Postcard marketing is a foundational practice for any long-term real estate farming strategy. After months and months of brainstorming new campaign ideas, your creative well might start to run dry.
What else can you say to prospects? How can you be differentiated from every other direct mail piece they receive – especially from competitors?
There’s no need to worry if you’re feeling stressed or uninspired about how to write effective mail pieces or stand out from the crowd.
In this article, we’ll walk through some of the most common seasonal messages to use in your real estate postcard marketing. Plus, our tips will be outlined in a clear, actionable sequence so you know exactly which steps to follow and how to take your postcard marketing to the next level.
Seasonal Messages for Real Estate Postcards
Postcards are a quick and simple way to stay in touch with prospects. Big seasonal events, local festivals, and national holidays can all be great reasons to reach out to prospects and stay top of mind.
Seasonal shifts are one of the best messaging techniques because prospects are already gearing up for changes in their work schedules, school calendars, and more. It’s usually the perfect time to touch base about important decisions like buying or selling a home. Also, you can provide helpful, practical reminders based on which season or event is coming next – including data on the local real estate market, or local trends worth noting.
1 | Spring Forward Real Estate Postcards
When to Send:
- Daylight Saving Time always occurs on the second Sunday in March. Typically, you should try to have reminder postcards be received 2-3 weeks before the event will occur. In this case, that means by the last 2 weeks of February.
What to Say:
- It’s helpful to remind prospects that they’ll need to reset their clocks the night before Daylight Saving Time takes effect. Even though this is simple and perhaps a little obvious, it’s still something that everyone needs to remember and they’re likely to throw it on the fridge.
Real Estate Messaging
- The real estate market is about to get busy as summer approaches. Try reminding prospects that now (early Spring) is a great time to get a jump start on summer real estate plans by talking with an agent, preparing their home, and getting a plan together.
2 | Fall Back Real Estate Postcards
Everyone loves getting an extra hour of sleep.
When to Send:
- Daylight Saving Time ends around the first week of November every year. You can aim to hit recipients with a simple reminder during the first few weeks of October, and maybe work in some Halloween real estate postcard messaging as well!
What to Say:
- Everyone loves getting an extra hour of sleep, and your postcard should be a friendly, welcome reminder to sleep in on Sunday morning.
Real Estate Messaging
- Play into the feeling of getting more for doing nothing by including a special offer for prospects. Can you provide a free analysis, discounted home inspection, or another value-add that aligns with the end of Daylight-Saving Time?
3 | New Year Real Estate Postcards
When to Send:
- The Winter holiday season is jam-packed with Christmas cards, special offers, and shopping magazines. For many, it makes sense to wait until after the New Year has passed to reference the holiday in a postcard. If you plan to speak to resolutions, then anytime during January will probably suffice.
What to Say:
- Speak to their desire to make and uphold resolutions – especially if they are planning to sell or buy a home.
Real Estate Messaging
- Don’t shy away from an inspirational quote or challenge to build relatability. Psychologically, buying and selling a home often represents a new era of personal and family growth, stability, achievement, etc. Prospects may like feeling somewhat challenged and encouraged to keep an eye on their important annual goals.
4 | Thanksgiving Real Estate Postcards
When to Send:
- Because Thanksgiving is always at the end of November, the beginning of the month is the perfect time to send your campaign.
What to Say:
- This is commonly the point where anyone considering listing before the New Year and holiday rush will make their decision. Since this is close to the “fallback” time change, it could be a good alternative or final campaign before waiting for the holidays to finish.
Real Estate Messaging
- In a hot real estate market where homes are moving fast, you can speak to a prospect’s desire to quickly sell and kick off the next year in a new home that’s a better fit.
5 | Summer Real Estate Postcards
When to Send:
- Any time after the first official day of Summer (in June) and before Fall begins.
What to Say:
- Amidst vacations and family BBQs, summer is almost always the most active real estate season. Tie the changing weather and market conditions together in your prospect’s minds.
Real Estate Messaging
- Make sure your prospects are aware of just how much they could get for their home, and how quickly homes are selling in their area. Give them an easy next step like an automated valuation, just to pique their interest.
Bonus Tips to Nail Your Real Estate Postcard Campaigns
- Here are a few additional ideas to improve the effectiveness of your post-marketing efforts:
- Use vibrant colors to catch the reader’s eyes and stimulate an emotional response.
- Keep your messaging clear, simple, and straightforward.
- Don’t forget about CTAs – let prospects know what they can or should do in response to your messaging.
Is It Time to Simplify Your Real Estate Farming Postcard Campaigns?
If you’ve been using outdated contact spreadsheets and clunky direct mail processes for your postcard marketing, then the idea of adding to your approach might be overwhelming. SmartZip has built an entire platform to help realtors practice better real estate marketing and farming.
From data that’s powered by predictive analytics to complete digital and traditional advertising support, our Smart Targeting suite is the simplest way to combine, centralize, streamline, and even automate aspects of your real estate farming. In just a few minutes you can completely personalize and customize targeted direct mail pieces and make sure they are being sent to precisely the right audience.
This exact targeting and hyper-local focus will pay off big time as your real estate farming practices mature.
If you want to experience how easy Smart Targeting makes digital and traditional real estate farming, see it for yourself on a no-pressure demo.