Foreclosure Web Profits

Posts Tagged ‘Postcards’

Is there anything more stifling to a good real estate postcard mailing than a blank computer screen?

Consider this scenario (not an uncommon one for many a direct marketer in any area):  Your mailing list has been carefully chosen.  Your printer is waiting for your postcard copy.  And there you sit staring at a blank screen.  You haven’t written a single sentence yet.

Your first instinct is to panic.  (At least that would be mine!)  But don’t. Because you’re about to learn how to turn your competitors ideas and words to inspire you.  And in the process learn the one of the reasons crafting a sales letter is often called “copy” writing.

No doubt you’ve got a stack of postcards that you’ve sent out in the past or from your competitors’ mailings.  Now’s the time to go through them.  Go, ahead.  Gather them in one place and start reading through these.  This, you’re about to learn, is more than an exercise in idle reading.

Pick out the words, phrases, ideas that strike you as particularly good. Use these as your inspiration.  Recreate a headline idea.  Grab a good idea for a lead paragraph.  What you don’t want to do, though, is to plagiarize.  Don’t grab any sentence, paragraph or all the copy from another mailing wholesale and try to pass it off as your own.

But you can – and should – get some really good ideas for your own mailing.  Soon, you’ll discover that blank computer screen you’re staring at is taking shape as a sure-fire direct-mail campaign.

I learned this trick many years ago when I first started working for a direct mail firm.  The owner told me about his very first mailing.  It was several pages long.  He had never written copy before, but he didn’t have the money to hire a professional copywriter.  He wasn’t about to let the lack of funds stop him.

He gathered up all the direct sales material he had been collecting, pulled out his trusty portable typewriter (yes, it was that long ago!) and started assimilating ideas, phrases and other inspirational copy from these various other sources.

It took him several hours to write a couple pages, but finally he had a sales letter that had his distinct imprint.  And original document to call his own.  And he mailed it.

And do you know what?  It produced very good results for him.  And some 30 years later, he’s still enjoying outstanding success in the business.

And just for your information, he still has a hand in writing all his copy.  And he still gets some of his best inspiration from the advertising material that lands in his mail box.

So the next time you’re sitting at the computer screen wishing that a form of direct-marketing inspiration would strike you, gather up all the marketing material you can find.  It’s time to kick start that inspiration into high gear with a little help from your . . . uh, competitors.
By Mark Bradley
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Professional Real Estate Investors’ Secret Revealed:  The Art of Writing Naturally on Postcards

Writing on a postcard as naturally as possible is one of the most challenging tasks a real estate investor has to face.  You should be aware if your posts are coming across as hard sell because this would turn off any potential customers.

Do not be intimidated by the idea of writing.  If you put too much thought into it, it would come across as forced.  Practical and straightforward tips are usually more effective.

One way to overcome “writer’s block” is to record first what you want to write about.  This way, your thoughts are uncensored and consequently, get those creative juices flowing.

Go to a quite place where you can relax – probably your bedroom or living room.  Record your thoughts as if you were talking to a friend or an acquaintance.  But if you do not have a recorder, type your words on your computer as you speak them.

Since you are not filtering your thoughts and words, the post might appear disorganized to you.  Do not worry because you’ll edit this later on. 

As you go over through them, it’s time for you to edit your post so it will make more sense to you and to your customers.  It should appear as if the post is talking to someone, and that someone is your customer.

The reason why there are successful direct marketing campaigns is that smart real investors know how “to talk” to their customers as if they are relating to a friend or acquaintance.  This technique is one of the most preferred methods of most successful real investor gurus.

Uncensored thoughts and ideas are better than edited posts.  It doesn’t matter if you come up with a jumbled mess of information.    Bottomline is, you are generating original ideas which you can later edit.

Formal sentences are a big NO NO because you would appear fake and insincere. Write it as if you are talking to your friends in the real world.  Your friends would probably laugh at you if you use formal sentences all the time.

There is no grammar police to patrol your every grammatical error.  It’s ok to make grammatical errors as long as you drive home your point.

If you arrive at two or more versions, that’s great because you will have more options to experiment on.

Once you get the hang of “talking” to your customers, you’ll have an easier time launching a successful postcard marketing campaign.

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Professional Real Estate Investors’ Secret Revealed:  How Powerful Headlines on Postcards Can Create Strong Customer Response

Journalists never fail to stress the importance of a powerful headline.  If you fail to create a compelling headline, your audience will move on the next article that catches their attention.  This rule also holds true for real estate marketing investors especially when you are launching a direct marketing campaign.

You have to create stronger headlines for postcards because you have limited space to get your message across.

Your headline should be direct to the point but at the same time, powerful enough to grab your customers’ attention.  That is the trick why some real estate investors acquire new customers on a daily basis.

The most surefire way of creating a strong headline is to follow the WIIFM – What’s In It For Me – principle.  Remember, benefits first before features.

Take time and gather your thoughts.  Create a list on your customers’ benefits.  How will he benefit from your service?

Once you have sort out your ideas, it’s time to come up with a powerful headline.  Go over through them – not once, twice but many times.  One useful tip is to use the plural tense – that’s right – because it highlights the numerous benefits. Sprinkle with action words – these make your customers sit up and take notice.

Narrow down your list and pick the best headlines you have created.  It is advisable to start with a huge list of options because you will obviously have more choices as you narrow down your list.

You can also combine all the best headlines to create another powerful headline.  The more headlines you have, the better.

Do a split test.  Choose the best ones you have and use them for your next email campaign.  If your customer response increases, use the same headline for next time.  If it doesn’t work, use your second best.

It will take a lot of time and patience.  Remember, Rome was not built in one day.  You’ll have to do some trial and error at first but once you get the right “formula” everything will flow smoothly after.

In fact, you can even spin your own headline from the tips I’ve mentioned. 

Once you come up with the best and convincing headline, you’re on your way to achieving real estate success.

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