Real estate agents have been using postcards to market themselves for decades. But why is it that some agents succeed time and time again, while others fail? What's the secret to postcard marketing success?

For one thing, the successful agents understand the three-part harmony of real estate postcard marketing. The three-part harmony includes element that, when combined, increase your chances of success many times over.

"Enough!" you say. "What are the three parts?"

The real estate postcard three-part harmony:

1. The right audience
2. The right offer
3. The right presentation

That's the gist of it, and here's the meat:

Part 1 The Right Audience
When it comes to postcard marketing, the mailing list is more than a bunch of names. It's a primary ingredient of real estate postcard success. Sending the right message to the wrong audience is never right.

* Your audience should match your services
* Your mailing list should be as current as possible
* Your list should be tightly focused (buyers vs. sellers, neighborhood, price range, etc.)
* Your list should be easy to validate, update and manage (electronic format)

Part 2 The Right Offer
You do have an offer, don't you? Without an offer, a real estate postcard has little chance of motivating the reader. Without a strong offer, a postcard is just paper.

* Your offer should be relevant to your services
* Your offer should be unique from other offers (competitors)
* Your offer should have a high perceived value
* Your offer should motivate the recipient to take action

Part 3 The Right Presentation
Up to this point, you have a nice duet going. You're sending the right offer to the right audience. Great! But we want a three-part harmony, so now we must add the third element -- presentation. This refers to how your postcard looks.

* Your presentation should showcase the offer
* Your presentation should make the offer impossible to miss
* Your presentation should be professional and organized
* Your presentation reflects directly upon you!

There's a power in threes. The three-legged stool. The three branches of government. The three tenors. And now you can add real estate postcards to the list, because now you know the three-part harmony of postcard success -- the audience, the offer and the presentation.

* Copyright 2006, Brandon Cornett. You may republish this article if you leave the hyperlinks active, and also retain the author's note and byline.