Postcard Marketing Success - Put the Product Before the Marketing

After working in the direct mail postcard industry for a while, I've noticed some trends. I've seen which real estate postcard strategies work the best, and which ones should be avoided. And I'd like to share one of the most effective "secrets" of postcard marketing with you right now.

A Great Product or Service Markets Itself

A bad idea with glitzy marketing material wrapped around it is still a bad idea. All the "candy coating" in the world won't change that. Likewise, a mediocre product or service with heavy marketing is still just mediocre.

So before you start with your the design or message of your real estate postcard, start with the big idea behind the postcard. Start with the product or service you are trying to promote. How is it different and better from the competition? How will it change the lives your intended audience? If you can't answer these questions, you are not ready to market the item.

Here's an example taken from the "door hanger" marketing materials I get all the time. My home office is in the front of my house, and I live in a fairly new neighborhood with plenty of door-to-door marketers. So about once a day, I see somebody coming up the walk with a door-hanger or flyer destined for my front door.

Many of these marketing materials are from landscaping companies. But they all go straight into the trash because there is nothing unique about them. They all clamor about "quality service" ... a phrase that is entirely meaningless these days.

Here's an idea. How about creating a website with a scheduling tool so homeowners can request lawn service? How about showing me a "case study" with the smiling photo of one of my neighbors? How about doing something -- anything -- besides talking about your "quality service."

It's just laziness if you ask me, and I see the same thing in real estate postcard marketing all the time. In a rush, a real estate company will "announce" their real estate services to a market area without thinking their message through ... or without developing their service in a way that makes it unique. Then they'll try to compensate for their developmental shortcomings with a "kick-butt" marketing campaign.

Guess what? It doesn't work. Putting your postcard marketing before your product is a recipe for failure 99% of the time. Yet, it's still one of the most common marketing failures of all, within real estate postcard marketing and other media as well.

If you start with a great idea and turn it into an actual product or service, you have built the marketing right into the product!

Real Estate Postcard Company Creates a Version of My Book

Some people say that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. But when somebody imitates your entire business idea -- and takes actual elements of your product to apply to their product -- imitation becomes something far more sinister.

Such is the case with the folks over at RealEstatePostcardsOnline.com. Apparently, they were so impressed with my book on real estate postcard marketing that they decided to create one of their own. It looks like mine, it sounds like mine, and it even borrows entire concepts, bullet points, etc. from my book.

Do you think I'm making it up, or maybe reading too far into it? If so, you will quickly change your mind when you view the long list of striking "similarities" between my book on real estate postcard marketing and their book (which was published long after mine came onto the scene).

View the imitation alert

I'm not so sure about imitation being flattery in this case. In fact, I find the whole thing sad, pathetic and bothersome. This would be like me creating a website called www.RealEstatePostcardsOnlineAlso.com and borrowing their website's color scheme and layout.

Of course, I wouldn't do such a thing because it would be (A) a stupid business idea and (B) grossly unethical.

I guess some folks just don't share my ethical approach to online behavior.

Anyhoo ... if you're interested in reading the world's only unbiased book on real estate postcard marketing, you can download it today.

Sincerely,

Brandon Cornett
Often copied, never equaled...

"There comes a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance, that imitation is suicide, that he must take himself for better, or for worse as his portion." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

3 Ways to Design Real Estate Postcards

There are several elements that go into a successful postcard marketing campaign. You need a targeted mailing list, a strong message, a motivating offer, and a clearly defined "next path."

But your real estate postcard needs to look nice too, or none of the other elements will even matter. This is where real estate postcard design comes into the picture, and it too is a critical element of postcard marketing success.

Basically, you have three ways to go about the design of your real estate postcard. You could do it yourself, hire a designer, or select a postcard design "template" and then fill in your personal information.

Three Options for Postcard Design

1. Design It Yourself -- This option obviously puts the most burden on you, but it also gives you the greatest control over the postcard design. Secondly, it ensures that your postcard's design will be truly unique and different from those of other real estate agents. But not all agents have the capability to design their own real estate postcard, so this option may not actually be an option for you.

2. Hire a Designer -- In my opinion, this is the best way to go for most real estate agents. This is for several reasons. First, it will ensure your postcard design is created by a professional. Second, it will remove the design burden from your shoulders. Third, it will allow you to create a unique design for your real estate postcards.

3. Use a Template -- Rarely, if ever, do I recommend postcard design templates to real estate agents. To me, the reasons why are obvious. Basically it boils down to the fact that your real estate postcard is going to have a "cookie cutter" design that your recipient has probably seen countless times in the past. A little hard to stand out with such an approach, wouldn't you say?

3 Truths of Real Estate Postcard Design

Whichever approach you take, there are three things to remember when designing your postcards.

• First, you should remember that the design is always secondary to the message. A truly valuable offer on a sloppy postcard will usually outperform a weak offer on a well-designed postcard. Your offer and your message should be given primary consideration, long before you even worry about the postcard design.


• Secondly, a unique design will help you capture the reader's attention, which is the first step to postcard marketing success. However, if you use the same postcard design layout that consumers have seen time and time again, on countless real estate postcards, then you are at a disadvantage from the start.


• Thirdly, your real estate postcard's design should "mesh" with your audience. For instance, if you are selling high-end luxury homes, don't even bother sending cheaply produced postcards. Such a homeowner expects a certain level of quality in all things business-related, and that would include your marketing pieces. After all, you would be responsible for marketing this person's home, right? Match the postcard design to the intended audience.

Have questions about the postcard book?
Email me here: brandon@realestatepostcardbook.com

Comments are welcome. Use the comment link below.

-Brandon