Dallas-Fort Worth Real Estate Investor Club

Very first round of marketing - $100 Budget. Suggestions?

  • 04 Aug 2012 1:56 AM
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    Message # 1038341
    Michael Mixon
    I'm getting ready to actively market for motivated sellers.  I have about $100 to start my first marketing project.  Which method of marketing would you guys/gals recommend as my first marketing run around $100.  My local newspaper charges $62 for 30 days of classified ad, up to 4 lines.  I'm leaning towards starting there, and maybe doing some bandit signs.  But if another method, such as direct mailing will be at least as effective, I'd consider going that route.

    I'm not really setup to haul 50-100 bandit signs around with me to set them up all over town.  So if there's anyway I can farm out my marketing (ie: classified, direct mailing, flier) and let someone else do the foot work, I believe that would be the best use of my time.

    Thanks for all the help.
  • 05 Aug 2012 9:08 AM
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    Reply # 1038962 on 1038341
    Tim Cook
    Hi Michael,
    Here's a few things to chew on and consider working with a limited budget.
    1.  The cheapest direct mail I'm aware of is click2mail.com at .38 cents I believe.  You upload or create a PC and your list and hit send.  cheap and fast.  Of course you will need to buy a list or create a list to use.  You can't have PCs printed and put a stamp on them yourself for less.
    2.  You can buy blank 18x24 plastic signs and stakes pretty cheap.
    3.  You can use signs made of cardboard which is FREE but it takes your time
    4.  You could spend $50 and long term marketing and put a we buy houses decal on your car
    5.  Post we buy houses ads all over the internet for FREE
    6.  Create and print flyers (cheap) and hand deliver to neighborhoods interested in (cheap cheap)
    7.  I personally would not spend it on the newspaper given the results for the cost

    Hope this helps
    Tim
    Last modified: 07 Aug 2012 12:36 AM | Robin Carriger (Administrator)
  • 05 Aug 2012 5:47 PM
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    Reply # 1039191 on 1038341
    Deleted user
    Hey, Michael! 
    Vistaprint.com has cheap biz cards and car door magnets starting @ $9.99 
    You can run ads on Craigslist, Google, etc. to market sellers, tenant buyers & investor buyers for FREE!
    Hope this helps! PS. Shoot me an email please: gr33neyedkat@yahoo.com 
  • 06 Aug 2012 1:02 AM
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    Reply # 1039571 on 1038341
    Cindy Carriger (Administrator)
    Yes, you're right Bandit signs are more effort, but pretty effective...I haven't tried the newspaper in a while- but I can see the cost has gone WAY down-guess there's a reason why...but until you try it a time or two...or more, you may not know for sure.  If you choose to advertise on your vehicle - basically a one time charge for a couple of years till it wears out-I always recommend vinyl lettering (for the lowest intro price, or a screen if you have more to spend) to put on your back window.  The door signs get much fewer calls- although neither will 'blow up" your phone!  But, it is a good idea to do, just for good measure!  And if you get a deal from it at all-it will waaayy more than pay for itself! 

    As far as postcards- a good idea especially if you can get a targeted list to who you feel would be a good recipient of your PC (post card).  One way of getting a targeted mailing list is to get (buy) a "Motivated Sellers" list customized to your specifications from Robin Carriger- you can start with as low of an investment of $50 for the addresses, then mail to them about every other month or so...here's a link to the direct page on this website to see how it works.  Tim's suggestion for who/how to get them into the mail is a good suggestion.

    Getting the phone to ring is vital to doing deals with homeowners (rather than using the MLS...which can be a bit frustrating!), so I applaud your efforts!  

    Happy Investing!
    Hey- and if you get any sellers in the NE Tarrant area, please keep Robin and me (Cindy) in mind to wholesale your deal to.  Also, if you need help getting that first one (or two) under contract - give Robin a call- 817-300-1132. 

    Cindy
  • 06 Aug 2012 2:30 PM
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    Reply # 1040175 on 1038341
    Michael Mixon
    Cindy, thank you for your recommendation to use a list from Robin.  I've been hesitant to do direct mailing because I haven't found a way to ensure I'm getting my message out to people who are likely motivated.  I've been considering doing an "Every Door" kinda thing, hoping that in a given neighborhood I might hit two or three sellers.

    I think I'll be giving Robins list a try, one question though, how much did he pay you to plug his name??  :)

    EDIT: I now see why you plugged Robin.  I didn't notice your last name at first.
    Last modified: 06 Aug 2012 3:06 PM | Michael Mixon
  • 06 Aug 2012 11:51 PM
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    Reply # 1040532 on 1038341
    Deleted user
    Hey, Mike!
    LOWES have bandit signs for under $6 bucks. 
    Best time to put 'em out is overnight Friday evening till Saturday mid-morning.
    (here in Plano we have 'sign police' who snatch them during the week!) So check your municipality's guidelines. 
    PS. Do a Google search for websites who sell bandit signs in bulk. 
  • 07 Aug 2012 8:36 AM
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    Reply # 1040976 on 1038341
    Deleted user
    Michael,

    A $100 is not realistic for fast success. I suggest you find some way to increase your marketing budget (mow lawns, deliver pizzas, etc.).

    However, with a $100 budget you'll need to focus on marketing efforts that are 1) labor intensive, 2) do not show immediate results, & 3) are "fringe" marketing.

    Tactics you can try are:

    1. design a flyer with "I Buy houses" (or something like that) on the whole front, then get 4 small, local firms (lawn care, bug spray, etc.) to pay you $50 each for a 1/4 page ad on the back. You design, print, and deliver these to houses in the neighborhood. 
    2. bandit signs - ILLEGAL, but effective,
    3. online advertising(Google, CraigsList, etc.) - very low return rate (vlrr),
    4. Business cards - VLRR
    5. Niche newspaper ads,
    6. Newsletter sponsorship / ads.
    There are others, but with a small budget, I'd suggest you use HIGHLY TARGETED DIRECT MAIL (HTDM), on an ONGOING basis, with as much marketing budget as you can afford each week / month.

    HTDM is going to be your best low-cost, long AND short term marketing solution. You can use Robin's service (he doesn't pay me for endorsements). it is the most effective (not cheapest) solution I've ever seen / used / heard of. However, there are others. In another post on this forum I talked about how you can get similar information / lists from Realtors for free. Heck, you can download the entire TAD database and produce these lists yourself with a little work.

    If you need more help, drop a line here and let us know.

    Best of luck,

    -Greg

    Greg Wilson
    The REI Mentor

    Last modified: 20 Sep 2013 12:05 PM | Deleted user
  • 08 Aug 2012 4:09 PM
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    Reply # 1042231 on 1038341
    Michael Mixon
    Well, I tried adwords with a $50 promo from vistaprint.  I set it up yesterday, and my website has already had 2 sellers fill out the form.  Problem is, one is from Ohio, the other from Pennsylvania.  I guess I need to modify my adwords.  Any suggestions?
  • 09 Aug 2012 9:34 AM
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    Reply # 1042800 on 1038341
    Deleted user
    Use location dependent and micro-market AdWords - e.g. instead of "Sell House" use "Sell House Fort Worth". Instead of "North Texas" or "Dallas" or "Fort Worth" try smaller markets like "Flower Mound" or "Como" or "insert neighborhood names here".

    Hope this helps!

    -Greg

    Greg Wilson
    The Real Estate Investment Mentor
    http://www.reimentor.com
  • 11 Aug 2012 9:39 AM
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    Reply # 1044236 on 1038341
    Kathy Gray

    Michael,

    I simply do not get on this board much, but if these out of state leads are valid...send me an email.  We can source out, as I have buyer investors all over the country buying.  Also, if you will go to 'google local' and register your company/site, you should start getting more local leads

    Kathy Gray

    FCCInvest

    Investor & Realtor

    kathy@fccinvest.com

    817-228-4415

     

    Last modified: 12 Aug 2012 7:33 AM | Robin Carriger (Administrator)
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