8 Creative Real Estate Direct Mail Ideas to Win More Listings

Direct mail isn’t dead. A well-executed direct mail campaign remains a safe and effective marketing strategy for real estate agents.

41% of Americans look forward to checking their mail daily. Better yet, 65% of millennials pay attention to direct mail advertising. Millennials, who make up a third of home buyers, are more likely than Boomers and Gen Xers to follow through with purchases after receiving direct mail marketing. 

However, direct mail is just as likely to end up in the garbage. Direct mailers for real estate need to be eye-catching, informational, and not too sales-y. You want to grab attention while being genuine and knowledgeable. 

Here are eight creative direct mail ideas to help you boost your real estate business: 

Housing market updates

While the real estate market tends to be predictable, the landscape can change quickly. It can be helpful to provide housing market updates to those not “in the know.” You can compile your farm area’s latest housing market updates and send them to property owners on an attractive direct mail postcard.

If you target home buyers, send the postcards to people you know are renting. Statistics that show it is an excellent time to buy can help renters move forward with the home buying process – and now they have a real estate agent to contact! You can send postcards to known real estate investors in your farm area. You can also target absentee owners with a direct mail marketing campaign. If your goal is to work with potential sellers, compile statistics and comps to help homeowners gain insight into selling their homes. You can even put a neighborhood map on your direct mail piece that shows which listings sold recently or which listings are currently for sale, which may result in a lead from a motivated seller!

Easy cooking recipes

People enjoy receiving direct marketing that provides use. Consider sending easy and fun cooking recipes to your target market through direct mail. This is an excellent opportunity to create brand awareness for your real estate business while also giving something to the receiver.

You can find easy-to-use templates on websites like Etsy. You want to include your contact information on the recipe postcard. Additionally, consider hole punching each recipe card you send throughout the year so recipients can create their own recipe book! Or, your recipe cards can be magnetic and placed on their refrigerator. 

Free comparative market analysis

We mentioned above that most people are not “in the know” about the real estate market unless they are actively searching for or selling a home. Offering a free comparative market analysis is an effective way to help people in your area understand the real estate market while also building relationships. 

A free comparative market analysis direct mail piece helps you stand out from your competition, offer the receiver beneficial information, and highlight your industry knowledge. 

City or community digest

We discussed above that a whopping forty-one percent of people look forward to receiving direct mail daily. USPS found that the average daily amount of time a person spends reading their mail is 30 minutes. With this statistic in mind, you might want to try sending direct mail that requires more in-depth reading from the recipient. 

As a real estate agent, you can become a local guide to your farm area. Provide readers with a city or community digest. You can mail your digest to your mailing list every month, quarter, or season. The digest can include local events, restaurant and business openings, real estate market statistics, and information about your business. 

Now is an excellent time for a community digest as more cities relax their social distancing mandates and allow more events like concerts and weekend farmer’s markets. 

Spring and fall cleaning checklist

Every year when spring rolls around, homeowners and renters want to clean up their homes. This desire to clean tends to happen during fall as well. With that said, you have two opportunities to send a seasonal direct mail piece to your mailing list. 

Before spring, in March, send your prospects a spring cleaning checklist. The checklist can have a call-to-action and your contact information at the bottom. 

Then, sometime in September, send those same prospects a fall cleaning checklist. This is a great way to stay top of mind while providing productive resources to your contacts. 

If you want to send more than two checklists a year, get creative with it. You can also send summer and winter maintenance checklists, seasonal gardening checklists, etc. 

Dear neighbor letter

Direct mail for real estate sets up the opportunity for you to get to know your neighbors. Send your neighbors a Dear Neighbor Letter with a short message about yourself and your brand. The letter provides background information on how you got started in the real estate industry. Additionally, share your local market knowledge and why you’re passionate about buying and selling. Lastly, share some fun facts about who you are. If you want your letter to feel even more intimate, you can send your prospective client a handwritten letter.

At the bottom of your Dear Neighbor Letter, include your contact information, a headshot, and some professional real estate images of a listing you’ve sold. 

Buyer’s or seller’s guide

As an industry expert, you’re a wealth of real estate knowledge. You can easily share that knowledge through direct mailing efforts. Send your mailing list a buyer’s or a seller’s guide during the slowest months in your farm area. This guide should include the steps of the home buying or the home selling process. It can also have a buying/selling preparation checklist. This can help your intended audience get ready to list their property or buy a property!

Sending your contact list a guide on the home selling or home buying process shows that you are knowledgeable about the ins and outs of real estate. It also indicates to potential clients that you are organized and forward-thinking. 

Local event announcement

Direct mail is a fun way to promote a local event. Furthermore, the local event you promote can be your own or one that you sponsor! For example, if your brokerage is hosting a home buying class, a direct mail piece can draw in your exact target audience. 

If you promote the event, make sure you are also in attendance, especially if you put your headshot and contact information on the event announcement postcard or flyer. 

Use Virtuance to create eye-catching direct mail

Having high-quality professional real estate photography is one of the easiest ways to attract potential clients to your direct mail. By partnering with Virtuance, you’ll have consistent real estate photos that are proven to capture 2x more attention, making your marketing materials pop.