Sunday, June 28, 2009

Real Estate Postcard Marketing Tip: How to Check if Your Direct Mail Copy is Effective

By Mark B. Bradley

You may be a bit tired of acronyms. After all, they're all around. But I'm going to provide you with just a few more initials that make it easy for you to reread your postcard mailing to ensure its effectiveness. And these letters come from none other than marketing guru Joe Vitale, who has made literally millions of dollars selling all sorts of products and services. He insists that if you remember the Four P's of copywriting, you'll be destined to be successful from this moment on.

So what are these wonderful words, which all just happen to start with the letter "P"? They are Problem, Promise, Proof, Price. Include mentioning each of these in your next postcard message and watch your response skyrocket.

Joe Vitale, an expert in marketing, emphasizes the four keys that any investor must take notice of in order to come up with an efficient copywriting.

You outline his problem so he knows that you sympathize with his plight. You outline his problem so he knows you understand where he's coming from. This, of course, assumes that you do know what his problem is. So bring about this simple command to present his problem, the underlying assumption is that you've done your homework and studied your typical customer.

After you sympathetically outlined his problem, you promise him that you can help him with this. This means you can take that problem and actually eliminate it for him. In this case, his problem is that he needs to sell his house, and fast. Either his house has been on the market for a while with no interest or he's facing foreclosure. In either case, promise him that you can help him out.

Your copy must also contain the Promise key. Make sure that your customer would feel that there is still hope and that you can provide the solution to his problem. Make a promise that you can get rid of his real estate problem and that your expertise and knowledge would save him from his plight.

After making a promise, make sure that you have the Proof key. You must back up all your promises with a solid proof that you can definitely provide the solution. A proof key will separate you from the other investors who may have already contacted your customers before.

Then finally, you need to mention the fourth "P". In this case, "Price". Of course, price can mean many things. If you were providing him with a product, you'd tell him how much it would cost. Perhaps telling him the cost of not selling his home to you would be a more compelling argument for now. What's the price of inaction, you may ask him.

Finally, you need to check your real estate direct marketing materials for the 'Price Key'. Price is the number one concern of most home sellers. So this one will depend on your investment strategy and how attractive you can make your offer. Another angle to pursue is the price to the customer if they don't choose to accept your offer.

So review your copy right now and check if it contains the four keys. If you think you have them all covered, your real estate marketing plan will be much more effective.

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