Across the country we send out over 350,000 co-promotional direct mail pieces each month. The total number of pieces per market varies from 2,500 to 40,000. Please contact a Featured Partner Recruiter to determine the number of free direct mail pieces available in you area(s).
Our award-winning graphic design team will work with your supplied artwork (logo, photos, etc) or with royalty-free stock photography to create a completely custom direct mail postcard. If you have an advertising agency or graphic designer, we can collaborate with them to create a piece that embraces your brand identity. You will receive a proof of the postcard for your input and final approval, and we will work with you to make any changes you request. Your signature on the final proof is your approval to allow us to print and distribute the mailer and your commitment to honor the offer as stated. Your will receive samples of the printed piece to share with staff to ensure smooth redemption.
Postcards are mailed to arrive in homes during the first week of the month. Because of variable delivery times from the USPS, postcards can arrive as much as 5 days before or after our target date. Additionally, some subscribers mail or hand-deliver their own postcards, and do so on their own schedule. Expect to see an initial rush of new clientele at the beginning and end of the promotional period, but you should also see a steady flow of redemptions throughout the entire time.
Unfortunately, no. The mailing lists are the property of the individual participating real estate professionals and are not available for any other use.
A:42.
This is NOT a new mover mailing to people new to the area. Instead, the postcards are primarily sent to our real estate subscribers' lists of past customers and network of referral generators. Some may be new to the area, and for the most part all of the recipients are affluent, adult homeowners.
Real Estate Professionals’ Past Customers / Sphere of Influence Most real estate professionals maintain a “Sphere of Influence” list which is made up of past customers, current customers, real estate investors, business owners, vendors and persons of influence in the community. The majority (90%) of the direct mail pieces are mailed directly from our facility (or mailed by individual agents) to the sphere of influence list maintained by agents in our partner company. These recipients are primarily affluent families who own their own home or are in the market to purchase one.
“Farming” Databases Some real estate agents send these direct mail pieces to various neighborhoods in your area to solicit for sale listings from homeowners.
Real Estate Agents
Many of our subscribers receive a postcard and we encourage them to make use of the offer in order to see exactly what experience their postcard recipients are enjoying. Additionally, some office managers will mail the postcards to competing real estate agents to encourage them to make a switch to their company. There is no better target audience for local restaurants and venues than well-connected, affluent, and constantly networking real estate agents in your community. They have a huge network of contacts and are constantly talking about businesses they support. Expect to see some redemptions directly from the people paying for the program! Treat these customers as VIPs and you’ll have a large number of active cheerleaders for your business!
Affiliated Companies
In some markets, other real estate professionals such as mortgage lenders or title insurance companies will make use of the From Your Friends program. The recipients are usually professionals in the real estate industry or past customers of mortgage lenders.
Realtor Handouts / Open Houses
Not all of the postcards are mailed directly to homes. Expect to see a variety of postcards redeemed that do not have a mailing address printed on them. Often real estate agents will order a small number of unmailed cards to hand out at networking events, open houses, business presentations and the like. While real estate agents are allowed to order “unmailed” postcards, no one is authorized to reproduce, reprint, photocopy or create an unauthorized version of the postcard and we request that they limit their distribution to one per person.
Real estate professionals market to most parts of your metro area, with a focus on the high-density residential neighborhoods. When you participate in our program, your postcard is mailed to all our recipients across the metro area. Ask a Featured Partner Recruiter to provide you with a distribution map.
We request a 60-day redemption period for most offers. This provides a limited time frame to encourage immediate response while still allowing enough time for the postcards to arrive and the recipient to plan a visit. Though we request 60 days we require a minimum of 45 days to allow reasonable distribution and redemption time. In certain cases, when dealing with seasonal (theaters, sports teams) or individual events, we will discuss extended or limited redemption periods.
It depends on the type of offer and the location. Typical direct mail response rates average about 1-2% of the quantity mailed. We generally see a much higher redemption rate than typical direct mail campaigns because we mail to an audience receptive to our message, with limited-time, exclusive offers of a value higher than the typical "coupon." We have seen between 2% and 8% redemption depending upon the partner, location and offer.
Nearly 100% of our featured partners ask to participate again! Why not, it's free! In most cases, we will not repeat a promotion for a period of 24 months. In rare cases, we will consider a second promotion after 12-18 months.
