3 Ways to Make Mailing Campaigns More Effective

Despite the prominence of online marketing, print media is not dead if it’s done right! If it were ineffective, that would spell the end of the Unaddressed Admail program run by Canada Post. One of the issues we see with many Realtor® mailers is that they are not planned nor designed to be as effective as they can be, therefore do not achieve the goals Realtors® usually expect – new clients. Here are the 3 rules we live by when it comes to mailers that achieve brand awareness, which leads to that call/email when the customer is ready to hire a Realtor®!

#1 – Repeated Exposure Is Key, It’s a Long-Term Game

Your first mailer will have almost zero impact. Among the other Realtors sending out mailers, as well as items that contain everyday usable coupons or discount offers from grocery stores, the real estate ads will be the last thing they hold onto. Many marketing experts debate the exact frequency required, and the numbers range from minimum exposure of 6 or 20. Even if you benchmark your target at 6, you should be then planning to send out the mailers to the same group of people every MONTH before you see any returns at the 6 month mark.

  • Do:

    Pick a smaller target area that you can afford to hit at least 6 times within the next year, and follow through with it at a regular frequency. It’s better to hit 500 homes 6 times than 5,000 homes just once.

  • Do Not:

    Hit an area once based on just one listing, without a concrete plan to hit it repeatedly. Don’t give up after 2 mailers when you don’t get any calls. That’s like quitting the gym after 2 weeks of training.

#2 – Paper Thickness & Quality Matters

Your mailer will most likely be in a pile with other mailers. The touch on the fingers does make a difference. Instinctively people gravitate towards a heavier & thicker feel as it’s considered to be more premium and valuable. That initial feeling of value will increase the odds of your mailer getting a second look before it is tossed into the recycling bin. Your objective is to get the customers to look at your brand & name, not to have it wedged between the grocery store and Chinese delivery flyer because it was too thin & flimsy.

  • Do:

    Spend a few hundred bucks more (or a few dozen cents more per piece) on better quality paper, and choose a quality print shop (talk to your graphic designer, they know best).

  • Do Not:

    Pick the cheapest, thinnest paper you can find, or take it to Staples (we love Staples, but they are not a premium offset printing company).

#3 – Clean Design, Simple but Bold Attention

Many Realtors are overthinking how to “show off my expertise” and many mailers end up being very convoluted. It becomes a journal or a study with statistics, notations, and long paragraphs. Most will simply not read it. By shoving more content, pictures, awards emblems and bullet points and photos of your dog into a mailer and filling up the space, you’ve simply made the piece very unattractive. Just like designing effective advertisements with the less-is-more mantra, mailers should have very few elements on each side that catch the eye. The objective here is brand exposure, to be remembered, and to get that call when he/she is ready to buy or sell.

  • Do:

    Put up one bold infographic, or a statement, or a humour-filled line, or even JUST your branding, to grab that initial attention.

  • Do Not:

    Try to fill up space with more and more. Unprinted area is NOT waste. White space is good. Breathing room is good. Don’t try to design this on Microsoft Word at home, you may as well throw more mailing costs down the drain.