me out of business back in 1994. http:http://www.health-boundaries-bite.co...y-for1984.html

I'll give you one example of how I knew the postcard thing worked: I called up another agent and asked about their listing, but it was under contract. I asked if they knew of anything else, like it. They said, Oh wait, I just got a post card about a property, let me see... So obviously in that case they didn't associate it with me, but they did remember the card and they were talking about it.

**Phoenix Realtor** · 07-09-2005, 01:28 PM

Thanks for sharing Karen. Good idea, maybe even do direct mailing to a farm instead of other realtors?

**ConsiderThis** · 07-09-2005, 01:40 PM

Thanks

Yes.

I read this great article once, that despite everything else has stuck in my mind. It was in the National Realtors' magazine.

It said that a really good farm to establish was of "The Most Beautiful" homes.
The idea was that when you saw a great house, you wrote to the owner and said, "Gosh, (something like this) I think you have the most beautiful house in your neighborhood. If you would ever like to have it marketed, I would be so pleased to represent it for you. I would just love to put your home on the postcards I send out... etc."

(I was top producer in my office, and closing companies used to send me Christmas presents. So it makes me so sad that the IRS put me out of business collecting a year I had long since paid.

http://www.health-boundaries-bite.co...y-for1984.html

http://www.health-boundaries-bite.com/Fingernails.html
Your fingernails reflect your health --
Learn what warning signs to look for --
Karen Kline

**MaxSinclair** · 07-31-2005, 10:53 PM

Karen, I love your "most beautiful home" idea. Just curious, how many letters did you need to send out in order to get one client? Thinking about ROI.

**ConsiderThis** · 08-01-2005, 12:48 AM

Hi Max,
I had a friend at the time who was researching mail order -- in that, the rate of return was about 3 out of a hundred. That's pretty much what I got when I was sending out letters to people I wanted to list with me. But those letters tended to be about me, so they'd want to list with me.

My postcards I sent to Realtors so they'd show my listings. I sold 10% of the 400k homes one year. Those homes are probably million ones today.

I sold properties that had previously been listed with bigger and possibly more prestigious agencies, for more than they had previously been listed.

So I think it worked really well.