Radius Mailers

marc

For those of you that do direct mail (around job sites)
How many pieces do you send out. I'm talking about post cards or letters around one of your jobs that just introduces yourself and tells people that your working in the neiborhood and possibly offer an insentive to call you.

Do you send out 25, 50, 100, 250??????

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Marc

silvertree

Marc, I haven't done these for a few years, but I will be doing a 50 piece mailer on future jobs. I did the 50 in the past and got some response. I still think the 50 closest homes with your yard sign in the area is pretty cheap advertising, especially with a coupon attached.

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BreyerConstruct

Marc,

We've done 25-100. Sometimes it depends on the neighborhood.

To be honest, to date we've never landed a job (confirmed) from one, and have backed off a bit while i try & figure that one out...

~Matt

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Marc

We do 50 and mail 3 times. In a really good area we will do 100 or more.

BuilderOne

The quantity depends on the size of the neighborhood, but at the least maybe 50-100. This works good with a sign posted too. Neighbors are always curious

It seems to work better with a few mailings in a short time frame. Have you tried sending them before you start with one message, during the project with another message & after the project with another message.

Frequency is important in a short time frame, I have found. This may work better with Sunrooms, when you are there for a bit or siding. You may want a different approach for windows.

The post card. What message are you sending out? Is the post card full color and oversized?

MattCoops

I've never paid for a mailing list.
I compile a list of addresses based on finding out the street names around all the estimates and jobs we do. I usually use google maps for this.
Then I get the name and address of everyone on that street by doing a reverse address lookup inputting just the street name and zip code.

Then I send out my attention grabber postcard.

I usually mail at least 50 residences, more if it's a larger neighborhood.
I start writing out names and addresses as soon as I get back from an estimate (well, the old lady does, my handwriting is slop)
I do my best to get these mailed out at least a week before we start work in a house in their area.
Then another 2 weeks and send again.
Then again in another couple weeks.

This isn't a big expense ( $0.27 per postcard at USPS)

And it gets a decent response.

We get a better response from new homeowners "welcome to the neighborhood" postcards. I get those addresses from public records at the local registry of deeds.

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BuilderOne

thats a great idea. the local registry of deeds? can you explain more. where do i find them etc, etc. thanks coop!

MattCoops

Whenver there is a house sale it is recorded at the registry of deeds. I know around here there's one for every county.
You should be able to find it in phone book or google: (your county) registry of deeds.

Heck, you could even ask a local realtor where to find it. Then ask if they have any sellers/buyers that may be interested in your services.

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Matt with Cupan Custom Tile & Paint of Lowell, Massachusetts
Design and installation of ceramic tile and natural stone for floor, wall, and countertops
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gtmstang

I completely agree with MattCoops, a realtor is not a bad person to get info from. We got with one a few years back and we offer them a percentage for jobs sold from their contact list. We do no work at all, they send us an updated list when we ask, we download, stick the names on a card and send. Its great not having to do it or hiring someone to do it. Realtors have been a great tool to use when we are targeting new homeowners.

And about the original question on mailers. We are starting a job in a very densely populated area and are getting ready to send out almost 575 mailers. So I agree with BuilderOne, depends on neighborhood.

BuilderOne

Just curious. What percentage did you give them. Thanks for the reply

gtmstang

Depends on the size of the job. Usually around 6 to 8 %. The jobs we get from the realtors arent huge by any means. Usually just big enough for me and one of my guys. The biggest was probably $10,000. So the realtor probably got $300 or $400. % of profit, not total price of project.

CA Contractor

Just an idea -- home sales are advertised in local newspapers (ours in Sunday paper) weekly -- this includes the address & what the home sold for -- easy, inexpensive way to get addresses of new homeowners.

CornerstoneGC

What should you really put on those radius postcards? Just specify that you are working in the area?

I've sent out my first batch of postcards, no response yet....only sent out 200 and I know I have to do it for a long time to see results at all. Hopefully persistance pays off!

Kenny K

are any of you using some of the pre print services and mailing dervices like market sharp and other printers?

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SethHoldren

Tip:

If you're only sending 50 to 200 at a time, you should hand address the envelopes. (Or get your secretary/ spouse/ kids to do it.)

You will get higher open rates. Big time.

A while back I was carrying some mail back from the mailbox. My girlfriend caught a glimpse of one of the letters that bounced back and said, "Ooooh, did you get a letter from someone?"

That is exactly what happens when people see a hand addressed letter in this day and age. I don't know why more people don't do this for small mailers. It doesn't take that much time to do, really.

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gtmstang

I was getting another list togther this week and thought of a potential problem I may have. What size postcards are better? I'm doing the 4x6 to save on shipping, but are the 8.5 x 5.5 worth the extra shipping costs. Shipping is really the biggest price difference between the two.

DamionR

Check out http://www.oppknockspostcards.com/testimonial.aspx

Opp Knocks works well for one reason that I like. They print the homeowners first name on the card. Great for catching eyes.

Otehr nice features let you scheduling mailing in advance (so you can do multi-piece mailings to the same address over a period of time). Also lets you generate a list by a demographic search, or the radius mailings discussed here.

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RT Marketing

We do a lot of direct mail series postcards for customers. As a matter of fact we are about to print a series of postcards for someone doing EXACTLY what you are talking about. It is a series of three postcards that talk about before (we are coming to your neighborhood) during (we are working in your neighborhood) and after (we completed this project in your neighborhood). The quantities you discussed are not nearly enough. You can actually get a better deal on postage and printing if you do at least 1,000. The company we are printing for right now is ordering 5,000 - 8,000 of each. If you limit your quantities you are going to limit your results as well. Please let me know if you need help finding a cheap printer, what text you should include and any other questions you may have. These have proven very successful with our customers in the past.

SalesMGR1011

Right now we do just one mailer, I like idea of 3. We pay in advance to make a large quanity. I can't see taking the time you do Mattcoop doing this on your own. You said you pay .27 cents for postage, how much time do you spend finding addresses, writing them down, and how much for the card itself? I spend .56 cents a card 6 by 9 full color printed and mailed to the radius i specify as well clarifying homeowner only not a renter.

RT Marketing

This is a great price and a very smart way to do this! kudos