Is your marketing strategy “so last decade?” Spoiler alert— If you haven’t fallen in line with the death of bandit signs, it might be…
Nearly every 2020 Real Estate Investment prediction out there shares at least one common prediction—we’re headed into an extremely competitive market. With a spike of new real estate investors entering the market last year, the competition isn’t going anywhere. What does this mean for investors? Now is the time to up your marketing game more than ever!
Bandit Signs — NOT hot
Some old school guerilla marketing tactics will never go out of style. But this is one that might just get you in trouble… With the law.
When I finally decided to pursue my dream of real estate, my family and I made signs on Friday’s and spent nearly every weekend placing them around town. And if you’ve ever tried putting out a trunk full of bandit signs in the middle of Michigan’s ice-cold winters, then you’d be happy to see this marketing trend go far, far away.
Don’t get me wrong… I’m not saying bandit signs don’t work at all.
They very well might get you noticed if a seller is desperate enough to snap a picture of your sign to grab your phone number. Unless of course there are hands free phone laws in your state preventing them from using their phone…
But the truth is that the majority of residents consider bandit signs annoying and unsightly. So much so that this guerilla marketing tactic can cost you fines of up to $250 per day when you violate local codes. Ouch!
If you do choose to use bandit signs for advertising, then make sure you read up on your local ordinances. And remember, each city is different. If you live in a largely populated area with multiple suburbs, you need to read all of your neighboring city codes. After all, you might be able to put a bandit sign at the border of one city, but the moment you cross over into a neighboring town, your pocketbook could be at risk.
Direct Mail and Seller Mailing Lists — Still HOT
The internet hasn’t killed snail mail yet… Shocker!
Sure it’s 2020, but direct mail is still one of the best ways to grab a seller’s attention. According to a survey done by Marketing Sherpa— 54 percent of consumers say that direct mail is still their preferred form of marketing. And with the number of Baby Boomers in this country who are looking into alternative living arrangements as they grow older, direct mail isn’t going to go out of style anytime soon.
When you’re looking to buy a mailing list, it’s important to do your homework. As with any type of service or product, there are always going to be some disreputable companies out there who sell cheap and ineffective mailing lists. These are typically blanket neighborhood mailing lists that might bring in a lead or two, but typically don’t result in an ROI when it comes to our industry in general.
Instead, Real Estate Investors should look for our industry specific mailing lists that are built around a theme.
Popular Mailing Lists Themes for Real Estate Investors:
Here are five popular mailing list themes that are helping investors find sellers in 2020.
- Landlords who live out of state
- Homeowners in Pre-foreclosure
- Vacant houses
- MLS listings that have expired without a sale
- Homeowners who are in default of their taxes
At RealEstateInvestor.com, we take the time to carefully craft and curate our mailing lists. We focus on specific themes like the list above, and we even offer exclusive high-yielding mailing lists that are only available to our members. And most of our members achieve three to four-digit ROI numbers when they go through us for these mailing lists and direct mail services!
But, At the End of the Day None of This Matters if You’re Not Doing This…
Whether you choose to go for the old school bandit sign method or take advantage of a productive direct mail campaign, you still need a plan for how you handle the leads that come in as a result. And if you don’t have the right manpower and automated touchpoints system in place to respond to these inbound leads in a timely manner—within five minutes according to the Harvest Business Review—then you’re flushing your money down the toilet.
The most successful investors in our industry understand that follow-up plays the largest role in any marketing strategy. So the best strategy for you is to follow their lead…
Before you invest in a marketing campaign, first invest in the right automated follow-up system that’s personalized and proven to convert leads. Like the multi-touch sales funnel we offer to all of our RealEstateInvestor.com members.
And as you grow and scale your businesses, delegate your inbound call leads to a paid team of sales agents like the one our premium members utilize. After all, your goal when you became a real estate investor wasn’t to work 80 hour weeks, or to be chained to your phone or computer.
You want financial freedom and the flexibility and time to enjoy what matters most in your life. And delegating your cold calling and inbound phone leads to a professional team of sales ninjas will help you reclaim that dream!
Conclusion:
As the competition in our industry continues to heat up, real estate investors like us need to consistently look for the most effective ways to market. Direct mail is certainly a highly effective lead generator and can yield amazing ROI’s—so long as you’ve got the right plan in place to nurture those leads that come in.
