Post It Notes Flyers

Marketing Mastery Training Call * October 2006

With Richard Roop and Dan Doran

The Ultimate Flyer System:

How to Use Cheap Post It Notes for Buying Houses

Pre-Call Outline by Richard Roop with Dan Doran

Resources:

Support Site:
Site Password:
black
Support site features (available now or before next call):
Replay links and transcript of call
Link to submit a Post It question or success tip
Post It note templates
Links to vendors and suppliers
Pricing Matrix (soon)
Marketing Campaign Checklist

Post It Notes Flyers - What is it?

A flyer to match the medium
A way to test geographic areas
A small, cheap two-step flyer

Advantages

Proven
Targeted by location, home type, etc.
Quick to launch
Buy mores houses
Make more money
Build more wealth
Quit your job

Avoid competition
PRE pre-foreclosures
No other investor to call
Avoid waste
Succeed on a shoestring budget
Cheaper than postcards
Cheaper than letters
Leverage yourself
Get sellers calling you
Systemize and outsource your marketing
Become a big fish in a small pond
Create trickle in response for years
Create multiple hits for maximum response
Crank up or slow down your lead flow as needed
Generate all the leads you can handle
Have prospects prescreen themselves out
Cherry pick only the best deals
Get your ad read
Unique
Attention Grabbing

Disadvantages

Limited room to sell
You must manage distribution
Hits renters and vacant houses
Need to setup

How to get $3,100 back for every $100 you invest in Post It note flyers

5,000 post it notes at 17 cents delivered = $850
$850 for 12 calls, 4 appointments and one deal = $27,000
Return on investment: 31 to 1
$100 = $3,100 cash and equity
$100 = $7,700 cash and equity – Todd S. feedback
( (page 10)
Brian D. feedback

How to target the right people with the right houses at the right time

Moving parade
Where you want to buy
Drive area at dinner time
Boats and RVs
Repetitive
Repeat 8 times over 2 years
Use other campaigns in-between hits

When to use Post It note flyers instead of postcards and letters

The ultimate geographic test
Geographic, shotgun approach
Test prior to more expensive direct mail
Demographic marketing (mail lists) are usually better in Hot or Post-Hot markets

Project Task List– Steps

How do you eat an elephant?

Select ageographic market to test
Research number of houses in area
Pick 5,000 houses to hit at a time
Select your printer
Select a size and style
Select marketing template and customize
Select a way to distribute
Order a batch, submit artwork
Proof and approve artwork
Schedule distribution, go over rules
Get them out and inspect
Take calls and online forms
Track results
Fix a poor response

Time block specific tasks instead of entire project using methods taught in Million Dollar Coaching (

MDC Success Formula:

Make a plan(Outcome and milestones)
Plan your work(Schedule and time block)
Work your plan(Take action)
Get feedback along the way(Measure and monitor)
Make adjustments(Stay on track)

Project Task List

1)Select a geographic market to test

Choose the neighborhoods to become part of your farm. You’ll find some great research tools on Melissadata.com. Click on “Look Ups.” There you will find a wealth of data you can look up by street number, street, city, zip, carrier routes, etc. The mapping available is awesome and you can get home sale data too. You get a number of free lookups before you need to create a free account. Then you get 50 free lookups a day unless you subscribe to an access plan. Check it out so you know what’s available.

Pick areas with the types of homes you want to sell or own.

How get post its to targeted lists?

Use USPS.com postcards at 29-32cents
NOTICE postcard (Roop’s Instant Marketing Tool Generator)
verses 15-17centsfor Post Its

2)Research number of houses in area

This can be found with the lookups at Melissadata.com.

3)Pick 5,000 houses to hit at a time

You’ll be testing your areas when you hit them for the first time. Your total farm area could be 5,000 to 30,000 households. Pick your first 5,000 to test. You may not hit the same houses with the same flyer for 3 months. If you wanted to do 5,000 flyers a month then you might be working on a list of 15,000 homes.

At 15 cents printed and distributed, your total cost is $750 for this campaign. That falls within my normal range of spending $500 to $1,000 to test a campaign.

This campaign is good for cities and suburbs. Direct mail would make more sense in rural counties or parts of town.

Create tracking maps of the areas to hit so you can give them to your distribution people. Maps of zip codes, carrier routes and addresses can be found at Melissadata.com. These maps are presented using different systems including satellite imagery. Of course there are other mapping resources online and software programs such as Microsoft Streets and Trips.

4)Select your printer

We recently used Flaire.com to print up Post It Notes. I recently spoke to them and they are interested in supporting our clients. We have also used TheDiscountPrinter.com. In the past we have had mixed reports about them being rude to our clients. Printing is a commodity typically with small margins. Some cheap sources of printing may not offer a lot of hand holding or live customer service. Keep that in mind when looking to save.

You can find other printers by searching “customized post it notes” or “customized sticky notes” through Google.com. You may also find a printer locally.

If you want a local weekly or daily newspaper in your area to attach them on the front of their paper, before they are delivered, call them. Ask them if they will do that. Sometime they charge the same as they would for a flyer insert. If your publication has any experience selling Post It note advertising, they may also print them for you.

5)Select a size and style

I have created several Post It Note templates which are included my Instant Marketing Tools software. One size is 3” x 5”. They are sometimes cheaper to print and can also be used on community bulleting boards.

The other size I recommend is 4” x6” but may cost a little more. When dealing with newspapers, they may have they own size you must use like 3” x 3” if they will be doing the printing.

Request “Canary Yellow” for the paper color and just black ink. Two-color or full-color printing is not necessary. However, I’ll keep you posted if I can ever recommend spending the extra money and provide template updates for Instant marketing Tool owners. Black ink and yellow paper works fine.

I recently discover some special types of Post It Notes including heavier card stock and extra sticky at Flaire.com. The extra sticky version is especially useful for door to door flyers. You can compare costs and decide.

To be posted online:

USP packaging – “brown” example
InfoNotice not recommended
Use existing templates now
Do not waste time playing with design

Potential new designs:

UPS
FedEx
USPS

6)Select marketing template and customize

We have good experience using two types of messages for these flyers. One is the standard “NOTICE: Attention Homeowner” designed for universal use. The other is the “Ugly House” flyer. I’ll create other messages if needed but these two work well.

The “NOTICE: Attention Homeowner” flyer is to buy houses in any type of neighborhood. The main focus or USP is “Sell Your House as is for a Fair Price on the Date of Your Choice.” It does not prescreen leads. It is designed to get maximum response to your free recorded message line or your buying website.

3x5

4x6 - newer

The “Ugly House” flyer from member Brian Dickerson is designed for lower end neighbors. The main focus or USP is “We Buy Houses Cash.” It is for locating cash deals to rehab or flip, usually homes that need a lot of work. The message is designed to weed out some calls from sellers who are not willing to take a discount.

4x6 – Ugly Example

Instant Marketing Tool Generator owners ( also have a 3” x 5” “tall” post it note with my common, small, 2-step display ad. Most of our clients use the “wide” NOTICE version though.

Strategies for targeting ugly houses

Type of neighborhoods
“We buy houses cash” USP
Get picky – one out of 200?
Lower priced neighborhood, but not war zone

7)Select a way to distribute

Unless you have a local publication attach your post it notes to the front of their publication, you’ll need to hire people to distribute you flyers. You have two options. Hire a professional company or hire individuals. Either way you will need to manage them.

On Front of Newspaper: Choose a publication that targets your farm area like a community newspaper or weekly shopper magazine. You may also select the daily newspaper but avoid wasted circulation. Ask the publication to hit only the areas or parts of town you want. They may have zones you can select. Simply call these publications, get heir rate card, talk to them about what you want to do and see if they want to help.

Flyer Distribution Company: Check your local phonebook under “Advertising” for a professional flyer distributor. You can also search“door to door flyer distribution” or“flyer distribution”“<your city>” on Google.com. These organizations may be used to simple flyers or doorhangers but not Post It Notes. It shouldn’t matter. They hire and manage crews to canvass neighborhoods. Sometimes they use GPS tracking and provide daily reports. They should be operating with a standard set of rules for their people. Find out what they are. If none, you give them your guidelines.

We’ve found some of these companies are not reliable. Some will solicit your business and then hire people by running classified ads on CraigsList.com. We have had mixed (mostly bad) reports about companies who operate this way (like KatyFlyer.com). We have also had mixed reports about Markots.com. Until they can straighten up, I can’t recommend these companies. Sometime we send a vendor so many referrals they over promise and then can’t deliver. Buyer beware. Talk to the principal. You’re looking for a long term relationship.

Finding a good company costs more but can be more reliable than hiring unskilled, disorganized, inexperienced people on your own.

Cost: 12-20 cents each

Hiring Independent Contractors: Boy Scouts, church groups, paperboys, older kids you know through association, etc. are some of the people you could hire cheaply. However, consider forming a team, paying them better and selecting a manger from the group.

Sample ad for local paper or CraigsList.com:

Earn $100 a day distributing flyers door to door. No selling. Weekly pay. 24 hour recorded details: 1-888-888-8888 Ex 888 or visit <website>/flyers.

(FYI: 5,000 post it notes at 7 cents each is $350. If it takes one person 3 ½ days, that’s $100 a day.)

Cost 7-15 cents each

How to hire and what to pay local people to distribute your flyers

Craigstlist ad
7-10 cents
Ad in paper – local
Hire people you know
Paperboy – double income approach
Not homeless people
$100 a day ad
2 cents more to person managing

8)Order your batch, submit artwork

Post It Notes come in pads of 25, 50 and 100. Consider 500 pads of 50 each for a total of 12,500 flyers for about $500. Refer to the “example pricing list” to be post soon on your support site, order do your own research now.

9)Proof and approve artwork

Be sure to check the proof you get from your printer. Call the any phone number to verify they are correct. Get an estimated delivery date so you can be ready to get them out. Plan on a couple of weeks.

10)Schedule distribution, go over rules

Get agreement from you distribution team when they will hand them out. Choose days when someone can take calls that make their way into your office. Some rules to lay down may include: do not place on mailboxes, do not place at listed houses, no apartments or mobile homes, etc.

Rules of distribution
No condos, town homes or apartments
No mobile home parks
No listed properties
No mail boxes
Mapping and carrier routes
Reporting

11)Get them out and inspect

Inform your team that you will be inspecting on the days they go out. Check their work until you can rely on them to go out unmanaged. Have them report what areas they completed daily. Agree on a start and completion date.

12)Take calls and online forms

I highly recommend all calls go through your marketing systems including a website and recorded message line. Do not take calls direct unless you have go reason. Let them sift and sort themselves out and then reveal on your systems how they can reach you or someone you have taking your calls. It’s all about generating leads. Manage them well. You’re paying for them.

The best automated systems for handling the response

Drive to them to a free recorded information line (Roop’s script)

Give option to talk live person

Use Patlve.com if you can’t take the calls in house

Send them to your buying website

Taking direct calls… not recommended

Offer free report (Instant Marketing Tools)

13)Track results

Tally up all you calls. Use our Marketing Planning software and GIG (Goal Implementation Graph) tools if you have them through the Million Dollar Coaching service. Use the Marketing Campaign Checklist to stay organized and on track.

Typically, depending on the climate of your market, you should be buying at least one house with a minimum profit of $20,000 for every $500-$1,000 spent on these campaigns. If you get 15 or more people working their way through your systems and calling your office with a house for sale, it is probably working well.

14)Fix poor response

What if you only get a few calls?

Verify all the flyers went out. This is a common problem so try to prevent it when hiring and managing the right people or company.
Verify your systems are setup and working correctly.
If the flyers went out, your systems are working and there’s no major news or weather event, then a poor response will have to do with your selected market area. Pick a different area for your next 5,000.

Remember, demographic marketing using direct mail letters and postcards to more qualified lists is always better than the geographic, shotgun approach. We do not recommend geographic campaigns in hot markets, and the response rates are mixed in post-hot markets.