How To Generate Listings With Direct Mail

Wondering how you can use your book to dominate listings in your local neighborhood? Or maybe a prospective neighborhood where you hope to do business? It's simple. 

The USPS offers a service called Every Door Direct Mail that allows you to mail every address in a specific zip code for a bulk fee. 

A typical 5x7 postcard mailing costs 35 cents per unit. The cost of EDDM Retail is $0.18 per piece, plus drop shipping costs.

Here’s how to implement your own EDDM mail campaign.

1. Figure out the type of campaign you’d like to send.

There are many types of campaigns that can be used to successfully farm an area.  

  • Just Listed Postcards - Show off one of your recent listings in the neighborhood and ask if anyone is interested in buying it. 

Example Copy: 

JUST LISTED!

Check out this beautiful home at ADDRESS.

Contact AGENT at PHONE or EMAIL to find out more!

  • Open House Postcards - If you’re hosting an open house in the neighborhood, this is a great way to promote it and get more potential buyer and seller leads through the door.

Example Copy:

OPEN HOUSE!

Where: ADDRESS

When: DATE/TIME

Hosted by AGENT

PHONE

EMAIL

  • House Value Postcards - Offer to provide a free CMA. Direct them to call or email you, or you can also set up a submission form on a website and direct people to that link. 

Example Copy:

HOW MUCH IS YOUR HOME WORTH?

Contact AGENT to find out!

AGENT

PHONE

EMAIL

2. Include your book cover on the back.

No matter which campaign you choose, you should promote your book on the back of your postcard.

Include the link to your book lead page, where people can read it for free or request a free copy. Follow up with anyone who submits the form on your lead page.

3. Choose where to send your postcards.

There are a few ways to determine if an area is a good one to farm:

  • If it has a high or higher than normal turnover rate.
  • If the agent isn’t dominated by a single or multiple agent. Too much noise in an area will reduce your chances of converting leads there.
  • If prices are higher, you can land a larger commission.

4. Select a postcard design from our Free Templates!

As an Authorify member, you have exclusive access to our free postcard templates using Canva. Our team has created dozens of beautifully designed postcards to fit all of your needs.  Browse through dozens of designs, customize your desired template and download the image.

Results in Action

Cathy Blight, an agent near Thompson Lake in Michigan, has had a lot of success using postcards to farm her area.

“There are about a thousand postcards that I send out, not just to the lakefront homes, but to the neighborhoods behind — the wake access homes, we call them.

“So what I did this time was I refined it a little bit and I went into the records to see what were non-homestead properties. And non-homestead by Michigan tech standards is a home that you do not — that you don't live in, it's not your primary residence. It’s either a rental or a business or a second home, a cottage or a vacant lot. So I specifically wanted to make sure I got to them.

“So by doing that, what I did was when I went into the deed record, instead of asking them to send it to the address, I asked them to send it to the taxpayer's address. And that way I would get people who didn't actually live in that home. So that worked out pretty well. Then on the postcard, I put an offer about getting my free book, you know, on selling your property. And I got three responses.”

Other Marketing

Let's go in-depth to make sure you are building processes that will continue to bring in listings.

Boosting Your Social Media Book Promotion To A Wider Audience

Read More

How To Get Your Book On Community Library Shelves

Read More