A mistake a lot of real estate folks make is mailing to a large list without any proper due diligence (or what we like to call scrubbing.)
For example: if you're a real estate agent looking to get more leads and you're mailing everyone in a particular zip code, you're most likely mailing to those who have either recently sold their house, or currently have it listed with another agent.
And if you're mailing consistently on a monthly basis, some of those mailers will go directly in the trash.
Luckily, as experienced investors, we've got some tips on how to scrub your marketing lists before beginning your direct mail campaign.
1. Remove any properties listed for sale.
Whether you're a real estate agent, investor, or wholesaler, if you're mailing homeowners who are already working with a real estate professional to sell their house, you're wasting $$.
Use Zillow to determine if a property you're interested in purchasing is listed for sale. Or, if using a list source like Propstream, you can choose a filter to remove any properties currently on market.
2. Remove any properties sold within 1-5 years.
This varies depending on the market that year. When prices were soaring high in 2019-2020, we mailed motivated seller lists who purchased their homes in 2018 and before.
If you're looking to be conservative, remove any properties sold within 5 or more years.
Zillow or county records are a good source for this information. Or if you're using a list source like Propstream you can determine your list by length of ownership.
3. Mail the correct names
Investors are lazy in this. They send a list to mail without properly checking the owners names.
If you're using personalized letters to market to your audience, you really should ensure you're getting their name correct.
More times than not we see names like "Smith John" being addressed, or "A Simpson".
*Bonus: Scrub off any financial institutions, city and county, and education facilities.
**Bonus+: If mailing trustees or LLC's, find the name of the owners of these entities and mail them directly.
4. Hire a VA
Scrubbing lists is easy to train a virtual assistant to do and can be hired using Fiverr.
Use YOUR valuable time negotiating deals, viewing houses, building connections with sellers, and managing your flow.
In Summary
In summary,
(1) remove any properties listed for sale or sold within # of years,
(2) check that homeowner names are correct, and
(3) hire a Virtual Assistant to do all of this for you.
If you're looking to up your direct mail game, give us a call!
We'll help your direct mail strategy and get your going with our immaculate handwritten letters designed for real estate professionals.