20 of the Best Real Estate Postcard Ideas
From newly licensed agents to seasoned pros, one fact holds true at all stages of a real estate business: direct-mail postcards work! They re affordable to create, easy for recipients to hold and scan, and extremely versatile in terms of the type of content you can present. Plus, people just like getting real mail!
Add to those benefits the convenient targeting of EDDM, and you ve got a serious real estate marketing powerhouse on your hands. And if you re wondering what to put on your real estate postcard, just check out our list below:
- Ready to Sell?
- Just Sold
- Just Listed
- Hot New Listings
- Tired of Renting?
- Property Management Services
- Vacation Home Ideas
- Partner Campaigns
- Welcome to the Neighborhood
- Non-Promotional Local Content
- Virtual Tours
- Referral Specials
- Seasonal Messages and Offers
- Open House Invitations
- Workshop or Webinar Invitations
- Commercial Real Estate
- Downsizing Specials
- Anniversary Postcards
- Expired Listings
- FSBO
1. Ready to Sell?
Capture the attention of homeowners who have been thinking about selling but haven t committed. Encourage them to act by giving expert insights about why they might want to sell now rather than later such as current housing prices, projected market trends, or possible tax incentives.
2. Just Sold
This one s a definite must-have in your real estate marketing starter kit: showcase a home that you recently sold with a few bulleted highlights of the property. If possible, use your postcard design to feature key statistics around property value (especially if it was higher than market value), home size, listing time, etc.
3. Just Listed
Announce a hot new property on the market and showcase what makes it such a great offer. Even if your postcard recipients aren t looking to buy right now, you ll help keep your name top of mind whenever they are looking for a property of similar size, location, or value.
4. Hot New Listings
This is similar to a Just Listed postcard but would highlight several homes, providing a quick snapshot of the diversity of properties you offer. Choose your most unique or hot-ticket properties and showcase a stunning image of each one, along with one or two key pieces of information (like listing price and neighborhood).
5. Tired of Renting?
This kind of real estate postcard would appeal to people who are looking to transition from renter to owner, likely for the first time. Consider targeting this postcard to apartment complexes, condominiums, or starter neighborhoods with a high percentage of rentals.
6. Property Management Services
Does your firm offer property management services, either for commercial properties or residential/rental homes? Then advertise it! Many people may not realize that real estate agents can also offer property management, so raising awareness is a critical first step.
7. Vacation Home Ideas
If your target market is higher-income households, you ve got the perfect opportunity to not only take advantage of demand but to help create it. Design a luxurious, beautiful real estate postcard that catches the eye and evokes that perfect vacation home experience highlighting that you can help make it happen!
The recipient may not have considered a second property before, but you ve just planted the seed.
8. Partner Campaigns
Successful partnerships are an important way to maintain and grow your real estate business. By featuring those partnerships on a postcard, you'll make yourself the all-around home expert in the eyes of potential clients and you might even be able to split the cost of the postcard design, printing, and mailing!
Some possible partner campaigns might include:
- Deep-clean professionals before a home sale
- CPAs who specialize in property sale/purchase taxation
- Moving companies great for both buyers and sellers!
- Interior designers and home organizers
- Roofers or remodelers
9. Welcome to the Neighborhood
Be the first to greet new homeowners by checking public information databases on recent home sales and then sending a postcard to say hi. A brand-new homeowner may not be looking to sell right away but when they are, you ll have left a positive and lasting impression.
10. Non-Promotional Local Content
The best way to establish yourself as a friendly local expert is to offer a nice mix of promotional and non-promotional messages. After all, no one wants to hear from a business that can only talk about themselves!
Some good ideas for non-promotional content would include:
- Tips for first-time buyers/sellers in this area
- Hyperlocal real estate trends in property value, home design, etc.
- Year in review trends
- Upcoming restaurant openings or other local hotspots
- Calendar of community events or sports games
11. Virtual Tours
Many would-be homebuyers prefer a live tour to still images on a listing website but not everyone will want to do this tour in person. If you offer some kind of virtual solution, advertise it on a real estate postcard!
If you have any other high-tech features, you could highlight those, too. For instance, maybe you offer drone-based photography with all of your listings or you have an online chatbot to accept customer inquiries 24/7. These types of value-added services can make a big difference to your postcard design.
12. Referral Specials
Drum up new business by sending postcards to your previous clients. Offer a small gift in exchange for them referring you to their family and friends.
13. Seasonal Messages and Offers
It can be challenging to create totally new marketing campaigns all year long, so why reinvent the wheel? Taking advantage of shared holidays can give you an easy way to promote a deal that s timely and relevant to your customers lives. These might include:
- 4th of July deals from a lawn care partner
- Special partner offers for moving high season (spring and summer)
- New year, new home specials
You could also think about tip #10 (non-promotional content!) and send a simple holiday greeting without any kind of advertisement or offer.
14. Open House Invitations
Invite the local area to your upcoming open house and get more eyes on your property. Be sure to include the key event details address, time, and contact information and to highlight a reason why someone might want to attend. A free snack bar or casual networking, maybe?
15. Workshop or Webinar Invitations
Build your professional and client network by sending out postcard invitations for free workshops or webinars on real estate topics. By hosting events like these, you ll establish a reputation for expertise and helpfulness, and you ll likely stand out from most agents in your area.
16. Commercial Real Estate
Do you focus on commercial properties? Then send out a real estate postcard targeted specifically to commercial clientele whether that s local business owners looking to grow or investors who want to diversify their holdings. Be sure to highlight the key services and benefits you provide for high-value clients.
17. Downsizing Specials
Downsizing homes is an emotional process, and many people need support through this time. Consider creating a real estate postcard focused on older homeowners who are looking to downsize. You could offer a special senior discount or simply highlight your compassionate touch.
18. Expired Listings
If a listing has expired, there s a good chance the homeowner is feeling frustrated and ready for a second pair of eyes. Send out postcards targeted to homes with expired listings, featuring text that speaks with kindness and expertise to their unique situation.
19. For Sale By Owner (FSBO)
Another great target market for real estate postcards is the FSBO crowd. Those looking to put their home on the market as FSBO ( For Sale By Owner ) will likely experience a few more challenges than they expected. Reaching them at just the right time with a gentle, pressure-free offer can definitely result in fresh leads.
20. Anniversary Postcards
Buying a home is a momentous occasion, and it s worth celebrating! Continue the emotional connection you ve made with your clients by sending them a quick Happy Anniversary! postcard one year after they closed the sale. You could stick with a totally non-promotional message, or you could add something gentle like a referral offer.
Design and Print Your Real Estate Postcard
Well, that s it for our ultimate list of real estate postcards. For more insight, check out our post on real estate postcard marketing or this one on 48 real estate marketing ideas.
If you'd like to take one of the ideas above and have it customized and print-ready in a few minutes, jump over to our real estate postcard templates!