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Direct mail is not dead; it just needs to be reimagined. I interviewed 10 agents and industry experts to identify 16 examples of direct mail pieces that are building brands and generating results right now.
The following examples include Just Sold letters and postcards, letters and postcards for geographical farms, expired campaigns, and classic brand-building campaigns with updated twists.
These first four examples include variations of direct mail campaigns from Tom Ferry and Jimmy Mackin, co-founders of Listing Leads. The remaining are examples from agents actively using direct mail in their businesses now.
If you’re looking to upgrade the use of direct mail in your business, this is the article for you.
Just Sold story mailer, Noah Escobar
Noah Escobar, out of the 30A market in the Florida panhandle, put a spin on a reimagined Just Sold campaign from Ferry and Mackin. They shared that the average Just Sold postcard says things like sold in three days, multiple offers, and sold above list price.
They went on to say that sharing those bullet points can lead homeowners to think the process is easy and that real estate agents are overpaid or, in some cases, not even needed.
They suggested sharing the story of what the agent did to get the home sold quickly, how they generated multiple offers and how they negotiated for the highest price possible for their client. Based on that suggestion, Escobar created the letter below.
He also implemented one of the suggestions Mackin made about creating curiosity through the headline of the letter. In this mailer, Escobar starts at the top of the page saying. “Did you hear about your neighbor?” This is the top fold of the letter, and it is placed in the envelope where it jumps out at the homeowner as soon as they open it.
He then creates a storyline that goes over the process from the homeowner initially reaching out to him to the marketing process he used and the process of negotiating a higher price and great terms for his seller. The use of a QR code to show the quality of his video marketing is an example of showing his marketing instead of just telling about it.
This is a great example of how to reimagine your Just Sold campaigns.
Just Sold with a twist, Collins Group Realty
The next example comes from Chip Collins of Collins Group Realty, serving the Lowcountry of South Carolina. This is an example of a more traditional Just Sold card with a few modern upgrades. He utilized another suggestion Mackin and Ferry made of using an incorrect Zestimate from Zillow to capture the reader’s attention.
In this example, you will notice that they boldly state, “Zestimate was wrong! We sold for $510,000 over Zillow” with a call to action of “Ask Us How.” Collins also used the main line of “Another Sea Pines Home Sold.” The subtle addition of “another” highlights their successes in the neighborhood. The use of the QR code that leads to a team video is a great way to introduce the team as well.
Zestimate letter, Fissori Real Estate Team
The Zestimate letter is a personalized mailer to a homeowner that is used to generate listing opportunities. This is an example of the strategy, taught through Listing Leads, from Kathy Fissori and Peter Joehnk with the Fissori Real Estate Team serving the San Luis Obispo County markets in California.
This strategy involves screen-capturing the Zillow Zestimate for a specific home. Many of the Zestimates are low compared to the true value of the home. This creates an opportunity for a mailer like the one below to generate listing opportunity conversations. Adding a yellow sticky note with a handwritten message like the one on the letter below is another way to personalize the letter even more.
Expired letter for results, Listing Leads, Jimmy Mackin and Tom Ferry
The last example from Listing Leads is a letter for expired listings. This letter uses a copywriting framework called PAS, which is an acronym for pain, agitate, and solution.
P: Pain
The beginning of the letter calls out the pain of the home not selling.
A: Agitate
The agitation portion includes recognizing their frustration, disappointment, and annoyance at the barrage of calls from agents to relist their home.
S: Solution
The solution in this letter includes that you’ve already identified how you can help alleviate their problem in a different way than the other agents reaching out to them.
This is an effective letter for agents looking to add expired listing prospecting to their lead generation strategies in 2025.
6-24 month-old expired listing letter, Jake Garay
As the market normalizes, we continue to see more expired listings.
Effective marketing involves identifying a niche group of prospects with a specific need and crafting a compelling message that captures their attention and motivates them to take action. This targeted approach has proven successful for many real estate professionals, such as Jake Garay, Julie Colin, and Jason Gruner, who have used creative and personalized strategies to stand out in their respective markets. By focusing on delivering value and building relationships with their prospects, these agents have been able to generate leads and ultimately close deals. In a world inundated with digital marketing, these examples serve as a reminder of the power of traditional marketing tactics when done right. To achieve your best year in 2025, it is crucial to select mailers that reflect your identity and target your ideal clients. By maintaining consistency and incorporating creativity, direct mail can become a primary strategy that propels your success in the coming year. Connect with Jimmy Burgess, a real estate agent and national team builder with Real Brokerage in northwest Florida, specializing in the 30A, Destin, and Panama City Beach markets, on Instagram and LinkedIn. Incorporating fresh and original content into your WordPress platform is essential for engaging your audience and boosting your website’s SEO. By creating unique and relevant posts, you can attract more visitors and establish your brand as an authority in your industry.
One way to seamlessly integrate this content is by creating blog posts that provide valuable information or insights related to your niche. You can also add multimedia elements such as images, videos, or infographics to make your posts more visually appealing and interactive.
Additionally, you can optimize your content for search engines by including relevant keywords and meta tags. This will help improve your website’s visibility and attract more organic traffic.
Overall, consistently publishing high-quality and original content on your WordPress platform is key to attracting and retaining a loyal audience. By focusing on creating valuable and engaging posts, you can establish your website as a go-to resource in your industry and drive more traffic to your site.