Postcard Marketing and Designing: Tools of the Trade in Real Estate

Real estate brokers and agents have been using the postcard marketing as a method to entice their customers for several years now. But first of all, a postcard is a rectangular piece of paper or parchment intended for writing and mailing, even without the need of an envelope. These postcards act as Swiss army knives to these brokers and agents. For ages now, brokers and agents alike have marketed themselves through the use of these postcards, and for ages now as well, these postcard campaigns have proved themselves to both be an effective and affordable means of selling houses or lots to people. It should be kept in mind that this is one of the oldest tricks in the book of real estate marketing.

However, in a real estate sense, these postcards are sent to a certain audience or target market, such as homeowners or potential homebuyers. These postcards contain contact details on one side, and some sort of “Need a new home? Contact me now!” message on the other. This is where a postcard comes into play. The thought of having the postcard would make the buyer call the agent whose details are contained in said postcard. This potential buyer would call then ask the agent on how to buy a house etc., which ensures a sure kill, or buy, rather.

So one means of selling a house is to go out the streets and look for someone to sell it to. The postcard appearance should always be attractive, not colorful, and rather eye-catching. It should always be aimed to entice the person into buying or at least, become interested with whatever it is the real estate agent is offering him. Some ideas for a postcard design and helpful tips for effective marketing with a postcard include:

Since this is a real estate business, the real estate agent can make up design postcards that are shaped like house or building, so as to immediately catch the attention of his client and give him an idea that such person is selling a house due to the shape of the postcard.

Along with an eye-catching design of a postcard, a witty one-liner, or in courting terms, a pick-up line should be given or included in the postcard. This can either be a humorous or witty statement or slogan that would instantly mark inside the mind of the client. Some examples include lines such as “In this realtor, we trust” and “Uncle Sam wants you to have a better home!”

The slogan also has to be memorable, so that the potential client would always associate or remember the real estate company whenever he remembers the slogan and sometime soon, might even call-up this company for a new house.

Of course, postcards should always include the contact details of the company and the real estate agent working for such company. Not including such important information would pretty much defeat the purpose of having a post card in the first place.

However, the postcard must also be straight to the point, but being too forward, more often than not, scares potential buyers away and no one would want that, right? So it is important that there is a brief introduction or background of the business or company. Immediately asking someone to buy a house would be senseless since a person has to be convinced first.

Though the response to these postcards varies, it depends on the approach and the overall appearance of the postcard. Both should be equally good so as to ensure a definite response from the potential buyers. This is one of the oldest tricks in the book so it also has a high chance of effectiveness.

Postcard marketing has been around for so long now and God knows how long it will stick around. Real estate agents and brokers will continue to use it as long it can help in selling houses to potential buyers everywhere. “Need a home?” If the answer is yes then the real estate postcard plan has performed its duty with flying colors.

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Pursuing a Real Estate Career in a Market of Uncertainty – Good Idea Or Bad?

The real estate market in the United States today is a controversial subject, ranking up there with banking institutions, health care, unemployment and politics. So is pursuing a career as a real estate agent in this economy a smart thing?

Normally one might think this field may not be the best career move being the housing market is quite unstable, however, let’s ponder that thought for a moment. If the real estate market is unstable, chances are, existing real estate agents may be looking to change their line of work because they can’t take the pressure of waiting and waiting for the commissions checks because there is a ton of inventory and the competition is tough and let’s face it, not all agents are exactly working at the same level of professionalism. Those that chose the profession as a part time hobby will not survive this type of market. Why? Because it is a challenging market and a part time agent or an agent that has not kept up with the fast changing housing market, may not want to take the time to keep up with all that is current.

However, someone that makes the commitment in their business and comes forth with a clear vision, the right attitude and mindset, may see this as a huge opportunity to make an excellent salary. The reason for this is simple. If there are homes on the market and plenty of them, that means those homes need a buyer in order to close.

If the savvy new agent gets themselves out there in the public as soon as possible, starting to brand themselves, they could have buyers and sellers in no time!

For the agent to have a pay day there has to be a closing. If there is no closing there is no pay so a savvy realtor would need have to have a few strategies and a business plan of attack and stick with it.

Some things someone wanting to get into real estate now would be:

* Educate themselves on the local market conditions in the area they want to work.
* Check for area real estate schools and research their curriculum, pricing and course session times.
* Interview with several real estate offices in your area. Don’t get enrolled in real estate classes until you talk to the real estate brokers first. Some brokers will pay for your schooling and if they don’t offer it to you, ask. perhaps they can give you discount.
* Make sure once you decide to make this career change you commit to it and take it seriously, jump on any training courses your new real estate office is providing and have your business strategy in place out of the gate

Being prepared in this housing market or any housing market will only better your results and place you miles ahead of the other agents that have not taken advantage of the opportunity.