Promoting Your Real Estate Seminar With Postcards

One of the things I like about postcards as a marketing tool is the sheer versatility they offer. You can use them to support almost any business objective. In this article we will talk about how to use direct mail postcards to promote a real estate seminar or an online webinar.

Seminars are a great business-building tool for those in the real estate industry. In a troubled economy, this is even more true, because the need for information among consumers becomes even greater. So a real estate seminar can be the perfect tool for attracting new clients who are seeking answers to their questions.

You can use postcards to announce your event and increase the attendance level. Once you have a real estate seminar planned out, you would simply put the primary benefit in the headline, and then offer multiple incentives for attending. Next, offer a web-based form that allows people to sign up easily, and you're well on your way to seminar success.

Like all good direct mail strategies, this concept starts with the big idea. It's the idea, the offer and the value that matters most -- the postcard simply conveys these things. In this case, the idea, offer and value all stem from the real estate seminar itself.

Additional Postcard Tips or Seminars

• Convey the primary benefit of your seminar through a strong headline. For example, if it's a home buyer seminar you might say: "Free Real Estate Training Event: All Your Home Buying Questions Answered!"


• Point to a website where people can learn more and sign up for the event.


• Create a sense of urgency: "Space is limited, so reserve your seat today."


• If possible, include a map showing the location.


• Mention a free "take away," like a printout of the presentation or a special report. If at all possible, show an image of the freebie. People believe what they can see.

Before you do any of this, you need to make sure you have a seminar worth attending in the first place. This is the "big idea" that fuels this marketing strategy. If you sit down to write about the benefits on your postcard, but you're unable to come up with any, then you need to go back to the drawing board.

What is the end result of this approach? A room full of prospective clients who need the kind of real estate services this company provides! Can you even put a price on that?

Brandon Cornett has worked in the direct mail industry and has written a postcard marketing book for real estate agents and brokers. You can learn more, purchase the book, or contact the author by visiting http://www.realestatepostcardbook.com

Have questions about the postcard book?
Email me here: brandon@realestatepostcardbook.com. Comments are welcome. Use the comment link below.

-Brandon

Real Estate Prospecting Postcards - 2 Key Ingredients

Real estate prospecting postcards are one of the oldest and most reliable forms of marketing. They have been used nearly as long as the U.S. Postal Service has existed. They can be used to support a wide variety of business goals.

With that being said, there are many ways to wander astray when using prospecting postcards as part of your real estate marketing campaign. When this happens, you end up spending a lot of money without much to show for it. And in marketing, there is nothing worse than a dismal return-on-investment (ROI). It's a waste of money, not to mention being a huge disappointment.

One of the ways you can succeed with real estate prospecting postcards it to learn the common mistakes people make when using them. In my time working around this medium, I would say the two most common mistakes are the following:

1. Asking the postcard to do more than it's capable of doing (lack of realism).


2. Failing to offer a strong enough incentive for the desired action (lack of value).

So if you can avoid these same mistakes, you're already on the path to real estate prospecting success. Let's talk about each one in turn:

Set Realistic Postcard Goals

When you choose the marketing medium, you are sacrificing space in favor of directness. Sure, there's a good chance most of your recipients will read the postcard when they pull it from the mailbox. That's why they call it "direct" mail. But at the same time, you are reducing your entire pitch down to a double-sided piece of paper or card stock. So you have to be realistic with your postcard marketing objectives.

For example, you can't tell people everything about your company, products or services on a postcard. There's just no room for that. So limit your message to support a specific objective. Tell them only what's necessary to achieve the goal of your mailing, and make sure the goal is realistic.

Explain the Reward for the Action Taken

It's a general rule of thumb in marketing that you never ask somebody to do something without telling them what they get out of it. In other words, there must be a clear incentive or reward for taking a certain action. This goes double for direct mail postcards, because you don't have much room to get people motivated.

For example, instead of just saying, "Visit my website to learn more," you could clearly explain the value your website offers: "Visit my website for immediate access to virtual tours on select homes in the area!"

Conclusion

Obviously, there's more to postcard marketing than these two concepts. But if you can start your campaign by avoiding these two common mistakes, you have an edge right from the start. After that, just make sure you have something worth promoting in the first place -- a great product or service. The rest is mere logistics.

Brandon Cornett has worked in the direct mail industry and has written a postcard prospecting book for real estate agents and brokers. You can learn more, purchase the book, or contact the author by visiting http://www.realestatepostcardbook.com

Have questions about the postcard book?

Email me here: brandon@realestatepostcardbook.com. Comments are welcome. Use the comment link below.

-Brandon

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!

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

Postcard Marketing With Website Assist

Do you use real estate postcards as part of your marketing program? Do you also have a real estate website? (Sure you do, right?) In that case, you should be using your real estate postcards and your website to mutually reinforce one another.

These days, one of the best ways to use postcard marketing is in conjunction with a website landing page. When you use farming postcards that direct people to a specific section of your website for a specific (and beneficial reason), you have a golden opportunity to increase your postcard response rates.

But like anything else in real estate marketing, there's a right and a wrong way to go about this. I've posted a new article over at PostcardSmart.com to help you learn the right way:

Postcard Marketing: How to Incorporate Your Website

If you'd like more advice on using postcards and websites together, be sure to download your copy of the book.

-Brandon

On Vacation - Blog Highlights in the Meantime

I'm off for a week's vacation. In the meantime, here are some blog highlights from the last few months.

• What's in the postcard book?
• 10 reasons to download the book
• Choosing a postcard printing company
• What postcard companies won't tell you (but should)

-Brandon

Real Estate Postcards - What is Your Offer?

If you're using postcards as part of your real estate marketing program, but you're not making a strong offer ... you could be wasting a lot of time, money and effort.

With that harsh truth out of the way, let me tell you how to avoid this costly mistake.

Real estate postcard marketing is a direct response type of marketing. That's one of the reasons it's called "direct" mail -- it goes directly to your prospective client, and it has the potential to generate a direct response.

But here's the key to the whole thing. In order to generate those direct responses (which in turn could become clients), you have to make an offer. What's an offer? Well, if you read my postcard marketing book, you'll understand this concept inside and out. But let's look at the basics.

A postcard marketing offer is what you provide in exchange for the recipient's response. Turn on your television for a few minutes, and I guarantee you'll hear some offers. "Act now, and we will include this limited-edition collector's plate for no additional charge." That's an offer. Granted, it's probably not the kind of offer you would make on a real estate postcard, but you get the idea.

The bottom line is this. If you only offer the worn-out free consultation on your postcards, you have not offered enough to motivate your reader. [See related article: Go Beyond the Free Consultation]

So ask yourself, "What do I have to offer that will truly motivate my prospects? What unique idea or service do I have in my arsenal? How can I distinguish myself by making a more effective offer?"

And remember, if you need help answering these questions, just download the book!

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

-Brandon

Postcard Marketing - Brandon's Favorite Articles

At my other postcard marketing blog, I've posted a short list of some of my favorite articles on postcard marketing. They run the gamut from choosing a postcard printing company to boosting response rates on your postcard marketing.

Hope you find them helpful:

Postcard marketing articles

-Brandon

Direct Mail Postcard Tips - New Article

Greetings!

I just wanted to make a quick blog post to let you know about a new article posted over at my other website, PostcardSmart. If you use postcards as part of your marketing program, or you plan to, you should find this article helpful.

Direct Mail Postcards - Improving Your Response Rates
Basically, this article is a list of ways to boost response rates when using direct mail postcards, drawn from my own experiences in the direct mail industry.

Go there now

~Brandon

P.S. If you'd like to learn a LOT more about postcard marketing, be sure to get your copy of my book on real estate postcard marketing.