Real Estate Postcards - How to Modernize Your Real Estate Farming Postcards
You are here: Real estate marketing articles >> Modernize Your Postcards
by Brandon Cornett
Brought to you by: The Real Estate Postcard Book
Real estate postcard marketing has been around for decades. For the first 20 years or so, the printing and mailing technology behind the real estate postcards remained fairly static. Not much evolution or innovation took place.
But in the early 90's, dot-matrix printers gave way to digital machines and more advanced offset presses. Graphic programs emerged to simply the design process for real estate postcards. And, of course, there was that little thing called the Internet.
Today, postcard marketing companies use the Internet as a transmission tool, allowing real estate agents to upload their real estate postcard designs or create them online. These companies then print and mail the real estate postcards, so the agent never even has to touch them.
Technology Outgrew Technique
While the technology behind real estate farming postcards has evolved in recent years, the methods used by most agents have remained static. Technology hit a growth spurt, but marketing practices stayed where they were. This skewed evolution has created both a problem and an opportunity for agents who use real estate postcard marketing.
The Sender-Recipient Disconnect
Working in the direct mail postcard marketing industry allowed me to witness (and participate in) the creation of countless real estate postcards. It also led me to the following conclusion. Many real estate agents have failed to account for the continuing modernization of their audience.
The Internet has led to a new breed of information-empowered consumers. The problem is, many of the real estate postcards I've encountered relied too heavily on outdated, "pre-Internet" tactics with little chance for success in this modern era.
But this is also an opportunity, because those agents who modernize their postcard marketing strategies will have more business for the taking.
Modernize Your Postcard Approach
So how do you modernize and strengthen your real estate postcard marketing? How do you captivate and motivate the modern consumer? For one thing, you can take them where they're comfortable going — online.
To get the most from your postcard marketing program, you should plug it into the buzz of Internet activity currently taking place. Most buyers and sellers use the Internet at some point to conduct real estate research. The Internet helps people shop for homes, learn about mortgages, locate real estate agents, ask questions about real estate, communicate with others about real estate topics ... the list goes on.
This Internet activity is already happening, so you don't have to do anything to generate it. All you have to do is capitalize on it. So how can real estate postcards help you capitalize on Internet traffic? Here is one of the most effective strategies I have witnessed to date:
The Online Resource Center
The idea here is to create an online real estate resource center for your particular community or town, and then point to it with your real estate farming cards. By having a variety of lead-generation tactics in place on the website, you could ultimately make contact with an endless stream of website visitors.
By showcasing the resource center, you are adding value to your real estate postcard. You're giving the recipient a reason to (A) hang onto the postcard, (B) visit the resource website, (C) trust you, and (D) contact you. This last point, direct contact, comes from having website lead-generators in place, and also from having your contact information on the postcard.
More Than an Agent Website
The key here is that you must build genuine value into your website (just like you should build value into your postcards). It can't be "just another agent website."
For example, I live in Austin, Texas. So if I were going to create a site like this, I would first create a theme like "Where Austin Goes for Home Buying Information." Then I would work to make the website live up to that theme. I might even get some non-competitive partners involved, like a mortgage expert and a home inspector. It would be easy to drive traffic to such a website with real estate farming postcards.
Focus on building an "epicenter" of local real estate information. The site should be full of helpful information, much more than the average real estate website. There's no room for mediocrity here. A remarkable website will generate a remarkable response.
You could incorporate a blog, a forum or bulletin board, helpful articles, property listings with virtual tours, an "Ask the Agent" section ... you name it. These days, blogs and forums can be installed onto a website right through the website's control panel, making this approach much simpler than it sounds.
For best results, avoid the "all about me" approach that most agent websites follow. Instead, strive to make it an "all for us" website — an online community, if you will. Remember, you want this to be "the place to go" for local real estate information.
How the Postcard Relates
With this approach, the real "heavy lifting" is to create the resource website in the first place. [Sidebar: A willingness to do heavy lifting is what separates top producers from the rest of the pack.] Once the website is done, the real estate postcard's job is easy. In fact, this approach will transform the postcard into a welcomed messenger. That's the key to success in postcard marketing.
I would use the real estate postcard to position the website as a community resource (not just an agent's personal marketing website). I would also feature an "Ask the Agent" button at the top corner of each web page. Wherever people go on the site, they can "click to query" the expert (that's you).
I would also focus on real estate search engine optimization and online PR, but that's another article entirely. The point is to use real estate postcards and all other means available to drive qualified traffic to your new resource center.
Can you see the lead-harvesting potential of such an approach? Can you see the PR, branding and search engine benefits as well? I can, and it gets me excited just thinking about it!
Conclusion
Here's an image I want to leave you with. Picture a young couple sitting at the computer researching their local real estate scene. Picture their frustration as they hop from website to website trying to gather all the information they need (while wondering if it's trustworthy information to begin with).
The next day, a real estate postcard arrives in their mailbox, and it's as though the postcard was created just for them. It mentions a new resource website with information specific to their neighborhood and town. School info. Property listings. Real estate news. A forum where they can communicate with others like them. An "Ask the Agent" lifeline where they can turn for help. Home buying articles. Everything!
How long do you think it would take them to log on and visit that website? How often do you think they would visit the site? How many people do you think they would email it to?
The possibilities are endless. And therein lies the power of modern marketing and the postcard-website connection.
Related information: Real estate postcard marketing advice
