6 Easy-To-Do Action Steps to Increase Direct Mail Response Rates

I think it really goes without saying that direct mail marketing is a powerful marketing tool for finding sellers who are motivated. However, if you are going to use direct mail marketing, then it’s critical that you send multiple mailings rather than just sending one mailing to your prospects lists.
Also, it’s important to provide quality information in the content of your marketing material, rather than just a simple “I buy houses” approach. Especially if you're targeting pre-foreclosure, tax liens or any other type of list that will likely have sellers getting barraged with “we buy houses” letters.... Instead try sending frequent mailings to your prospects that provide quality information that is beneficial to the seller, and provides information on how they can find help out of their situation.
Sending repeat mailings with this type if information will help you to.…

1. Establish your credibility
2. Develop a reputation as an industry expert
3. Cultivate a relationship with your prospects
4. Inspire loyalty
5. And maintain regular contact

The big mistake I see a lot of investors making is thinking that simply sending a single letter to a list of prospects -- and then forgetting about it -- is going to attract sellers by the thousands. Even if your list is highly targeted, this is going to produce disappointing results.
You need to be prepared to send a minimum of three mailings to each list. You will get much better results sending multiple letters to a smaller list, than a single letter to a larger list. If budget is an issue, then sending three post cards to a list is better than sending one letter.
Here are 6 easy-to-do action steps that you can take to generate high response rates using multi-step direct mail marketing campaigns...
#1: Find a targeted list of prospects to send mailings to!
The mailing list that you are using is of course is the most important component to a successful direct mail marketing campaign. Choosing your list may be the hardest part of the process, but there are many resources available for finding the right list.
I use the tax roll data from my county to find all the houses that I need. I am primarily a rehab investor, so I target specific neighborhoods, specific price ranges, specific last sale dates, and last sale amounts, and if the sellers mailing address is different from the property address.
Using several different campaigns, targeting different lists using a combination of criteria, I can hone in on the lists of prospects that I know are going to be possible rehabbers.
Here is an example of one of my most successful lists...

Owners mailing address is out of state
The property was built before 1980
The assessed value is under $100k
The last sale date was more than 5 years ago
The last sale amount was $1 or $100 (quit claim or transfer of ownership)
Three beds, 1 bath, 900 sq ft or larger
And I target several specific neighborhoods within a specific zipcode

This gives me a large list of prospects where…

The seller doesn’t live in the house...
The house was built over 20 years ago so it probably needs to be updated...
The assessed value indicates that it’s a lower end house, further indicating it could need updating, and easy to sell as an exit strategy...
The last sale date was over 5 years ago so there should be equity to negotiate...
The last sale amount indicates that it was an ownership transfer, further indicating that there should be equity to negotiate...
The house should be easy to sell because it has three beds and one bath...
And because I target specific neighborhoods I know that the average median price range is in the range that I am targeting. (I like the low end houses because there is a high demand for “affordable” housing and they are easy to sell even in a buyers market)...

So, as you can see I am able to find all the prospects that I need from my county tax rolls, however there are a wealth of sources for lists, and you can usually find this information by attending a meeting at your local real estate investor club.
#2: Create mailing content with beneficial information
The next step is to create content for your mailings that will help you build credibility with your prospects and increase your chances of having them contact you rather than one of your competitors.
Sellers that are having financial difficulties and are faced with the unfortunate truth that they are going to have to sell their home can be very temperamental to deal with.
If you have ever sent a mailing to a pre-foreclosure list then I’m sure you know what I mean. If you haven’t yet, then you can expect to get an irate phone call from a seller that is a little but upset with you for sending them a letter. I will spare you the details of some of the conversations that I have had in the past.
But if you are focusing your content on providing them with resources to find answers to some of their questions, then you can potentially get them to contact you with an open mind because you have earned their trust.
I think the absolute best way to do this is to have a two step marketing approach. The first step is to send a letter or post card that is geared toward helping the seller with their unfortunate situation, and not focusing on how you could pay cash and close quickly. Then direct them to a website where they can find more information on how you can help them.
Now that you have gotten them to your website, you can use your site content to build further credibility, and allow them to fill out a feedback form with all their information about their house and their situation, and then have that information emailed to you. Then you can call them back with enough information to determine how to negotiate or talk with the seller.
#3: Personalize your letters to increase response rates
The biggest problem we face when using direct mail marketing is getting our letters opened and read by our prospective sellers. Because they (and we) are already getting a barrage of junk mail in our mailboxes each day, it’s easy for a seller to mistake your letter as just another credit card offer, or some other scam to get them to spend their money. And forget if the sellers are in pre-foreclosure.
The best way to get your letters opened is to have them hand addressed. And then the trick for getting greater response rates using letters is to simply merge the prospects information into the greeting of the letters, and have each letter hand signed.
You will find that your responses will double just by adding the prospects first name and address block to the greeting of your letter, and having an actual signature at the bottom.
#4: Schedule your mailings so they are time released
You're going to have to repeat your mailings to your prospect lists so that you can stay in touch with them, and keep you on their mind when they begin their decision making process.
The number of mailings and the frequency that you send them will depend on the lists you're targeting. If you're working a pre-foreclosure list, then you only have a month or so to get them to contact you before they are too far into the foreclosure process to work with them. So in this case you may want to send a letter or post card every 3-5 days.
However, if you are working a tax liens list, then you have more time and can schedule to send a mailing every 30 days. It all depends on the urgency of the potential situation of the prospects on your targeted lists.
In any case you want to be sure that you are sending your mailings to every prospect on your list so your marketing process can be most effective. And you want to try to keep your lists clean so you’re not sending the same letter to a prospect twice, or to prospects that have responded to your mailings.
Not only is this a waste of time, postage and money, but you will only aggravate the person that you are accidentally sending the mailing to multiple times after they have responded.
#5: Automate the entire process
The process of tracking your mailing campaigns and keeping your lists clean can be very time consuming, and leaves lots of room for clerical error. It’s easy to get a new list from a list provider and accidentally send mailings to prospects who have already been receiving your mailings. Or perhaps send a mailing out of order, or to a seller who asked you not to contact them anymore.
However, If you are using a software solution like RealProspect™ to manage this process, you can setup your campaigns once, and let the software keep track of all of your mailings automatically. Then all you will have to do is import new lists, and process mailings.
RealProspect™ has a built in mailing list import feature, and a campaign manager that will allow you to import your prospect lists, create your multiple step mailing campaigns, and define the frequency of each mailing.
#6: Create new mailing campaigns for new lists
After you get a campaign setup and you are starting to get responses, you should begin to create another mailing campaign for a different targeted list of prospects.
The trick is to have three or four different campaigns going simultaneously to keep your marketing machine rolling so you always have sellers calling. It’s a game of numbers, and the more mailings you send, the more sellers will call, and the more offers you will make, resulting in more chances in your offer getting accepted.
Again, with an automation solution you can create and manage 10 or more mailing campaigns, just as easy as you could manage 1 mailing campaign.
#7: Feed the beast
Like I mentioned earlier, finding the real equity deals is truly a numbers game. And the best way to keep the odds in your favor is to keep your marketing machine at full steam.
This is what I refer to as “Feeding the beast”.
Final Thoughts:
Ultimately, your goal should be to develop a relationship with your prospects through the process of repeat mailings. Give them quality information that they will benefit from to establish your credibility and develop a rapport with them.
Remember that the true value lies in the relationship that you develop with the person who is receiving your letters. It will be this comfort that you develop with the sellers that will result in better conversations and smoother negotiations -- an important point to keep in mind no matter how many prospects you are mailing to.