How To Set Up A Totally Free Direct Mail Program For Your Mortgage Business

---

How to Set Up a Totally Free Direct Mail Program for Your Mortgage Business

Glad to see that this article caught your attention. You're going to love this amazing little direct mail mortgage marketing strategy.

This super simple idea will actually allow you to mail 500 or 1,000 or 10,000 or even more...postcards and/or fliers each week for free...all of this without you having to pay one single cent for postage. In fact, this idea is so profitable, that a number of mortgage professionals notified me that they replicated the idea multiple times and created their own lucrative direct mail companies outside of their mortgage businesses. Now that's powerful!

Forgive me for jumping ahead here. Let's start back at the very beginning and explore the details of this idea.

The most expensive part of a direct mail campaign is your postage. For that reason alone, you may not currently be using direct mail in your mortgage business. Your next most expensive item will be your list. The postcard might cost you a few cents apiece to print depending on your quantity. So that's almost nothing.

What all of this boils down to is that it's pretty tough to get a mailing out these days for less than 55 cents each or maybe 65 cents apiece. So that makes direct mail pretty darn pricey. So here's what you do to avoid paying postage, list rental, printing, and even make a profit using this idea.

First, you find out how many people live in your marketing area. What you want is the number of residences in your area. The post office will show you how to do a "Dear Resident" mailing. The post office will deliver your "Dear Resident" postcard very cheap if you are trying to hit every household in a certain zip code or set of zip codes.

If you'd like to personalize the carrier envelope, just look under the Yellow Pages under the category labeled "Mailing Lists," and you'll find a list of local companies that can help you. However, personalization is not a requirement. In fact, most loan officers that use direct mail address their offers to "Dear Resident." You'll also find this reduces costs substantially.

Second, let's say you find out that there are some 12,275 residences in the targeted area you want to reach. What you now do is approach other businesses that would also be interested in reaching these same people with a postcard advertisement. Ask these businesses if they would like to spend, say, 20 or 25 cents instead of 55 or 65 cents to reach a potential customer in their target market.

As a reminder, only approach businesses with this idea that are not competing with you and your mortgage business. There are tons of businesses willing to participate and a good letter promoting the concept will keep your waiting list constantly filled.

All of this sounds pretty simple, doesn't it?

Well, it is. In fact, the odds are good you already receive a mailing like this. There are a number of companies out there that will provide this service for you at a cost. They are called "card deck mailings." Just type "card deck mailing" into Google, and you'll see all kinds of companies come up in the listing that will do your card deck mailing for you. Better yet, when you receive your next mailing...call and check out their pricing. Your card will be ganged in with all the other merchants.

But here's the simple truth. You can save a lot of money my doing these mailings yourself. They are really very easy to do. There is something to be said for that old adage "If you want it done right, do you it yourself." You'll have total control of the process. And especially total control of who is getting your mailing. Very often, the "card deck" mailing companies hit to big a geographical area and include too many folks outside your marketing area. So, do it yourself so you can be certain you're only paying to reach those people you want to reach.

Also, you can gang together more than just postcards in an envelope. You can also gang fliers, letters and other advertising materials. Although I have seen some "card deck" mailings arrive in clear shrink wrap, plain old envelopes work just great.

But whether you do it yourself, or use a company that specializes in card deck mailings, this is a very cost effective way to advertise your business in your local marketing area.

But there is one key you need to be mindful of to make this kind of a mailing work for you. You need to make sure your mortgage message stands out from the other messages in your mailing package. Again, don't offer this opportunity to your competitors...only to those businesses that want to reach the same people in your marketing area.

Here's a great opportunity to actually make money in two businesses.

You'll make money in your mortgage business by promoting your company via your mailing...that is, with your own postcard or flier. And, you can make lots of money selling your direct mail program to your co-op mailing partners. Just mark-up the cost. A 15% mark-up or so to compensate you for your work and initiative is certainly reasonable, and you'll still be under pricing the big national "card deck" mailing services. When you get all your prices together, you may find that you can demand an even larger mark-up.

Start mailing your co-op mailings once a month, and then increase the frequency as you get your systems and procedures in place. I'm sure you can see that there is some great money to be made doing this. If you've got some guts and ambition, you can work this system to a point where you are mailing countless card decks and other co-op mailings per week with very little if any cash outlay. Your co-op mailing partners are funding the entire process and even paying in advance for the privilege of working with you.

I'll let you do the math here on what you could make with this idea if you just mark-up the cost a minimum of 15% to your co-op mailing partners. You may need to consider a part-time assistant early on to make this work for you. Of course, nothing will work if you don't work the plan. To get this system up and running will take a little initiative and some oomph on your part.

At the very least, use this little trick to conduct direct mail marketing campaigns for your mortgage business at no cost to you. It's not at all hard to find six or eight or ten or more businesses that will be more than happy to sign-up for the program and participate with you.

This is a great idea...drop me an email or give me a call...I would love to hear of your success with this program.

Author

Tom Domin. Tom Domin is the author of "101 Ways to Originate Mortgages" and publisher of "Tom's Mortgage Tips" a twice monthly Mortgage Newsletter geared for Mortgage Professionals. Put your mortgage career on the fast track and sign-up for FREE at http://www.MortgageMarketingToolKit.com/

Tags

Business, Marketing and Advertising, Direct Marketing, Mailing Lists

Share article "How To Set Up A Totally Free Direct Mail Program For Your Mortgage Business"