Al Patterson
Member
lol Chris, that wouldn't be you speeding while you are taking the pic?
60,000 Valpak direct mailers
- Thread starter Mike Sullivan
- Start date
lol Chris, that wouldn't be you speeding while you are taking the pic?
Sunbelt
New member
I realize this thread is right at two years old, but I wanted to say thanks to the contributors. I learned a lot. Ran across it in a search for "make the phone ring." Don't think that phrase was actually in this thread. I might've landed here following a link or two from other threads after having spent all afternoon reading a lot of different threads on various forums.
Anyway, I'm obviously trying to figure out how to make my phone ring. I think I'm in fairly good shape gaining conversion on callers once they call. My background includes a long stint as a construction estimator, so I'm quite familiar with all the ancillary costs that need to be included when putting a bid together, not the least of which is time/labor. I think I'm probably less likely than most newbies to really hurt myself in my pricing because of that. BUT, that only becomes a consideration AFTER the phone rings, so for now, I'm mostly interested in the methods y'all discussed a couple of years ago; ValPak, RSVP, newspapers, flyers, radio etc. Has anything changed much in the last two years? My reading of this thread is that of the folks who expressed an unambiguous opinion, direct mail is the most productive. Of the ones who said that, the majority preferred ValPak. Would y'all agree with that reading, and whether you do or don't, do you have any updated marketing advice for an extremely motivated and eager-to-learn newbie?
Thanks.
Anyway, I'm obviously trying to figure out how to make my phone ring. I think I'm in fairly good shape gaining conversion on callers once they call. My background includes a long stint as a construction estimator, so I'm quite familiar with all the ancillary costs that need to be included when putting a bid together, not the least of which is time/labor. I think I'm probably less likely than most newbies to really hurt myself in my pricing because of that. BUT, that only becomes a consideration AFTER the phone rings, so for now, I'm mostly interested in the methods y'all discussed a couple of years ago; ValPak, RSVP, newspapers, flyers, radio etc. Has anything changed much in the last two years? My reading of this thread is that of the folks who expressed an unambiguous opinion, direct mail is the most productive. Of the ones who said that, the majority preferred ValPak. Would y'all agree with that reading, and whether you do or don't, do you have any updated marketing advice for an extremely motivated and eager-to-learn newbie?
Thanks.
Lou Zehnder
New member
Bump this post.....so I can find it again.lol
crfguy168
New member
I am currently doing our local moneymailer here. I didnt do the county I live in because theres too many addresses that are apartments and housing communities I dont want, but anyway... the first one went out in June to 15,000 adresses for $485....
I closed and completed 11 jobs...Right around $4,300 total
As long as I see those kind of returns I will continue to use them...
I closed and completed 11 jobs...Right around $4,300 total
As long as I see those kind of returns I will continue to use them...
Christopher
Moderator
Looks like your marketing is doing good Travis, Congratulations!
Sunbelt
New member
Wow! No fooling! If I could kick-start my start-up for around $500 bucks, I'd be happy as a pig in mud!
Can you elaborate on "moneymailer" please? Is that like an envelope full of many different coupons, or is it a postcard or what? Is it targeted demographically, or just by county/area? Would appreciate any further details you're willing to share.
Thanks,
Doug Dahlke
New member
I tried Money Mailer several years back and did not get good results but I only did one mailing. I wouldn't even open the ValPaks or Money Mailers I get it the mail except to look for competitors info
Back when I did my mailer there were always companies coming and going now there is only one guy I see in there and he has been in business a long time. He has even cut back on the number of mailings he does. I did do a job for a customer last year who had saved my Money Mailer coupon from a few years earlier. I laughed when she gave it to me and she thought that I wasn't going to honor it. I told her I would honor it I just thought it was funny that someone still had one of these so you never know.
I think internet presence will continue to be the wave of the future. People can find you easily and you can offer online coupons and discounts without additional costs for postage, printing, etc. Plus you have the ability to reach every home on the planet with an internet connection. I will keep my YB ad for awhile becuase I do get calls from seniors who are just more comfortable with a phone book than a keyboard.
Back when I did my mailer there were always companies coming and going now there is only one guy I see in there and he has been in business a long time. He has even cut back on the number of mailings he does. I did do a job for a customer last year who had saved my Money Mailer coupon from a few years earlier. I laughed when she gave it to me and she thought that I wasn't going to honor it. I told her I would honor it I just thought it was funny that someone still had one of these so you never know.
I think internet presence will continue to be the wave of the future. People can find you easily and you can offer online coupons and discounts without additional costs for postage, printing, etc. Plus you have the ability to reach every home on the planet with an internet connection. I will keep my YB ad for awhile becuase I do get calls from seniors who are just more comfortable with a phone book than a keyboard.
PressureWashingStarkeFL
Member
Give me $50 bucks and I will call you once a day for a month!!1 :welcome:
Sunbelt
New member
HA! That's pretty cheap for the amount of abuse you'd have to endure! LOL
Got any other advice for making the phone ring?
Since my first post in this thread I've been researching and don't think I'm going to do much good for myself without spending $1800 - $2200. I've pretty much decided on my first campaign being 5,000 postcards. From everything I've been able to gather, I'll need at least that many to generate 25 - 50 leads. I'll have to convert at least 50% of those with fair-sized jobs to get a decent ROI, but man, I gotta get to work and get my name out there even if all I do is break even the first time around.
Just so y'all understand, the $1800 - $2200 is split between three companies, all of which provide basically the same services. Design, print, provide mailing list to my demographic specs, and mail from their facilities at bulk rate. The postage costs are either right at or a little above half the cost, which would be quite a bit more if I tried to do it myself.
I found out what MoneyMailer is. We get something similar here. I don't like it because there's at least 50 coupons in each mailing, maybe more, and I'm thinking a good looking postcard that grabs the eye as soon as someone looks through their mail is going to get better results than one coupon among many who are all competing for that same first look. And a lot of the recipients won't even open the envelope to begin with.
If that assessment is wrong according to others' first-hand experience, I'd love to know about it. I came to learn.
Sunbelt
Apple Roof Cleaning
Roof Cleaning Instructor
Nice meeting you in Tampa Chris
Sunbelt
New member
Thanks for that info Chris.
Are your 5K mailings in line with the pricing I mentioned in my last post, $1800 - $2200?
Also, are you targeting neighborhoods based on income levels, or any other demographic that you'd be willing to share with us?
As it turns out for me, the wealthiest zip code in Alabama is right next door to the zip code I live in, and the mailing list I'll be using has close to 7,000 addresses there. I'm throwing all 5,000 at that zip. No travel time or expense to speak of if it works, almost no travel time between jobs and lots of large patios, decks, poolsides and decorative stone/paver walkways and landscaping elements to up-sell once I start bidding.
I am kinda just wingin' it here, so I'd like to know from some of you seasoned marketeers, does this sound like a good strategy to y'all, to saturate one specific zip-code?
Thanks.
IndyExterior
New member
Sounds like a good target area. I've had little success with direct mail marketing. I believe our lack of response was poor content. Beautiful color photos etc are great but don't get the attention you are looking for.
I'd do a lot of research on what to include in a post card/flyer before you start.
We had a local newspaper that charged a lot less than postage to put an insert into the weekly paper. We did much better with that. 8.5 x 11 flyers we had printed and delivered to the newspaper office for insert. Small circulation but our target area and it wasn't lost with other junk mail. I think when most go through the mail they stand next to the trash can. You have seconds to catch their attention.
I'd do a lot of research on what to include in a post card/flyer before you start.
We had a local newspaper that charged a lot less than postage to put an insert into the weekly paper. We did much better with that. 8.5 x 11 flyers we had printed and delivered to the newspaper office for insert. Small circulation but our target area and it wasn't lost with other junk mail. I think when most go through the mail they stand next to the trash can. You have seconds to catch their attention.
apple
Moderator
Tom Its running me around 1100 to send 5000 5.5x8.5s. I get the cards from gotprint and use a local company to do the mailing. We are mailing by carrier route and targeting the high end areas like you are talking about.
Like Thad said, target the same area repeatedly. It will take a few times for them to start taking notice of you. And of course this time of year isnt going to be as succesfule as the spring.
Ive got my "pretty card" posted somewheres over on ptstate. I think it has a good headline and call to action but Im open to making it better.
When I get a chance Ill try to post it here.
Like Thad said, target the same area repeatedly. It will take a few times for them to start taking notice of you. And of course this time of year isnt going to be as succesfule as the spring.
Ive got my "pretty card" posted somewheres over on ptstate. I think it has a good headline and call to action but Im open to making it better.
When I get a chance Ill try to post it here.
Sunbelt
New member
Thanks for the reply. Out of the three direct mail companies I'm looking at, only one is local. He's a franchisee of RSVP, a company I first heard about while reading this thread if I recall correctly. I met with him yesterday and he said basically the same thing. Their data shows that only about 10% of a prospect's decision to call on an offer is based on the pictures/graphics. Aprox. 35% is based on whether or not the service/product is something the prospect had ever thought of using/purchasing before seeing the card, and 50% is attributed to how much value they can discern from the offer. I found the last two particularly interesting. The offer itself holds more potential to move them to action than their own perceived need/desire for the service/product.
Of course, I'm just relaying what I was told by a sales rep. I have no idea how reliable the underlying data are, or how accurate his relaying of it is. He seemed sincere and knowledgeable, but then he's a salesman and that's a big part of his job. He didn't try to hard-sell me though. He just relayed that bit of info as an FYI.
Yeah, besides a handful of jobs that I just lucked into since getting set up, research is all I've been doing. Well, I've tried my hand at designing and distributing door hangers with absolutely zero results too, which is why I'm in the market for a direct mail solution now. I joined nearly every forum I ran across, and though my participation has been little or none, I spend almost every free minute reading and trying to learn.
Yep, I am pretty well steeled against getting disappointed in the results. Now, zero calls would disappoint me. Even p*ss me off to be honest. 5 calls would make me think I wasted quite a bit of money for nothing, but I could live with that learning experience without being all that disappointed. I am hoping (not counting on, but hoping) for a 1/2% response rate. That will be 25 calls. I think I can convert enough to make it worth my while if I get somewhere in that neighborhood. Any more calls than that and I would be thrilled to death with the results, and yes, I would likely try it again aprox. every month or so.
On those newspaper inserts, I take it you did the design/layout/ad-copy yourself, as well as the printing? Also, you said you're able to target an area. Can you have the paper only do the inserts in papers going to a specific area, or are you just saying that the paper you chose has circulation only in the areas you want to target anyway?
Wow. That's literally half the price that the local RSVP guy wants for a smaller card (4" x 6"). Guess I need to do some more shopping.
If you don't mind Chris, could you tell me how this works....I take it "gotprint" is an internet printer that you order from and they ship the order to you? Do you then have to take that package to the mailing company for processing? And does the company you're using for mailing services also provide the list of addresses/carrier routes?
Sorry for all the questions. Just trying to get a handle on the best way to proceed.
Yeah, I know I'm getting a late start. That's another question I have for everyone; is this industry so slow during the Winter that it's akin to a seasonal business? Good Lord, I hope not. I understand that it's going to be busier in the Spring, but I really need to be able to keep working year-round. I've been in a seasonal business before and did great during the season, but it didn't matter how much we made, it was never enough to see us through the off-season. I can't do that again.
I found it, if this thread is the one you're talking about:
http://www.ptstate.com/index.php/topic,9928.0.html
That looks great to me, though you said at the beginning of the thread that you still had some tweaking to do. I didn't notice a revised posting, but whatever, it still looks great to these eyes.
I have also been checking yours and others' websites and would like to know how effective that has been for you for generating new leads. Either way, effective or otherwise, I'll be setting up a website in the not-too-distant future. I think it adds an air of legitimacy to a contracting business even if it doesn't do much lead generation. But hey, if it also does that, so much the better!
Thanks for all the replies y'all. I'm learning a lot here.
Tom
rynophiliac
New member
those kinda signs are illegal here in AZ we have a big problem with them everywhere. Although they can only get you for it if they catch you putting it up. But I have stayed away from it anyways to be a so called good citizen or whatever but I know people who have put them up and got caught. He was forced to by the business owner and then we he got caught the business owner wouldn't pay his ticket.
rynophiliac
New member
Yup,
$35 per one thousand
After printing and inserting it's about 8 cents per piece for 8.5x11" on 80 lb full color front and back.
