Real Estate Wholesaling Postcards: The (Ultimate) Guide

Being a successful wholesaler in the real estate market requires the perfect mix of patience and aggression.

In the age of the internet, you’d think the only way to expand your network is through e-mail marketing, podcasts, social media advertisements, Youtube videos, and phone calls.

Although those are all good networking tactics, I’m here to tell you about the unspoken method that can bring your wholesaling real estate business or side hustle to the next level.

Real estate postcards. Yes, it’s plain and simple.

By planting the seeds of success in the form of weekly or even daily postcards, your patience will pay off in the form of seller leads, contacts, investment opportunities, and off-market deals. And, when those opportunities present themselves, the successful investor will flip the script on a dime and aggressively attack.

This simple - yet lucrative - tactic of patience mixed with aggression can make you tons of money.

Enjoy Real Estate Wholesaling Postcards: The Ultimate Guide to learn how.

• What Are Real Estate Wholesaling Postcards?
• Why Do Real Estate Wholesalers Use Postcards?
• Who Should You Send Real Estate Wholesaling Postcards To?
• How To Design Real Estate Wholesaling Postcards?
• What’s The Standard Size for Real Estate Wholesaling Postcards?
• What To Put On Real Estate Wholesaling Postcards?
• Real Estate Wholesaling Postcard Templates That Work
• Direct Mail Tips For Real Estate Investors and Wholesalers
• Direct Mail Companies That Make Real Estate Wholesaling Postcards
• How Much Do Real Estate Wholesaling Postcards Cost?
• Are Real Estate Wholesaling Postcards Worth It?
• Final Thoughts

 

      

What Are Real Estate Wholesaling Postcards?

Real estate wholesaling postcards are mailing cards - usually relatively small - sent to homeowners that contain attractive, captivating language indicating an investor’s willingness to purchase their home quickly for an attractive offer.

Typically, these postcard mailers are a form of real estate marketing sent via a direct mail campaign to prospective clients.

The postcards will typically include enticing language such as: "we buy houses," "cash buyers," or "fast closing."

 

      

Why Do Real Estate Wholesalers Use Postcards?

Real estate wholesalers primarily use postcards as a cost-efficient way to market their services.

Sending a mail piece can help obtain real estate deals such as buy and hold, fix and flips, wholesale properties, and land development opportunities.

Although working with real estate agents and scoring through websites such as Zillow, the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), and Trulia are great ways to find attractive deals, some of the best property transactions are conducted without ever hitting the market.

An investor that can find an attractive property through an off-market transaction can possibly attain a far superior return on investment (ROI) than someone who finds a deal out in the open with a Realtor.

Why? I’ll explain.

• Listing properties on the MLS and Zillow requires brokerage fees. Off-market transactions can often avoid this.
• Off-market deals receive less competition because they exist beneath the public eye. This makes room for more attractive pricing for prudent investors.
• Off-market deals can sometimes close faster than MLS-listed properties, freeing up valuable time and money to deploy elsewhere into other real estate investing opportunities. Public deals require more hoops to jump through when agents are involved. This adds a bit more complexity and time needed to close the deal.
• Creative financing options like seller financing and lease options are more likely to be available when working directly with a seller. This can improve ROI.

So, how do you find these off-market deals?

One way is by sending property owners real estate wholesaling postcards.

 

      

Who Should You Send Real Estate Wholesaling Postcards To?

In order to successfully generate off-market leads through postcard marketing, you need to be sure to efficiently target the right audience. Sending out postcards arbitrarily will never garner a desirable response rate. If you want to be successful, you have to target the right clients.

Although postcards are cheap, sending them to the wrong group of homeowners can end up becoming a costly, futile task.

For example, you see a house on record that’s been occupied by the same family for 15 years or you see a house in a neighborhood with low inventory turnover - it’s unlikely these types of homes will be good targets.

I can assure you, the average response rate for those homes will be close to zero.

Be smart.

Don’t waste your time and money spending your hard-earned marketing budget on postcards to those owners.

Rather, look elsewhere and find motivated sellers. Find absentee owners.

Absentee owners are property owners that own the property, but don’t live in it as their primary residence. Given that they don’t live in the property, they are far more likely to sell it to a different investor.

Absentee owners include:

• Long-term rental owners
• Short-term rental owners
• Pre-foreclosures
• Inherited properties
• Vacation home owners

Long-term Rental Owners

Long-term rental owners care about one thing, and one thing only - return on investment. These homeowners are motivated to sell their investments so they can churn their money to different, higher return investments.

Although these houses can be a good source of income for investors, if you catch the owner at the right time, you might be able to snag a great off-market transaction.

Perhaps the owner is going through a costly renovation and isn’t interested in the large capital outlay required to re-stabilize the property. Maybe they are undergoing a tenant turnover and would rather sell the house instead of re-tenant the property.

Sending wholesaling postcards to these owners can entice them to reach out to you in the event they are looking for a quick cash closing.

Short-term Rental Owners

Like long-term rentals, short-term rentals are also a great place to send wholesaling postcards.

Oftentimes, Airbnb and VRBO owners look for new investment opportunities with different return profiles in various markets throughout the United States.

Providing owners with a quick exit on a property and subsequently freeing up their cash to deploy elsewhere can be a very attractive proposal for them.

Sending out postcards to these owners can expand your network substantially. When the time comes to liquidate their short-term rental portfolio, you’ll be the first person they call.

Pre-foreclosures

Unfortunately, at times, homeowners can get stuck in financial trouble with their mortgage lender. If - for whatever reason - they've skipped interest payments and don't have high equity in their house as a cushion, their mortgage lender will put the property into foreclosure.

This opportunity provides a great entry point for the wholesale investor.

Homeowners in a financial crunch are looking for access to cash as soon as possible to rid themselves of their financial liens. They need to pay-off their mortgage, and they need to do it as fast as possible.

If you mail postcards to a handful of pre-foreclosure homeowners, you might get a few interested parties looking for a quick exit.

Cash is king in the foreclosure side of the business. You have cash, and they need it.

Expanding your network to include these types of properties could prove to be extremely lucrative for you.

Inherited Properties

Inherited properties are a great target for real estate wholesale postcards.

Generally, after a loved one passes away, they’ll give their home over to their estate. More often than not, an estate consists of more than one person - typically a few of the parent’s children.

Each of these children likely has their own respective homes and would rather liquidate the inherited house for cash instead of keeping the home.

Maintaining the house can turn out to be a nuisance for the descendants and having the cash makes it much easier to split the inheritance amongst the heirs.

This presents an opportunity for the wholesale investor.

By sending postcards to the estate, one can potentially snag a great offer on an otherwise perfectly fine house.

Keep in mind, however, these marketing tactics should be sent with care and empathy.

It is never an attractive business characteristic to be overly pushy - especially when dealing with a potential client that has lost a loved one.

That being said, if the right postcard with the right message is sent over to an inherited property, you might get yourself one heck of a deal. You’ll also avoid jumping through hoops to attain a property through a probate sale.

Vacation Home Owners

Vacation homes are another great example of a type of absentee owner.

When the economy is booming, business is strong, and wealth is plentiful, owners like to invest in vacation homes to offer an escape for themselves and their families.

This could include condos in sunny areas, lake houses inland, ski houses in the mountains, and beach houses.

However, when times get tough again, people might want to divest themselves of the responsibility that comes along with owning a vacation home.

It is not uncommon for people to bite off more than they can chew and overspend on these lavish residences.

This presents a great opportunity for the investor willing to buy vacation homes and convert them into an Airbnb, VRBO, or wholesale deal.

Sending postcards to these owners can be a great way to get access to these awesome off-market deals. 

 

      

How To Design Real Estate Wholesaling Postcards?

The way you design your wholesaling postcard is essential for getting your message across properly.

The design must be creative enough to pique interest, open-ended enough to implore curiosity, and decisive enough to relay your message.

Here's a video from PostcardMania covering 10 elements of a successful postcard design:

 

It might seem daunting, but with a little practice, postcards will become a must-use tool in your investment process toolbox.

There are a handful of way to create your postcards:

• DIY (Do It Yourself)
• Fulfillment Companies

DIY (Do It Yourself)

Doing something yourself will - more often than not - be a more cost efficient way to get a task done.

Wholesale postcards are no different.

There are plenty of resources out in the open any investor can utilize to spearhead the postcard creation process. And, the best part is you don’t have to be a great graphic designer to make an awesome product.

A great DIY postcard design website we recommend utilizing is Canva.

Canva offers a unique way to attach images, add different fonts, and pick your lettering - all for free.

The biggest cost with designing real estate wholesaling postcards yourself is the labor involved. How much is your time worth?

Fulfillment Companies

Fulfillment companies take care of the creativity and marketing for you.

If you are time-constrained, using a fulfillment company could be a great option.

Instead of spending the time thinking of creative content and designing the postcards yourself on a site like Canva, you can browse pre-made postcard designs on a fulfillment site and purchase the rights to the image outright.

Then, you input your list source mailing addresses and they take care of the mail and delivery for you.

A great site that has this option is Postcard Mania.

You can either select an option from one of their letter templates or you can work with a graphic design specialist to cater the design to your specific needs.

Both the DIY and fulfillment options are great cost-effective ways to unleash your marketing strategy and design your wholesaling postcards to take your business to the next level.

 

      

What’s The Standard Size for Real Estate Wholesaling Postcards?

The industry standard size for postcards is 5.47’’ x 4.21’’.

This size for real estate wholesaling postcards gives the sender tons of flexibility.

It’s big enough to be handed out as a flier if you so choose, but also small enough to be slipped under a door or sent in the mail with cheap postage.

Alternatively, jumbo postcards are also an option some real estate investors like to use.

Those are typically 8.52” x 5.47”.

Although both are adequate to get the job done, the standard size is recommended for wholesaling postcards.

 

      

What To Put On Real Estate Wholesaling Postcards?

Although most postcards within the wholesale industry have an overarching theme, it is up to the individual investor to determine what unique information should be present on the card.

Typically, captivating language iterating speed of closing, cash offers, and attractive bids should be spread throughout.

If you’d like, you can add pictures as well to pique interest and encourage follow-up discussions.

Putting your brand picture or logo could also be a great way to help potential clients remember your business.

Most importantly - of course - is your contact information.

A name, phone number, and email address is essential! Do not forget that.

Without contact information, the postcard is useless.

 

      

Real Estate Wholesaling Postcard Templates That Work

To get a sense of the power of postcards and how to use mailers, check out the following templates we’ve created:

Notice the bright colors and keywords such as "We Buy Houses", "All Cash", and "Any Condition."

Now that you’ve got the templates down-pat, it’s time to send them off to your network.

 

      

Direct Mail Tips For Real Estate Investors and Wholesalers

When sending postcards and yellow letters to your housing network, keep in mind the following tips:

1. Be sure to keep track of the addresses and neighborhoods you are sending your postcards. You’ll be sending thousands of postcards throughout the year, keeping a spreadsheet of the different areas is key to maintaining proper organization.
2. Volume. Volume. And more volume. Wholesale postcards is a game of numbers. You should be constantly sending out marketing material to various houses in your rolodex. Although you might not get a hit until you’ve sent your 500th postcard, the return on investment attached to that one deal could end up making all your money back, and then some. Keep at it.
3. Be Engaging. People aren’t interested in getting bombarded with direct mail marketing that bores them. You have about 3 seconds of their time to pique their interest and engage them.
4. Be concise. Be energetic. And, be engaging.

Check out this Youtube clip about the keys to real estate marketing from advertising legend Gary Vaynerchuk:

 

 

      

Direct Mail Companies That Make Real Estate Wholesaling Postcards

Having a list of direct mail companies is essential in beginning your postcard journey. Price is everything in this game, so looking at the various offerings and comparing costs should be your first stop.

Here is a list of companies that will send the postcards directly to your network:

• VistaPrint
• Moo.com
• Valpak
• ProspectsPlus

Each site has a variety of templates and mailing options. Take a look, pick one that caters to your specific needs and marketing requirements, and dive right in!

 

      

How Much Do Real Estate Wholesaling Postcards Cost?

The cost for real estate wholesaling postcards can vary greatly. For the most part, the following characteristics will determine the cost:

• Size of order
• Size of postcard
• Consultant fees
• Quality of design

Size of Order

Intuitively, sites will charge more depending on how many postcards they are printing.

For example, at Vistaprint, if you order 250 standard postcards the cost is $164.27. If you double that order to 500, the cost jumps to $272.49.

Each order has separate packaging and handling costs. I’d say - if you plan on sending numerous postcards throughout the year - make a bulk order once and nibble at the pile every few weeks as you send them out.

It’ll save you some money.

Size of Postcard

Additionally, the size of the postcard can make a big difference in your marketing budget. While the standard postcard costs $164.27 all in, the jumbo postcard costs $220.30.

It might be worth it - if costs are tight - to stick to the standard size.

Consultant Fees

As mentioned earlier, if you aren’t interested in designing the postcards yourself, you can elect to outsource the work to a third-party fulfillment company.

The costs vary drastically based on the amount of hand-holding you are looking for.

If you want just the design, using a freelance site like Fiverr or Upwork could be a great option. You’d likely only need to spend $10-$20 in exchange for quality material.

However, if you are looking for a full-service fulfillment experience like what Postcard Mania offers, you might be out of pocket a few hundred dollars.

It all depends on your preference.

Quality of Design

Quality of design is key in determining the price of a postcard.

For DIY versions like Canva, it will cost the creator more money to use fancier, more captivating images in-place of the free options.

For fulfillment options like Vistaprint, using color ink instead of black and white will likely raise the price of the postcard.

For example, the standard size postcard on a 250 unit order will cost $157.96 in black and white and $164.27 in color.

Not much of a difference, but nonetheless an area to save money for the penny pincher.

 

      

Are Real Estate Wholesaling Postcards Worth It?

So, knowing the costs and knowing the required effort - are postcards worth it?

Unfortunately, the answer isn’t so simple.

Postcards are a game of numbers. If you have a successful enterprise and can afford a $10,000 marketing budget - yes, they are worth it.

But, if you don’t have the money or the time to take on the challenge and expand your off-market network, it’s not worth the effort.

At the end of the day, the potential return on investment (ROI) on postcards can be incredible - assuming you do it the right way.

Yes, it is quite possible you can send a few hundred cards for $100 and secure one or two great offers on a property. Definitely worth it.

But, it’s also possible you’ll end up spending a few thousand dollars on design and printing, numerous hours on researching and collecting an appropriate mailing list, and get nothing in return.

Results are not guaranteed.

Those with the biggest budgets, bests lists, and best processes will ultimately win the postcard game.

 

      

Final Thoughts

Finding off-market deals is essential for any successful real estate wholesale investor.

Using real estate wholesaling postcards can be an incredible tool to access some of these off-the-beaten-path deals.

The costs are low and with a little effort and grit, you can unlock incredible ROI investment opportunities you wouldn’t have found otherwise.

However, in order to be successful, you must target the right audience and undertake the right process.

Once you have that down, you’ll begin to realize the power of the postcard.