Direct Mail Advertising with a Website Connection

Written by Brandon Cornett | © 2010

Here’s a direct mail advertising pop quiz for you. What is the call-to-action on your direct mail pieces, and how is it designed to generate leads? If you use postcards and letters as part of your real estate marketing program, but you cannot answer this question, then you haven’t developed a proper campaign.

Many of the real estate direct mail pieces I’ve seen have the same call-to-action. It says something to the effect of: “Call me for your real estate needs.” This is a missed opportunity for lead generation. With this advertising “strategy,” you are only giving the recipient two choices — call me, or don’t call me. Most of the will simply toss your letter or postcard into the trash. That’s just one of the immutable laws of direct mail advertising, and marketing in general. Most people simply won’t be interested.

But there’s a way to get more out of your postcards. Even if people don’t want (or, more accurately, need) to call you at that given moment, they might be inclined to stay in touch. And this is where your direct mail advertising campaign integrates with your other marketing channels.

Direct Mail to Websites – A Lead Generation Strategy

For example, if you combine your postcard / letter campaign with an online lead-generation technique, you’d be giving people yet another option. They can still call you (or not), but now they can get some valuable information from your website as well. If you publish a real estate blog, you can encourage their participate that way. That’s one way to form a more long-term connection.

You could also set up a real estate Q&A service on your website. If you do a good job with this, and make it really slick, you’ll get some participation. I know, because I’ve seen it  work many times in the past. There are many other ways to integrate your direct mail advertising with your other marketing channels. The more you can connect the dots, the better. Give people more than two options. If you force them into a call or don’t call decision, 99% will choose the latter. Give them other items of value they can go after.

If you found this direct mail advertising tip helpful, be sure to bookmark the blog or subscribe to the RSS feed. I publish new tips on a weekly basis. Good luck with your marketing campaign.