Most of the real estate postcards and newspaper ads I see fit into the category of awareness advertising.  The marketing message is:  I’m a really good real estate agent, and if you want to buy or sell, call me.

There’s certainly a place for awareness advertising.  The yard sign in the front yard of your listings is building awareness.  The T-shirts you buy for a local little league team is building awareness because your logo is on each one.

But, when you are making direct contact with your target market, you’ll find that direct response marketing will be much more effective.  Using direct response marketing, your marketing message solicits a very specific and quantifiable response.

For example, offer something that is valuable to your target market, and ask them to take a specific action such as visiting your website or calling your office to take advantage of the offer.

In fact, direct response marketing is a great way to drive traffic to your website.  You know that the more people who “adopt” your website as their headquarters for real estate research, the more leads your site will generate.

So, the next time you send a postcard to your people in your farm area, make them an offer they can’t refuse!

Think about it.  As a real estate agent, you possess a lot of information and knowledge that is big news to the general public.  Figure out what your target market wants to know, and offer it to them in your next mailing!