Real estate investing has become a popular investment option. With increased competition, understanding how to find investment properties is crucial for any real estate investor. Most investors limit their efforts to investment properties listed on the MLS- they don’t really have a real estate investor marketing strategy.
Although the MLS is a viable source of real estate deals, far too many people are using it. To have an edge over the competition, it’s important to have a diverse real estate investor marketing plan. By diversifying your marketing strategies, you increase your chances of landing the best real estate deal.
There are many ways you can ramp up your real estate investor marketing efforts. Here are some of the best real estate investor marketing strategies you can put in place to find real estate deals:
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1. Bandit Signs
Bandit signs are a great strategy to include in your real estate investor marketing plan. They are basically small poster-sized billboards that state your intent to purchase investment properties, accompanied by your contact details, and placed in strategic locations where they can be seen by as many people as possible like street corners. Your messaging should be brief and legible.
While relatively primitive compared to other real estate investor marketing strategies, they are a low-cost way to find off market properties. When done properly, they can elicit a response from many potential property sellers.
The use of bandit signs does not require a lot of effort. After placing the bandit signs, you just sit back and wait for leads and homeowners to contact you. To make them more effective, you must first research the best areas to target. These are areas where the bandit signs will gain the most exposure for the investment property types you are targeting.
However, note that there are areas where bandit signs may be illegal. Make sure you check the local regulations on the installation of bandit signs before you begin this real estate investor marketing campaign. If you are found violating local codes, you risk being fined.
2. Real Estate Business Cards
Create an attractive and professional business card and hand them out to people you meet in networking events. You can also leave them at strategic places where people can find them.
The business cards should explain what you do and include your contact details. Your business card should make it clear that you buy investment properties to anyone who sees it. As we mentioned earlier, you never know where your next real estate deal will come from.
3. Bird Dogs
The term “bird dog” refers to people who spend their time trying to find motivated sellers or below market value properties for real estate investors for a fee. They usually have a good understanding of the neighborhood and work as an intelligence network for investors. They use different strategies to find sealable leads. Therefore, working with a bird dog can be an effective real estate investor marketing strategy to consider. Marketing for real estate investors can be boosted further by working with a network of bird dogs.
4. Online Paid Advertising
Another effective real estate investor marketing strategy to consider is online paid advertising. This refers to the use of Google pay-per-click ads and other social media ads on platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
This is an effective strategy for finding leads in real estate since you can target people you want to view the ads. Investors can bid on keywords relevant to their target market. The ads can appear on specific websites, stories, and newsfeeds.
However, it can be quite expensive and requires a lot of research and testing to have a positive return on investment. The price of each click may also vary depending on the quality of the ad and the demand for selected keywords. Therefore, it’s important that you understand your target market to boost the effectiveness of your paid advertising campaign.
Related: Social Media for Real Estate: A Key to Success
5. Direct Mail Marketing
Although it’s a more traditional approach, real estate investor direct mail marketing still has the power to generate off market leads. Investors can send handwritten letters to distressed homeowners expressing their interest in buying their property.
The first step to this real estate investor marketing strategy is to research and create a list of distressed homeowners in the neighborhood. You can easily get property owner information in any location in the US housing market using Mashboard. This will ensure that you are targeting people who are likely to sell. You will then write a letter stating your intent. Make sure you are brief and to the point.
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Start by sending a few real estate investor postcards to see how effective they are. However, don’t be discouraged if the first batch doesn’t get a good response. Sometimes you may need to send more to potential property sellers as well as followup letters to get a response. Generally, most people won’t respond to the first or second letter they get from someone. With persistence, however, your marketing efforts will pay off.
The Bottom Line
Successful real estate marketing for investors is dependent on the number and quality of the strategies you are using. Savvy real estate investors know that the next real estate deal could come from anywhere. Therefore, the best way to increase your chances of finding the best real estate deal is to commit to multiple real estate investor marketing funnels.
Try the above real estate marketing strategies for investors and perfect them. Test and measure their effectiveness. You can then spend more time and money on marketing strategies that are most effective. Remember, not every real estate investor marketing strategy will work for every investor in every property market.
Want an easier way to find investment properties? The best way to find real estate deals is to use Mashvisor. With Mashvisor’s tools, you can find and analyze investment properties in the U.S. housing market in a matter of minutes.
Related: The Best Investment Property Deal Finder for 2020
To start looking for and analyzing the best real estate investment properties in your city and neighborhood of choice, click here.