Is Direct and Chunky Mail Effective?

In our ever-changing world where getting someone’s attention is becoming more and more difficult, a great way to gain that attention in a place where some businesses have moved away from is direct mail. An even better way to get their attention is to have the direct mail be ‘Chunky Mail’.

Direct mail has become a tool that agents don’t use anymore, simply because it has become too expensive. However, just because it’s expensive, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. In fact, quite the contrary.

If the majority of agents out there aren’t using direct mail anymore, that means it’s a great way to cut through and get to sellers and your target market and get noticed very quickly.

Furthermore, if you send an email, you can expect to only have 15 to 20% of people open it, let alone read it. When it comes to letterbox drops, you’ll find that only 10% of people will actually look at it because most people are not thinking of selling, therefore they don’t care about what you’ve put in their letterbox.

According to Australia Post, when it comes to open and read rates for direct mail, “over 99% of people open mail, 60% read it thoroughly, and a further 39% scan it for items of interest. What’s more, 54% store it for later reference”. These numbers are huge when compared to email open rates.

So, if you’re looking for a point of difference and looking to break through the white noise, chunky mail is a great way to do that. As the name suggests, chunky mail is an item mailed to a prospect which is larger or different in shape, colour, size, and weight to a common letter envelope. Often, coloured envelopes are used to increase the intrigue factor. The idea is to intrigue the recipient and evoke sufficient interest and curiosity, making them excited about opening the mail.

However, unless your direct mail offers something of value, it will be discarded very quickly and forgotten about even quicker. The most successful direct mail is mail that offers something of value such as a free voucher, invitations to free events, a useful gift, or informative information. Remember that whatever you place within the envelope must carry sufficient value to invoke the ‘Law of Reciprocity’.

With open rates for direct and chunky mail so high, you can use the opportunity to give the prospect a reason to hold onto your material or mail for an extended period of time. The longer the shelf-life and the more useful and valuable the chunky mail, the more likely your prospect is to take notice of your product or service.

Just remember, all prospecting activities are just touch points necessary in the rapport building process. Our goal with prospecting is to get people to know us, like us, trust us, and to leave them with a warm fuzzy feeling so that we may one day serve their real estate needs.

Although chunky mail has the potential to generate an immediate response, its effectiveness, as with all prospecting activities, lies in the cumulative effect of the multiple layers of all the activities you do consistently and persistently.

It is important to know who your ideal client is, as this will help you identify what item would be most effective. The more clarity you have as to who your ideal client is the more likely you are to mail something of value.

Chunky mail does not need to be sent out regularly but can form part of your annual or six-monthly marketing calendar.

Interested in using chunky mail to pique the interest of prospective clients? We’ve created a short list below to help you get started:

1. Fridge magnets (calendars or important numbers)
2. Magazine or a book
3. DVD’s or USB’s (may contain a personal profile and a listing presentation, tips on property presentation, or tips on property investment, etc.)
4. Recipes
5. Pen and Notepad
6. Keyrings
7. Loyalty cards or vouchers
8. Useful novelty gifts

If you’re looking for tools and strategies to generate more leads, sign more listings, close more sales, and have more time off, register for my upcoming FREE half-day Real Estate Brilliance webinar with Ryan Thompson in the link below.