Your Guide to Online Postcard Printing Companies

Did you know you can conduct a real estate postcard campaign without ever touching a piece of paper / card stock? It's true. Today, there are more than a dozen online postcard printing companies that will handle every aspect of your direct mail campaign. You can design your postcard online (or upload one you've already designed), purchase a mailing list, and then have the printing company mail them out for you.

This much is good news. But there's also a downside to the sheer number of postcard printing companies online these days. Choosing one to handle your print-and-mail campaign can be overwhelming!

It's also important to realize that not all printing services are created equal. I have worked for two online printers in the past, and I've done business with several more. Some were first-class operations, while other disappointed me greatly. In that regard, online postcard companies are like any other type of business -- there's a full spectrum of good and bad.

The key to choosing the right printing service for your needs is to understand how these companies work, what they offer, etc. I've provided that information in a new tutorial available here on the website. I've even gone a step further and recommended a few companies I've had luck with in the past. Hope you find it useful.

Go there now: Your Guide to Online Real Estate Postcard Printing

You can also learn about these types of companies (and the services they provide) by downloading a copy of my postcard marketing guide.

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

-Brandon

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

Direct Mail Services - What Do They Do?

Any real estate agent considering direct mail as an addition to their marketing program should consider using a direct mail service. These companies handle all of the logistics for you, which makes life a lot easier.

If you already use real estate direct mail but are handling the printing and mailing yourself, you should use a direct mail service for the convenience factor alone.

A Direct Mail Service Does All That?
A few years ago, when I worked for a direct mail postcard company, I attended the NAR conference in Orlando, Florida. It was 2004, if I remember correctly. Something I clearly remember were all of the real estate agents who came up to the booth inquiring about our services. What postcard services do you provide? How much does it cost? Etc.

I would tell them how the company handled everything -- postcard design, copywriting support, printing and mailing, etc. And most of the time they would respond with something like: "You do all of that? And for that price? Jeez, I've been killing myself trying to do it alone all this time!"

It's important to note that direct mail is not for everyone. It requires a certain commitment and willingness to learn. But for the real estate agents who use direct mail well, the rewards are worth the effort put into the program. The trick is to maximize the rewards while minimizing the efforts.

How do you maximize the rewards? Well, for one thing you can apply the proven techniques of direct mail marketing (like those outlined in my book). And to minimize the effort, you can use a direct mail service to handle the logistical side of things for you.

I've just posted a guide to direct mail services over at PostcardSmart.com. It explains what these services do, how to shop for one, etc. If you find the article helpful, be sure to check out the related articles mentioned at the end of it.

Go there now: A Guide to Direct Mail Services

~Brandon

New Article on Postcard Printing

I've been on an article-writing kick lately, and the topic has been postcard printing companies. In a new article over at PostcardSmart.com, I've outlined some important considerations when choosing a postcard printing company, mainly from a convenience perspective.

Convenience is important when it comes to postcard marketing. There are a lot of steps involved in the design, printing and mailing of a real estate postcard, so the convenience factor will make a big difference in your overall success and satisfaction.

In this new article I've listed some specific, convenience-related criteria you should look for in a postcard printing company:

Postcard Printers - Measuring the Convenience Factor

Hope you find it helpful.

-Brandon

A Guide to Direct Mail Fulfillment

So you are entering the exciting world of real estate direct mail, and you have some questions about the different levels of direct mail fulfillment. Have I got just the thing for you.

Typically, the information presented on this website and blog have to do with real estate postcard marketing. After all, I've written a book about real estate postcard strategies, so the site should naturally cater to that.

But I also know that a lot of real estate folks move into other areas of direct mail, such as letter kits, brochures and the like. If this describes you, you'll want to check out my new guide to direct mail fulfillment, posted over at PostcardSmart.com:

A Guide to Direct Mail Fulfillment

Hope you find it helpful!

~Brandon

What Postcard Companies Won't Tell You (But Probably Should)

After working for two postcard printing companies (and dealing with many more), I've learned quite a bit about the challenges real estate agents face when using real estate postcards. I've also learned the best practices of real estate postcard marketing, most of which are outlined in the postcard book.

The problem is, many of these challenges and best practices do not get communicated to the individual agent using real estate postcards. It's not that the postcard companies are being deceitful ... it's just not in their best interest to share certain facts with their real estate customers.

So, I would like to step in and fill that role. I'm sharing the following information so you have a realistic picture of postcard marketing today, and so you'll know how to get the best possible return on your real estate postcard investment.

With that said, here are three things postcard companies won't tell you (but probably should):

1. Real Estate Postcard Marketing is Hard

You may be under the impression that postcard marketing is easy. After all, you just fill in the postcard template with your information, have the postcard company print them and blanket the area with your message, and then sit back to watch the leads roll in? Right? Wrong.

If it were that easy, every real estate agent who ever used marketing postcards would be a success story. But clearly that's not the case. Some agents thrive with postcard marketing, while others fail. (That's a reality of marketing in general.) So it's obviously not a simple, one-size-fits-all approach.

Postcard marketing is a numbers game, a game of attrition. The more mistakes you make along the way, the lower your end numbers (responses) will be. If you don't optimize every aspect of your real estate postcard campaign -- from the initial idea to the final offer -- you will probably be disappointed with the results. The problem is, most postcard companies cannot afford to give each customer the individual attention they need to maximize all those postcard factors. With a dozen or so staff and thousands of customers, how could they?

But you can educate yourself about the many aspects of postcard marketing, by downloading a copy of the postcard book (10 more reasons to buy it). You can arm yourself with this knowledge before you even approach a postcard printing company.

2. Bad Mailings Do Not Get Better With Time

"Be patient and persistent. The results will come in time." If I had a nickel for every time I heard or saw a postcard company use this line, I would be able to retire. Well, almost. Some companies will tell you that a failed postcard mailing (one that produces zero responses) will get better with repetition. They will tell you that you're staying "top of mind" with your prospective audience, and that eventually these people will wake up to your message and contact you.

Not likely.

It is extremely rare that a weak postcard mailing gets better simply by repeating it. Usually, it will remain a failure, no matter how many times you repeat it. But here's the good news. If you start off with the kinds of techniques I teach in my book, you will likely enjoy good response rates from the beginning. Best of all, you'll know how to spot a weak mailing based on response numbers, and you'll know what to do about it.

Bottom line ... a postcard mailing that produces zero responses should never be repeated. If you repeat such a mailing, you are wasting time and money. Such a mailing should be modified until it does produce results. Then it can be repeated, and optimized, and tested again, and so on.

3. Templates are Usually Less Effective Than Original Postcards

Sure, postcard templates are easy to use. You just select a template, plug in your name and photo, and you're off to the races. Right? Well, not always. Here's the problem with real estate postcard templates (and you'll realize the logic of this after I explain it). When you use a real estate postcard template, you are making your postcard look like every other real estate postcard. That's what templates are -- a stock layout that many people can use.

Now ask yourself this. If my postcards look a lot like those sent by other real estate agents, how does that affect my ability to stand out? You already know the answer. It kills your ability to stand out!

In his book Purple Cow, marketing expert Seth Godin uses the analogy of brown cows. Brown cows lack uniqueness. They are everywhere. And as a result of their common appearance, people hardly notice brown cows. But what if you passed a purple cow standing in a field. You'd notice wouldn't you? That's because a purple cow is remarkable. It stands out and generates buzz.

Real estate postcard templates will not get you a purple cow. They produce brown cows, the kind of thing that's common to the point of being invisible.

In my book, I teach you how to transform your real estate postcards from "brown cow" commonality to "purple cow" uniqueness -- in order to grab people's attention and earn their response.

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

-Brandon

Ordering Real Estate Postcards - Be Careful

Real estate postcards have been an effective marketing tool for real estate agents for decades. But if you don't know what you're doing, you could spend a lot of money only to get disappointment back in return.

So you need to use caution when ordering postcards online, and you need to have a plan for your real estate postcard marketing success.

Here's why...

There are quite a few real estate postcard companies these days, with new ones sprouting up all the time. Here's how it usually works. A printing company will learn that there's quite a market for real estate postcards, so they will launch a new website catering to real estate agents and proclaim, "We are experts in real estate postcard marketing!"

Here's the truth of the matter. Most of these companies are experts at the logistics of printing and mailing. And they should be! After all, that's what you're paying them for. But what you need to realize is that most postcard marketing companies are not experts at real estate marketing. There's a big difference between printing expertise and real estate marketing expertise.

So if you're serious about your real estate postcard success, you need to bring the marketing intelligence yourself.

Think about it for a moment. The postcard printing company makes its money from the number of postcards printed and mailed ... not from the number of responses you get. Often, when real estate agents question the fact that they're not getting any responses from their postcards, these companies will tell them to "be patient."

Let me make something perfectly clear. If you mail a thousand postcards and get nothing back in return -- not a single response -- you should not repeat that mailing. You should adjust your approach and apply some of the marketing fundamentals in my real estate postcard book.

(This is The book on real estate postcard marketing, by the way. Don't be fooled by imitators. This book is only available on the website www.RealEstatePostcardBook.com.)

My point is simply this:

There may be a few postcard companies with real estate marketing expertise, but they are few and far between. Personally, I have not found one yet. Nor do I expect a postcard printing company to have expertise in real estate marketing. They are printing experts, and that's what I expect from them. So when you use a real estate postcard company, it's a good idea to handle the marketing side of things yourself.

Good luck, and good marketing!

~Brandon

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

Postcard Printing Companies - How to Choose

Though real estate postcard marketing has been around for decades, it has exploded in popularity over the last few years. This is largely due to advances in the real estate postcard industry that make the medium easier and more affordable than ever.

But with so many postcard printing services to choose from, where do you even begin? How do you compare one postcard service to another, and what questions should you ask?

A Guide to Postcard Printing Services
I've posted an article over at PostcardSmart to help you research postcard services and choose one that's right for you. This article also gives a good overview of the services you can expect from modern postcard companies.

Go there now:
How to Choose a Postcard Printing Company

P.S. - If you'd like to learn more about postcard vendors (and the real estate postcard process in general), be sure to download a copy of my book on real estate postcard marketing.

~Brandon