Good Example Of A Postcard
Can anyone suggest where to find an effective example of a postcard to be sent to preforclosure homeowners? I've written some myself but would rather reap the benefits of others experience (mailing two thousand bad postcards can be a costly lesson) 
Any help is appreciated. Thanks,
Daniil.
Two Thousand cards? Oh my god in heaven what would you do if they all answered? You would have to hire and train an army to go out and cover all those responses.
May I make a suggestion? Honest, it won't hurt, you'll like it. Might save you money and besides with two thousand cards out how the hell can you know what is going on on all those houses. You got an answer for all of those problems scattered all over the county? Damned if I would. I just know some person is going to call me up and ask me some questions and I am not going to really know that area or that kind of property.
Now is the time to play one of the oldest games in Real Estate. It is called, "King of the Mountain". It is really very simple.
You take an area and you get to know that area so well that you can call off the streets and sometimes all of the houses. Lets see on the corner of Otsego and Cahuenga there is the old McKinley Stinker, next is the slummy two unit of non descript design with the broken window and the sick cat hanging out of the upper window. Etc. Etc. Etc.
Now you are dealing with something you really know. I mean you have been there. You fed the Cat a mouse (oh god I hope he was deceased).
So go to your list of Defaults, whatever you are using and weed thru and only work on the ones in your area. The area in which because of your superior knowledge you are King Of The Mountain.
Run your leads, drop your card, meet the merchants, the paper boys, the shoe repair buy. Become the neighborhood Guru. Mention the word Real Estate and they think of you and best part, it is automatic.
You help with your knowledge, you cure all their really dumb problems. The lady that tried to pay the mortgage with food stamps. The gentlemen who had the local wino run down to the mortgage company with cash for the payment. Oh my god it goes on and on.
Within a very short period of time. You will have them calling you whenever anything happens to the dirt. Cause you are King of the Mountain. and guess what you start to make a few bucks and you are worth it. Does this make sense to you. Fellow Newbies of the World Arise you have nothing to lose but your Janes, er chains er whatever.
Cordialy yur friend Newbie Lucius
Lucius,
Your eloquent response has opened my eyes indeed. I like your King of the Mountain approach. I think the 2000 was more of an exageration though on my part. More like a couple of hundred cards to some particular areas where there may be a lot of distressed properties. But I'd have to absolutely agree with you that its important to know the neighborhoods in and out, which i don't yet.
So to clarify, are you saying that you don't use marketing techniques such as postcards to find motivated sellers, or you just suggesting that I get to know the areas and start small? Grateful for your help....
Daniil.
Expanding on what Lucius said about his "King of the Mountain" theory, he is absolutely right. This is the same technique that Realtors use, only they call it "Farming".
To answer Daniil's question, I think it is fine to generate leads using postcards. In fact, that is my marketing method of choice. I think what Lucius is saying is that you should market to the same targeted area over and over. It is better to be a "big fish" in a small pond than it is to be a "small fish" in a big pond.
How do you know what area to target? I mean I have pages and pages of preforclosures.