The Real Estate Mailer Performance Guide [Ideas, Costs & Companies]

When researching the topic of real estate mailers, you can often read about them being inexpensive and effective for real estate lead generation.

This sounds nice at first, but I wanted to see what there is to it and how effective they are by looking at marketing performance numbers.

One thing I can spoil already is that in some cases, real estate mailers or direct mailing perform better than digital marketing methods, and not only with baby boomers.

As someone slightly biased toward digital marketing, this is still hard to swallow.

So, I created this performance guide for real estate mailers that covers…

…what mailers for real estate are
…22 surprising statistics about them
…what you can take away from the statistics for campaigns with real estate mailers
…real estate mailers that allegedly work (including an analysis with grades for different examples)
…real estate mailer design and copywriting principles
…9 providers for realtors
…12 monthly real estate mailer ideas and where you can get many more
…whether direct mail is effective in real estate
…and if it can also work in commercial real estate

Curious? Then just read the rest of this article.

What Are Mailers for Real Estate?

If we rely on the strict definition of “mailer,” it’s actually just a container for any direct mail.

The term “real estate mailers” usually refers to different formats of direct mail, such as flyers, letters, door hangers, and postcards.

Mailers for real estate are still used as a marketing method to reach potential buyers and sellers and convert them to leads and customers.

Many websites describe them as an allegedly effective marketing method without backing this claim up with marketing performance data.

Whether real estate mailers are effective or not, you will find out in this article.

22 Surprising Statistics About Real Estate Mailers

I wanted to lay the groundwork before getting deeper into real estate mailer tips, ideas, and companies.

So, I researched several statistics about them that you may want to keep in mind.

We can then draw conclusions from them and base the overall strategy on more reliable data, which is better than assumptions.

So, here come the partially surprising statistics about real estate mailers.

10 Mailer Statistics Regarding Different Generations

To Gen Z (someone invented they were born between 1997 and 2012), direct mail is perceived as unique to them since they practically were born while taking selfies and already having an influencer account on TikTok (source).

The large majority of the Gen Z generation (72%) would be disappointed to no longer receive direct mail (mailers) (source), and 12.4% is the response rate for people in the age range of 18 to 21. (source)

Millennials (82%) consider direct mail advertising more trustworthy (source), and 67% of them get motivated by it to go online (source).

30% of Millennials are influenced toward taking action by direct mail vs. 24% of them who are nudged by receiving emails (source).

60% of Gen-Xers pick up mail six times per week compared to 44% of Millennials (source).

50% of baby boomers prefer to receive direct mail promotions than the same in digital formats (source).

More than half of baby boomers (66.6%) get a better impression from a brand sending out mailers (source).

The best direct mail formats seem to be catalogs, advertising cards, or flyers when it comes to the purchasing decisions of baby boomers (source).

The boomer generation also enjoys checking their mail more than the others (56%)(source).

12 General Mailer Statistics Regarding Marketing Performance

According to this source, direct mail has a higher response rate/lead conversion rate (9%) than paid search, email, and social media.

Some people seem to have messy homes because, according to this source, 31% still have the mailers at home after a month.

Less than half of recipients (42%) read or scan their mailers (source).

Most direct mail responders visited a physical store and went online afterward; also, a majority (66%) opened and read it for a minute or more (82%) (source).

Across all age groups, direct mail is read more often than emails, and the response rates are 5 to 9 times higher than with other advertising channels (source 1, source 2).

Households with incomes of at least $100k also seem to respond well since 65% of them made a purchase in the past 30 days due to direct mail advertising (source).

Mailers also seem to be more believable than email. This is the case for 87% of the people vs. 48% in the case of email (source).

Direct mail advertising seems more suitable for cold offers since 70% prefer physical mail (source).

As it seems, direct mail managed to maintain the recipients’ attention for 118% longer and stimulated a 29% higher brand recall than digital advertising (source).

And when you combine digital marketing campaigns with direct mail, they can increase attention by 39% compared to only a digital marketing campaign (source).

Additionally, a coupon used in direct mail speeds up purchasing decision-making in 64% of affluent customers (source).

Similar to using a personalized approach in email subject lines, you can increase the response rate of direct mail by 135% when you do this in mailers, too (source).

Takeaways from the Statistics to Improve Your Results with Real Estate Mailers

In the spirit of the saying “don’t use statistics you haven’t manipulated yourself,” you may want to take the above statistics with a grain of salt, although I assume good intentions and an objective approach for all of them.

So why take them with a grain of salt?

Since no one is free of bias, and I am obviously biased toward digital marketing, I can see when someone else may also be biased. This may be the case for several of the above sources.

And the sources for the statistics I found are mainly from entities that are either directly or indirectly benefiting from marketers using mailers.

They are either mailer service providers or postal services.

Nevertheless, as you will soon see, many of the statistics are likely true.

So, to find more objective ones, I did some extra research to see if impartial sources like colleges or universities did studies on the topic. And I found several.

A study from 2021 from the Universities of Groningen, and Maastricht, both in the Netherlands, found that direct mailing significantly influences consumer activity metrics in online channels (i.e., online search and clicking behavior).

It is also effective throughout the purchase funnel with a positive net sales effect.

The same study also confirms a positive synergy between direct mailing and display advertising (e.g., Google Display Ads), and they confirm that it is still an effective marketing method, combined with digital or by itself.

Another study, this time from Michigan State University, also confirms several of the above statistics.

Recipients perceive unsolicited emails as more intrusive and irritating than direct mail.

So, by having cross-checked with studies from universities and colleges, the above statistics are likely reasonably accurate.

The numbers may not be too accurate when you compare some digital advertising channels with direct mail, which is at least the case regarding Facebook ads.

You can see this immediately after checking my overview table in my real estate prospecting conversion rates article.

Paid search via Google Ads gets a lead conversion rate of 3.9% (here, the stats would be correct), but on average, Facebook Ads in the real estate industry get a traffic-to-lead conversion rate of 10.68%.

Still, there are several conclusions that we can draw from the above statistics with some reasonable confidence.

So, from the above, we can take away that direct mail or mailers are still effective across different generations (from Z to boomers) and are ideally combined with digital display advertising or as follow-up after an email campaign.

Instead of cold emailing potential real estate clients, you may want to do a direct mail campaign in a particular neighborhood since it’s less intrusive.

Lead conversion or response rates are likely higher with direct mail than with Google Ads and other digital marketing channels.

Again, you can review this in my comparison table in my real estate prospecting conversion rate article.

The exceptions are text messages, radio ads, push notification ads, and Facebook Ads, which should get you a higher response or lead conversion rates.

Real Estate Mailer Ideas that Work [Postcard Examples Analyzed]

Now that we have the facts and primary conditions covered, you may wonder about real estate mailers that work.

This thought is a little paradoxical. Let me explain why.

You may know some marketing gurus on YouTube that throw around one hundred dollar bills using a cash cannon.

Most of the time, these are Ponzi schemes, but that’s for another topic.

They often seem to have helpful information, and when they share a tip about a particular marketing method or tip that allegedly works, it likely doesn’t anymore.

The moment the tips are shared with a large audience, they will not work anymore.

Why?

Because if it were a method that truly worked, they would have milked it for as long as possible before sharing it.

But they can share it once it is saturated, and it doesn’t work as effectively anymore.

And once they share it, the saturation effect accelerates because everyone following the “guru” is now implementing it.

It looks like this graph I drew with my “highly elaborated” painting skills below.

So, all marketing methods and channels have a saturation point, and more so if you copy something that allegedly still works.

This is especially true for concrete marketing tactics and tips in contrast to principles that stand the test of time.

I researched a bit further to share real estate mailers that “work” with you, and I found two websites with a collection of allegedly working real estate mailers. At least in the title, it was mentioned that they supposedly work.

So I found this one and this one.

Maybe I need glasses or contact lenses, but I couldn’t find a word about marketing performance data (response or lead conversion rates for different designs, etc.) and what “works” means in the first place.

Yes, I know what “work” means, but when they write “work,” do they refer to a particular open rate larger than X% or a specific lead conversion rate?

I don’t know, and you don’t know, either.

So, we can only take their word that they work in some shape or form.

Now, what can we do to determine which ones most likely work regarding conversion rates?

Thankfully, copywriting principles can help us out.

And based on them, I will filter them out for you from the first source I mentioned above.

We can assume that the better copywriting principles are applied, the better they will convert and thus “work”, of course, provided they are sent to an ideal target group.

So, I went through them individually and checked how well the AIDA (attention, interest, desire, action) or PAS (problem, agitate, solve) copywriting principles were applied.

Since on a mailer (especially postcards), there is not much space to use all elements, especially in the case of the AIDA formula, I focused on whether headlines were attention-grabbing, pains and benefits were mentioned, and a call to action was included.

I made a table that collected the different real estate mailer copies, analyzed them based on the above, and graded them from 0 to 10 for each copywriting element.

I would consider the ones that reached a total score of 40 as winners.

From the 21 examples mentioned in the article, only 5 reached a total score of 40. For these, chances are high that they will “work.”

My absolute favorite from the winners is this one:

“Are You Tired Of… Rent? Having Landlords? Unexpected Rent Increases? Paper-Thin Walls? No Front Yard? No Back Yard? That One Maintenance Guy? No Parking Spots? Your Neighbors? Wasting Money? – Let Us Help You Find an Affordable Home You Will Love! – Call today and we’ll show you how easy it is to own your own home!”

It ticks all the boxes in terms of required copywriting elements, and the design also aligns with the copy well.

What I want to bring home here is that instead of copying some concrete marketing tactics that allegedly work, you may want to understand the principles that make something work.

Concrete examples can inspire you, but then you modify these examples with the knowledge about the principles.

Within this context, you may also want to read my article about direct mail here and “Just Sold” postcards here.

Real Estate Mailer Design and Copywriting Principles

Let’s look at the table from above for a second, where I collected the different copies of the real estate mailer examples and templates.

What do the ones with the lowest total scores below 20 have in common?

Yes, they have somewhat attention-grabbing headlines, so at least the attention element from the copywriting formula AIDA (attention, interest, desire, action) is taken care of.

But all the other elements, be it from the PAS (problem, agitate, solve) or the AIDA formula, are mainly neglected.

So, let’s explore what you can do to apply further copywriting principles to real estate mailers.

The sales copy you will have on a real estate mailer will inform the design.

Good design will consider the copy and use it as is done in the favorite I picked above (nicely done with the thin font type for the words “Thin Walls”).

You can check out the design of this winning postcard here.

It’s example number seven.

You can use a short or long sales copy depending on the mailer format (a letter or postcard).

But using a letter doesn’t mean using a long-form copy; it depends on your target audience and potential clients.

Enough knowledge about the latter is the key to good real estate mailer design and copywriting results.

So, let’s take one of the lower-graded examples and turn it into a better one.

This is the old copy:

“For All Your Real Estate Needs – First Time Buyers or Sellers – Buying – Selling – Appraisals – And More – John Smith – Real Estate Agent – 1-800 – 624 -1804”

Let’s use the PAS copywriting formula to improve it.

We must emphasize a potential client’s problem, agitate it, and solve it.

Here is my improved example:

“No matter if you need to say goodbye to your annoying landlord or finally sell your home that has been an expired listing for too long (PROBLEM).

Before you get a rental increase on top of the annoying landlord or have an expired property listing for the third time (AGITATE), I will get you either in your first home or sell your property at top dollar fast (SOLUTION) – Call me today at 1-800-624-1804 – John Smith – Real Estate Agent”

Although this is likely a better version, I wouldn’t say I like it.

Why?

Because the original copy is already pretty broad, targeting not just one type of client but two of them: sellers and buyers.

In terms of copywriting and targeting when it comes to a mailer campaign, this is unfortunate.

You will not be able to specifically target buyers or sellers.

And to write copy, you ideally have only one type of potential customer in mind that you address, as was done with my favorite pick above.

9 Real Estate Mailer Companies for Realtors Including Costs – An Overview

There are several real estate mailer companies that you can use as a realtor with different pricing options.

So, for the table, you will find below I found nine that you may want to keep in mind.
Some include postage in their pricing, and others only show the pricing for their printing services.

Most of them also offer mailer templates you can use to customize the postcards with the design and copy of your choice.

12 Monthly Real Estate Mailer Ideas

I already strived in my article “Finding the Cheapest Provider for Automated Real Estate Postcards,” the topic of monthly real estate mailers.

It takes a nurturing email campaign offline and applies it to direct mailing.

Like nurturing campaigns, it’s not always easy to know what content to use regularly.

Unfortunately, the home anniversaries and birthdays of past clients and/or current prospects, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Halloween, are only once a year.

So, what could you do in the remaining seven or more months?

A direct mail real estate newsletter (not a postcard) is most suitable for running a monthly real estate mailer nurturing or follow-up campaign.

Why?

Because you can take your whole online real estate content marketing into the offline world.

So the work you may have already done for your content marketing can be repurposed.

The same principles as for your real estate content marketing strategy apply here.

You want to know your potential customer or audience and cater valuable information to their needs considering the customer journey.

We can borrow several ideas from my article “254 Real Estate Content Ideas and Samples.

Here are 12 (a year’s worth of monthly real estate mailer ideas) of them that you could use:

• Stories and myths about your neighborhood
• Typical housing styles and architecture in your area
• What historic building can be found in your neighborhood
• The most common and biggest mistakes when selling
• A home inspection guide/ checklist
• How to do a thorough walkthrough (checklist)
• Stats about a neighborhood important to sellers and buyers
• How to detect overpriced homes
• Where you see things in 5, 10, or 20 years
• A list of appliances and how long they last
• A list of ideas for unique features
• How to manage bad neighbors

Again, there are many, many more ideas (well, 254) you could use from overall real estate content marketing you can find in my article.

Using topics that align with your target audience’s customer journey is key.

And if you would like to know how you could automate the regular sending of mailers, you may also want to read this article.

Click2Mail, for example, is a provider that doesn’t solely focus on automated postcards but also letters.

Is Direct Mail Effective in Real Estate?

From the above marketing statistics and studies, we can conclude that direct mail is generally effective and thus can also be effective in real estate.

That said, you want to use sound copywriting and design principles to create the mailers and ideally combine direct mail with digital advertising channels and vice versa.

Ideally, you don’t copy just good direct mail templates or examples but try to improve them with the right copy and design aligned with your potential client’s needs and problems.

Combining both is also essential in the context of tracking.

For instance, you can add a particular QR code to a unique landing page that the recipients can go to and that you can track afterward.

A dedicated phone number for a specific campaign is also helpful.

Using postcards is a good idea to create less friction so that the recipient doesn’t need to open an envelope.

Can Mailers Also Work in Commercial Real Estate?

As you can learn from the general statistics above, mailers can work across different industries and, thus, also for commercial real estate.

The same principles apply to being effective generally in real estate mailer campaigns.

Regarding mailers for commercial real estate, the mailers’ copy and targeting vary since sellers, buyers, and tenants are usually business entities.

So, when you send mailers, you must first find out where the business entity is located and who the decision-maker would be.

When running a campaign for commercial real estate buyers and tenants, you will need to focus the effort (targeting, copy, etc.) on a particular industry that likely needs space to rent or buy (e.g., catering).

But if you are in commercial real estate, you will specialize in one real estate niche anyways (e.g., industrial, shopping centers, etc.).

This article has been reviewed by our editorial team. It has been approved for publication in accordance with our editorial policy.

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Tobias Schnellbacher

Tobias is an internet entrepreneur passionate about (copy)writing, digital marketing, web development, real estate...but also about cats, and fitness. For seven years, he ran an international referral real estate agency serving U.S., Canadian, and German seller and buyer clients.Learn more

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