When you’re on the hunt for new clients, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by all of the marketing channels available to real estate agents.
There are so many platforms to choose from, and because each one offers its own unique set of features and benefits, it can be challenging to decipher which one is best for your marketing needs.
This is especially true when choosing between email and direct mail — two marketing channels that have been around for a long time. For many real estate agents, these two channels bring a lot of confusion, especially when deciding which one will help generate the most leads and close the most deals.
Why You Should Choose Postcards
Postcards or direct mail marketing isn’t dead. It is still one of the most effective marketing tools for realtors. Postcards are accessible, cheap, and can be used to reach your audience in various ways.
Real estate marketing postcards are a great, cost-effective way to get your name and establish a relationship with your community. When looking for listing opportunities, you need to engage potential customers and keep your brand remembered. Sending real estate postcards can help you do just that.
Here are five reasons why real estate postcards from Wise Pelican are among the best marketing tools for realtors:
1. They’re Cost-Effective
Real estate postcards often have a higher perceived value than other forms of print marketing, even though they’re cheap to produce. Of course, many realtors think that all print marketing is more costly than digital strategies, but that’s simply not the case.
Many realtors who implement postcard campaigns often see a better return on investment than other advertising channels.
Real estate postcards are cost-effective because they’re inexpensive to produce, they can be delivered in bulk, and it’s easy to track your campaign results.
The cost of real estate postcards depends on size, paper stock, and printing method. Most realtors use 6″ x 4″ or 5″ x 7″ sizes for their campaigns, which are affordable options for mailing.
Paper stock describes the thickness of the cardstock and how many sheets are glued together (known as “points”). Thicker cards cost more but also have a higher perceived value. Digital printing is much cheaper than offset printing, but offset printing will give you better color quality if you need it for photos.
You can get postage discounts for sending out bulk mailings — this is known as EDDM (Every Door Direct Mail).
2. They Have A High Open Rate
One of the challenges that salespeople face is getting their message across to prospects and clients. When it comes to emails and phone calls, likely, many will not be returned or answered—and for a good reason. People are busy, and most don’t have time to answer every phone call and email they receive.
But with a postcard, prospects can’t ignore your message. It has already arrived at their doorsteps and is finding its way into their hands. They may put it aside for later or throw it out, but at least they know that you exist and are trying to get in touch with them.
3. They Can Be Targeted to Specific Audiences
One of the most significant benefits of using direct mail postcards is that they can target prospective clients in specific neighborhoods or communities.
You can create an effective campaign by mapping out a route and sending a specific message to each group that fits a particular profile – such as first-time homebuyers, homeowners looking to downsize, or investors looking for rental properties.
You can also send a general message to all surrounding residents in an area where you have listed a new property for sale.
Because they’re so simple, postcards don’t have to be mass-produced. They can be personalized for each recipient based on what you know about them or what kind of properties they might be interested in buying or selling. This makes them more intimate and appealing than other kinds of marketing materials.
4. You Can Keep Track of Results
It’s easy to track the success of a postcard campaign. You can include a message that asks recipients to respond in a certain way and even offer an incentive, like a gift card or a discount on services. Then, you can track the responses against the total number of postcards sent out to get a good idea of how effective your campaign is.
With other types of marketing materials, it’s a lot more challenging to track results. For example, with print ads, you don’t know if people even saw the ad — let alone if they were motivated to contact you because of the ad.
With direct mailers, you can only see which pieces are being delivered and received by households — not whether or not those pieces have sparked action on the part of the recipient.
5. They are Memorable
You do not want to be another person who emails their clients and prospects with a newsletter or a market update. Too many realtors use email marketing because it is easy but ineffective.
Why? Because email newsletters get deleted without being read, and market updates are ignored because they are impersonal and bland. You also can’t exactly put the newspaper ad in your pocket and pull it out when you need it.
Most people will throw it away after they are done reading it. Your potential client can keep it in their kitchen or home office with a real estate postcard to remember you.
If you want to stand out from the crowd, you need to send your contacts something they have never seen before. Eye-catching direct mail pieces like real estate postcards can help you achieve this goal.
The Final Word
As you can see, postcards are still relevant in digital marketing. They are tangible, inexpensive, and allow you to target specific audiences. Postcards give you a great ROI, but they also make your marketing strategy more effective.
You can use them to drive traffic to your website through calls-to-action or as a way to increase brand awareness.
