Are you a real estate professional looking to up your marketing game and capture the attention of potential clients?
Direct mail continues to be an effective and powerful tool for real estate agents and investors, and understanding the latest statistics can give you a competitive edge (check out our direct mail templates over here).
In this article, we unveil 30 direct mail stats that every real estate professional should know.
These eye-opening insights will give you new real estate mail ideas to craft compelling direct mail campaigns that stand out, generate leads, and ultimately, drive success in the ever-evolving world of real estate.
So, get ready to elevate your direct mail strategy and leave a lasting impression on your target audience. Let’s dive in!
1.42.2% of direct mail recipients either read or scan the mail they receive. (Source: Data & Marketing Association)
Practical Takeaway: Make your direct mail pieces stand out with eye-catching design and clear messaging. Since recipients often only skim the mail, it’s important that your mailer makes them open instead of making them throw it away with the junk mail. That’s why we use hand-written mailers here at BPM.
2. Direct mail has an average response rate of 4.4% for both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) campaigns. (Source: ANA/DMA Response Rate Report 2018)
Practical Takeaway: That’s not entirely accurate for the real estate industry, though. Most real estate agents focus on farming certain areas which is primarily a long-term strategy. And real estate investors looking for deals can expect a 1% to 5% response rate depending on the competitiveness of their market. Our mailers get record-high response rates in every market.
3. Oversized envelopes have the best response rate at 5.0%, compared to postcards (4.25%) and letter-sized envelopes (3.5%). (Source: ANA/DMA Response Rate Report 2018)
Practical Takeaway: We’re not saying you should use oversized envelopes. The point is that mail thatstands out performs better than mail thatfits in. We accomplish that here at BPM by creating hand-written mailers (by robots with real pen-and-ink!).
4. Targeted mailing lists can yield a response rate up to 9% for house lists and 4.9% for prospect lists. (Source: ANA/DMA Response Rate Report 2018)
Practical Takeaway: The response rate you get will vary greatly depending on a lot of different factors. But the point here is that targeted or niche mailers can yield a better response rate than shotgun blasts into certain zip codes. Agents might opt to target expired listings or FSBO sellers, for instance, and wholesalers or investors can target all sorts of motivated seller niches: tax delinquents, free & clear, absentee, and so forth. In fact, here are the best mailing lists for wholesalers.
5. 73% of American consumers prefer direct mail for brand communications because they can read it at their convenience. (Source: Epsilon)
Practical Takeaway: Direct mail is powerful partly and many people actually prefer it because it feels less invasive than certain marketing methods like cold calling, bandit signs, or even social media marketing.
6. Personalization can increase the response rate of direct mail campaigns by up to 50%. (Source: Canon Solutions America)
Practical Takeaway: As with all marketing mediums,personalizing the content builds trust and improves results. The best way we know to do that is to pull the lists, get the person’s name, and then use hand-written mailers (which we offer here at BPM).
7. 60% of direct mail recipients were influenced to visit a promoted website, with the greatest influence on first-time shoppers. (Source: USPS)
Practical Takeaway: This stat isn’t directly about real estate. But it still has an important point — not everyone is going to want to call you… many people would prefer to check you out online first. That’s why we include our client’s website at the bottom of every mailer we produce here at Ballpoint Marketing. A surprising amount of prospects don’t call… they browse.
8. 92% of shoppers say they prefer direct mail for making purchasing decisions. (Source: PRIMIR)
Practical Takeaway: The takeaway here is that people like direct mail and they allow it to influencer what they buy and who they work with. That’s good for you… because you can use direct mail to find deals or get listings.
9. Adding direct mail to an email marketing campaign can increase ROI by up to 25%. (Source: IWCO Direct)
Practical Takeaway: Direct mail and email marketing together get better results than either of those mediums do alone. Direct mail might be the foundation of your marketing or maybe it’s email, SEO, or Facebook ads. Whatever the case, usingmultiple marketing mediums at once to find leads is always going to be more effective than depending only on one strategy.
10. 76% of consumers trust direct mail when making a purchasing decision, compared to 50% for email. (Source: MarketingSherpa)
Practical Takeaway: It might surprise you, but direct mail marketing builds more rapport even than email marketing. And if there’s one thing that’s necessary (and yet in short supply) for real estate agents and investors, it’s trust. Direct mail is a great solution.
11. 54% of consumers say they prefer direct mail over email because it’s more personal. (Source: Epsilon)
Practical Takeaway: Direct mail is more personal and thus builds more trust than most other marketing mediums. And our hand-written mailers make the most of that fact!
12. 56% of consumers find print marketing to be the most trustworthy type of marketing. (Source: Alliance Business Services)
Practical Takeaway: Trust is a critical component of your marketing efforts. And direct mail is great at building trust. But no mailers build it quite as well as our unique hand-written letters and postcards.
13. Direct mail’s median return on investment (ROI) is 29%. (Source: ANA/DMA Response Rate Report 2018)
Practical Takeaway: Direct mail isn’t cheap. Most successful real estate investors, for instance, spend anywhere from $5,000 per month to upwards of $10,000 or even $20,000 per month. But they’re able todo that because the ROI is healthy. Don’t hesitate to spend money to send high-quality mail to the right people. The ROI is worth it.
13. 75% of millennials find direct mail valuable, and 92% are influenced to make a purchase based on direct mail. (Source: USPS)
Practical Takeaway: Don’t underestimate the impact of direct mail on younger audiences. It’s not just the older generations that pay attention to their mail. Young people also read and engage with the mail they receive. So regardless of your target market, direct mail can pull its weight.
14. Direct mail generates a 37% higher response rate than email when it comes to fundraising campaigns. (Source: Nonprofit PRO)
Practical Takeaway: Direct mail is particularly effective for fundraising. This just goes to show that people are willing to take action on things they care about when they receve pertinent direct mail encouraging them to do so.
15. 70% of Americans believe that mail is more personal than the internet. (Source: Gallup)
Practical Takeaway: Many people thought that the digital age would kill more physical advertising methods like direct mail, business cards, and even billboards. But the reality is that some of those methods (particularly direct mail) now feel more personal because they’re not as easy or streamlined as the internet. And so when you contact people via direct mail, they get the sense that it took you a bit more work to contact them. And that means something.
16. Direct mail open rates can range from 80-90%, compared to an average email open rate of 20-30%. (Source: Print in the Mix)
Practical Takeaway: Direct mail has a significantly higher open rate compared to email, making it more likely that your message will be seen by recipients. To capitalize on this, use hand-writing to ensure it gets opened and not thrown away with the junk mail.
17. Direct mail has a 20% higher motivation response than digital media. (Source: Canada Post)
Practical Takeaway: Real estate investors are usually looking formotivated sellers. And direct mail is typically great for finding and creating motivation… far more than other marketing methods.
18. 39% of customers say they try a business for the first time because of direct mail advertising. (Source: USPS)
Practical Takeaway: Real estate direct mail inspires people to take action. We’re not just talking about visiting your website or giving you a call… but actuallydecidingto work with you and your business. The best real estate agents and investors send mail every single month to stay top-of-mind and get the best results possible.
19. On average, it takes 18-20 days for recipients to act on direct mail, compared to 2 hours for email. (Source: Compu-Mail)
Practical Takeaway: This one is really interesting. 99% of the listings you’ll get or the deals you’ll find through real estate investingdon’t come even after the first phone call. This stuff is big and it takes time. And this stat illustrates why following up with your leads and sending direct mail consistently is so important. That’s why we created these automated mail drip sequences for investors.
20. 77% of consumers sort through their physical mail as soon as they receive it. (Source: USPS)
Practical Takeaway: People pay attention to their direct mail. But how do they sort their direct mail? Most people sort mail into two piles… the junk mail throw-away pile and the stuff-they’re-actually-going-to-read pile. If you want to end up in the second pile, you need to catch their attention. Our hand-written mailers are a great way to do that.
21. 48% of people retain direct mail for future reference. (Source: DMA)
Practical Takeaway: One of the benefits of direct mail is that it’s not illusive like most digital marketing assets. It’s a physical thing that sticks around. And 48% of people say they save their direct mail when they think they might want to reference it in the future. This is super important for agents and investors. Because timing is everything. And someone might not contact you back right away… but they very well might save your mailer for future reference if they think they might want to buy or sell a home in the near future.
22. 62% of consumers who responded to a direct mail piece made a purchase within three months. (Source: USPS)
Practical Takeaway: Recognize the potential long-term impact of direct mail on behavior. Develop a consistent direct mail marketing strategy to stay top-of-mind with potential clients and increase the likelihood of future business. Investors should send mail every single month and agents should send at least once per quarter if they want to grow.
23. A study found that integrating direct mail with digital advertising led to a 118% lift in response rates. (Source: Merkle)
Practical Takeaway:Don’t just use one marketing method.Use a multi-channel approach by combining direct mail with digital advertising to enhance overall campaign effectiveness. By reinforcing your message across different channels, you can increase brand awareness and improve response rates.
24. In a study, 60% of respondents said direct mail led them to visit a brand’s website for the first time. (Source: DMA)
Practical Takeaway: Use direct mail as a tool to drive website traffic by promoting unique content, offers, or listings. Make sure your website URL is prominently displayed and consider using tracking URLs or QR codes to measure the effectiveness of your campaign.
25. Households with incomes over $100,000 are twice as likely to respond to direct mail as households with incomes below $50,000. (Source: USPS)
Practical Takeaway: This stat is primarily applicable for real estate agents. If you’re struggling to get listings, maybe aimer higher. People with more money are more able to buy and sell homes. Consider targeting higher-income households if they align with your ideal client profile. These recipients may be more receptive to direct mail and more likely to engage with your real estate services.
26. Direct mail can increase ad recall by 75%. (Source: Canada Post)
Practical Takeaway: Part of the value of direct mail is that you’re not only generating leads, but you’re also building brand awareness and making your name known. Direct mail is particularly effective for this.
27. 4 out of 5 small businesses find that professional direct mail design positively impacts their ROI. (Source: PsPrint)
Practical Takeaway: Invest in professional design services for your direct mail pieces. A well-designed mailer can not only capture the recipient’s attention but also convey your brand’s credibility and expertise, ultimately leading to a better return on investment. Our designs here at Ballpoint Marketing do just that!
28. Adding a person’s name and full-color images to a direct mail piece can increase response rates by 135%. (Source: Canon Solutions America)
Practical Takeaway: All of our mailers here at Ballpoint Marketing include the homeowner’s name written on the letter. That adds a lot and improves results from your direct mail campaigns.
29. 25% of businesses said that direct mail was their top-performing marketing channel. (Source: Target Marketing)
Practical Takeaway: Recognize the potential effectiveness of direct mail as a marketing channel. Continuously test, optimize, and track the performance of your direct mail campaigns to ensure the best possible results.
30. 58% of consumers said they prefer to receive promotions and offers through direct mail. (Source: Epsilon)
Practical Takeaway: Peoplelike direct mail. So don’t hesitate to include it as a major part of your marketing efforts.
Final Thoughts
The 30 direct mail statistics we’ve explored in this article are clear indicators of the significant potential direct mail holds for real estate professionals. While digital marketing has its place, a well-executed direct mail campaign can significantly enhance your reach, generate leads, and ultimately close deals.
With the current state of the real estate market, the time is now to incorporate direct mail into your marketing strategy.
At Ballpoint Marketing, we understand the unique needs of real estate investors and agents, and we’re dedicated to helping you achieve success through targeted and efficient direct mail campaigns. We’ve helped hundreds of real estate investors and agents around the nation grow their businesses with our hand-written mailers.
Try them out for yourself!
