Well, this is a very difficult time in the real estate business. It's really a difficult time for all businesses, but real estate has always been known as a people business. So when we literally physically have a restriction that we cannot be within six feet of one another. It poses some additional challenges for us in all aspects of real estate. But the one aspect that I want to talk about right now is marketing. How does this affect our methods, techniques of marketing? How does it sort of change our marketing strategies? So in order to do that, let's talk about a few different types of effective marketing that we've used before and are they going to be still effective now or are we going to have to tweak some of those techniques in order to make them more faceted for a pandemic like the COVID-19 assuming that this isn't the only time that this is going to happen.
Also make sure to check out real estate investing tips during COVID-19.
You know, there's been a lot of conversations and a very hot topic right now is what's going to happen after this quarantine? Are things going to go back to completely normal? A lot of people are thinking no. So we're going to have to continue to sort of adapt to these changes and our methods and what we do in our marketing for real estate. So a couple of things. First, some basic real estate marketing methods that we use is our door hangers. Door hangers are a great a way to, to blanket an area, let people know in the area that you buy properties cash or you're helping homeowners out of foreclosure or whatever your messaging is for your door hangers. However, this is a physical aspect of, of marketing. It's not digital. So we literally have to come out to each house and put this up on someone's door during this time.
I don't think that you want to be outside of someone's house messing around with their door handle with them hearing, especially, you know, with them being home and being core contained and not knowing who's at their door, especially if you're not knocking at the door and you're not delivering food or something to them. So, uh, so that's going to be a challenge to be using door hangers right now. Plus, um, you know, just putting this up on someone's door. Yes, they might get it, but if people are quarantined inside their house, they're not coming in and out of work every day. They might literally not see it on the door for a little while. So I don't think this is really going to be an effective way to market right now. This is something that you probably would want to wait on a, we also do door knocking packages where we knock on doors, which we know door knocking right now is completely out of the question.
Uh, there's no reason to even go to someone's house right now, even if you're just dropping off a door hanger or to even to drop off a door knocking package because of the fact that they were going to be a lot of negative connotations that are going to go along with that. People are going to see, you know, Hey, somebody just dropped something off at my door. That was unannounced. So you have to be very careful with that. Now if you put this door knocking package, if you have information, let's say it's a, a pre-foreclosure with equity or without equity or a probate property and you put the information in a Manila envelope and maybe leave it at their door, that is a, that's a little bit of a gray area. Um, honestly, uh, the jury is still sort of out on that one. I actually have a few students that are doing that right now, but the majority of students, uh, have just decided that they don't want to get those phone calls from homeowners saying, how dare you during this quarantine, leave your house to come over to my house.
So I think that the door knocking packages, door knocking all together is going to be out. But even leaving door knocking packages physically at someone's house is going to be very difficult at this time and probably not the greatest idea. We also have been doing, um, direct mail forever in a day. You know, sending out the yellow letter is probably one of the most basic aspects of marketing for real estate. And actually it's been a little bit dead lately in the last couple of years. Direct mail has really gone down the amount of actual conversions that you get. A conversion. Meaning if I send a marketing piece to someone, I actually convert them into a customer or a client. And the conversion rates of direct mail had been really low because everybody had known, mother has been doing direct mail and homeowners will show you, I've got a stack of letters that I've gotten from other investors trying to make cash offers on my property.
So even though some direct mail can still be effective and was before at 19 with the correct messaging, now it might even be a little bit more effective. This could be something where we're looking at this, this pandemic right now and trying to spin an actual positive instead of a negative. I was believe in trying to make lemonade out of lemons as much as possible. There's no such thing as problems, only solutions. So I actually have a couple of boxes, a couple of thousand of of envelopes. Um, their invitation style, different colors. It's a different size envelope. So that way, you know, people might actually think that there's a party or something that they're getting invited to a COVID 19 zoom party maybe. Um, so I'm actually gonna utilize this time, um, to, to, you know, I spent the money on this. This is an expense. It's just been sitting in the closet collecting dust.
So we're going to start testing out some direct mail. Um, you know, reaching out to homeowners right now, uh, with direct mail. It could be good on, on a couple of different levels. Number one, uh, the, the content of messaging needs to first and foremost have something about the COBIT 19 situation, acknowledging it, acknowledging them in their family, the homeowner, their family, hoping that they're all safe and that they're all healthy. And if they're making it through this corn teen right now, you could maybe even put something fun in there for them. A puzzle or a crossword puzzle or just anything that you could think of that might be something that they could utilize, you know, and, and spend a little bit of time on since everybody's quarantine at home, everybody, but he's getting very, very bored. Um, everybody's watched everything on Netflix. So trying to come up with creative ways of having some content inside, you know, an envelope for direct mail or the homeowner opens it.
You're, again, relating to them, hoping that their family and everybody is safe during this time. Letting them know, reaching out to them who you are and that you will be here to help them when this whole situation is over, that you're going to be keeping your fingers on the pulse of the COBIT 19 pandemic, especially if you're tuning into like the national real estate investors association calls every Friday that we do a, and that is where we, we let everybody around the country, investors, homeowners, landlords, we let them know what is the latest legislation, uh, and one of the latest updates on the pandemic affecting real estate. So that's information that, you know, as a homeowner, if they're facing foreclosure, uh, as a, as a landlord, if they have tenants that aren't paying their rent and there's going to be certain things they're going to want to know, you know, when does the court system open up again?
When does that foreclosure case continue to move forward? If they had a sale date, when is that sale date going to be reset. So bringing them values, bringing them information, educating them. So first we're acknowledging and being, um, you know, empathetic to the situation of the pandemic. Then we're letting them know, Hey, listen, I'm, I'm, I'm going to be here to reach out to you and keep you updated on any situations that affect you and your property. Um, maybe having some other information in there for them about their specific situation. And then like I said, getting creative and putting like a little puzzle, crossword puzzle or something, a little game that they and their family can can play or something. Just something that you know, that will, they'll remember you. Okay. So that's some ideas that direct mail, you could actually ramp up your direct mail right now and utilizing your direct mail to, you know, to educate them and let them know, Hey listen, you know, I can be a resource for you to let you know what's going on with the coven 19.
It's not just about watching the local news channels, uh, the national REIA. If you're a member of a local RIA or if you're a member of BREIA, MDREIA, then, you know, getting connected with the national REIA and having, uh, that, that extra information and added information that we're getting from our constituents at the national REIA, that direct deal directly with Washington DC is a great way for you to inform your homeowners. I always feel, no matter if it's a pandemic or not, that educating our homeowners, bringing them value is always going to be a very effective way to market to them. Don't just be that person that says, Hey, I want to buy your property, or you're facing foreclosure, you're gonna lose your property. I want to buy it, you know, be someone that brings some value to them. So educate them a little bit.
Same thing with our marketing that we do with our thank you's. Um, and this will relate a little bit more to some cold calls when I talk about that as well. But again, you know, people are getting very bored sitting at home. Yes. Some people are going to be a little bit apprehensive maybe about opening the mail as far as having at 19, you know, on it. Um, but, uh, uh, but I still think that, you know, you're, you're still going to be effective in, in, you know, mailing things to them. I'm checking my mail more than I ever checked my mail and, uh, and even though I'm, I might, you know, go over it. Uh, what's an alcohol before I open it up? I'm not really that concerned about it. Doesn't mean everyone is going to be. Um, also, you know, an effective way of marketing that we do in real estate is utilizing our business card at networking events where we can't go to networking events now, uh, obviously.
So in order to be able to, to market. And again, we're not just necessarily marketing to homeowners. If you're building your real estate business, you're marketing to buyers, maybe you're marketing to hard money lenders, maybe you want to start marketing to some probate attorneys to try to get some leads. So utilizing your business card and maybe having some novelty items like pens. Again, you know, the, the, the whole situation of, of, you know, doing direct mail or mailing people pens is, is sometimes an expensive, um, uh, situation. But the reality is, is that you could focus on just a few small niche markets, whether it's going to be a certain type of potential seller or other ways to build your business attorneys and different things. And you could actually just send them a nice pen or something in the mail and a nice letter saying again, you know, acknowledging where this coven 19 hoping that their family and friends and everybody is safe and healthy.
Uh, we're, you know, I'm keeping my mind on the future. Whenever this corn teen is lifted, I want to be your go to person or I want you to be my, you know, GoTo hard money lender, or I want you to be my title company. Um, or I'm going to be there for you, mr and mrs homeowner that are facing a foreclosure. So there's ways to, to, you know, to utilize that as well. And again, you know, this time getting a pen in the mail with some nice, you know, a handwritten letter or something, um, it's something that's going to be memorable to them. Uh, now that follows up to, you know, the realm of, of digital marketing, which is what we always think about when there's really not. It's kind of a non-touch direct mail can be that same way as well. Um, but um, taking me into the next aspect of, of marketing would that, uh, relates to is cold calling.
We have our digital marketing, which I'll talk about in a minute, but cold calling is also a way that we can still maintain our social distances, but have a much more effective way of marketing to them. I think that cold calling is really the door knocking of, of a pandemic error because you at least still get to talk to them. I can still at least hear the voice of the homeowner, the other person at the end of that phone. Um, and I can, you know, hear the fluctuations in their voice when I say certain things to still give me some of that stimulation that I need in order to figure out what to say next or what not to say. So cold calling is a very effective way right now reaching out to people. But again, it's always about your message. It's not just about the method of, of what your, of what your, your type of of marketing technique is.
So it's the messaging to when you cold call your homeowners, you're going to want to let them know first and foremost that you're not trying to sell them anything, that it's not any type of fraud and that, you know, you want to just, you know, acknowledge the fact that Hey, you know, we've been all this together. I hope that your family and friends and everybody is safe. So that's going to be really, really important. Um, and then opening up to them to let them know, you know, the same way to let them know that, Hey listen, you know, I want to be a resource for you. Uh, I want to just let you know, I just got off the call national REIA last week. Or maybe you just got off the call on a Friday at four o'clock, or maybe it's a Saturday and you're doing your cold calling.
Say I just got off the phone. Uh, or this, the, the zoom meeting, the national meeting that we just had. Here's a couple of updates. Maybe you didn't know what was going on in the coven 19 situation. And especially if you're cold calling people in other States and other places, have that conversation with them of like, Hey, I see it's, you're in Charlotte, North Carolina. How are things in North Carolina going? And then give them a quid pro quo. Let them know what is going on in your market, what's going on in Miami. Especially if they own a property down here, they're going to want to know. They'll probably even just ask you that question. So the most important thing is going to be communicating very clearly up front. Hey listen, I know this is, you know, really kind of strange. I'm calling you out of the blue, you know, letting you know that I hope you and your family are good during this corn team, but it's that human touch, you know, and just let them know, Hey listen, I'm just healing.
I'm here at home, I'm trying to run my real estate business here and I'm just, you know, wanting to, to reach out to you and just let you know that I'm going to be a free resource for you, that I'm going to be here for you and your family and, and you know, a possible potential buyer for your property. If you get into that part of the conversation when this quarantine is over. So cold calling right now is one of the more effective ways because like I said, it's that way of still being able to speak to them directly, but still maintaining your social distancing. Now that leaves me to digital marketing. Uh, if you are right now, have your business situated so you have a Facebook page, um, your Instagram, YouTube. This is a great time right now to start thinking about, you know, some really good content sitting in front of a camera just like this.
And just talking, you know, about what, you know, maybe, you know, talking about a few updates of the COBIT 19 situation and how homeowners can maintain their mortgages or something. I'm giving them some, some, you know, some good information doing a quick video, putting it out on your Facebook and when you send letters to people, by the way, let them know, Hey, you know, check us out on Facebook. We put up free videos, um, all of the time. Maybe there's some different legislation that's going to come up and a couple of weeks about insuring properties. You know, we're, we're moving in South Florida and to hurricane season, so there's going to be now a new added challenge there. So there's all kinds of ways that you can think about bringing value to your homeowners and that digital marketing, bringing value and educating them is really just trying to get that re that that trust, gain their trust, be that brand that they say, you know what?
If I'm ready now or I'm not ready now, but when I am ready, these are the people that I want to do my business with. These are the people that I want to sell my property to because I see the value that they're bringing to people in the community. So you're going to have to really think about that in your marketing when it's a booming market, you know, sending out direct mail and saying, Hey, I want to buy your property cash. Give me a call. And you send out, you know, 20,000 pieces. You're going to get some calls from some people and it's just going to be a very direct conversation. But right now we're all in this situation together. We're all in this situation that is new. I believe for anyone that's living on this planet now, no one has ever been through a pandemic like this.
So it's that time to be more human. It's that time to kind of rewind a little bit, go back to, you know, when, when marketing first started out and we were doing those handwritten yellow letters and, and you know, and the door knocking that we actually still do today, we're just not able to, uh, to do now. So think of that as well. Think about bringing value, educating them, being empathetic about the coven 19 situation. Trying to relate as much to that situation as possible because that's what's on everybody's radar. Of course. Any new information or updates on the cobot 19 and I'm sure everyone is going to be all ears. So that's the way that you can think about your marketing efforts. Um, during the coven 19 pandemic. It's going to be more focusing on those types of marketing that are not going to be physical where you're, you're, you know, meeting face to face.
And obviously if someone is ready to sell their property right now, um, or whether you know they're ready to sell their property and your direct mail marketing or in your cold calls, you can let them know, Hey listen, if you are, I'm not, you know, pressuring you. I've just really wanted to call you and let you know that I just wanted to, you know, reach out and let you know that there's somebody here that can help you if you need our help. But the reality is, is that you want to let them know if you are ready to sell, someone is ready to sell. You know, here's, here's what we can do. We won't have anyone come over to your house. You can take the pictures for us. You know, keep that social distancing. Let them know that you are very aware of the situation and they have nothing to worry about.
Usually, you know, people resist to doing something because of fear. You know, that's what we call their pain points. So if someone's like, yeah, I want to sell my house right now, I'm facing a foreclosure. I know I'm losing equity. I know I'm not going to get a loan modification cause I just lost my job. I need to pull my equity out of this house, relocate my family to a small apartment, you know, until I get back on my feet again. But I don't want anybody to come to my house. Well maybe they have just denied, you know, 10, 10 offers for people to buy their property because they're worried about them sending their contractors or themselves coming over to the property. So if you let them know, Hey listen, I am, um, you cognitive cognitive of, of what is going on right now and you know, we know the social distancing rules and we want to make you comfortable.
So if we buy your property, we can structure this so that we can do everything electronically, sending you the contract electronically. Um, we can, uh, have you take pictures of the property and just send it to us. So they're done. That's, I have to be any face to face when we do the closing documents. Our, um, our title companies will work with you. I believe that a lot of title companies have even moved to using zoom as a, as a way to sort of notarize signatures and things so that they physically see the person sign it. So there's all kinds of different ways, again, educating that homeowner to let them know this is what their pain is and I'm going to create your bliss. That's what true marketing is. So I'm so hope everybody is, um, effectively still pushing forward to build their real estate business. Don't use this time as an excuse to give up, especially if you just first started, because I hate to say it, but this is going to be a great market and there's going to be a lot of need for you to market to people. Cause there's going to be a lot of people that are going to need our help, especially as cash buyers too, when this pandemic is over. So that's my take on marketing during the coven 19 pandemic.
Read more about drive through real estate closings – it's becoming very real.