Advanced summary: For real estate agents, this articles offers advice on improving your real estate marketing program by combining your postcard marketing and Internet marketing channels.

Your real estate marketing program should cover more than one channel or medium. When you combine multiple marketing channels to serve a common goal, you can accomplish more than if you simply used one form of marketing.

Here's a specific example using real estate postcards along with your website:

Real Estate Postcards + Website Lead Generation
Many real estate agents use postcards to promote themselves within their community. In fact, real estate postcards are one of the oldest forms of agent marketing. Today, most agents who use postcards also have websites -- personal marketing websites designed to help them attract clients and grow their market share.

But many of these same agents fail to combine the two marketing channels as effectively as they might. I know this for a fact, because I've worked for the two postcard marketing companies -- one of which catered almost exclusively to the real estate industry.

Missing the Real Estate Postcard Connection
After being exposed to thousands of real estate postcards daily over a long period of time, I've learned one thing above all else. Most real estate agents are not combining their postcards and websites as effectively as they could.

In fact, the most common "call to action" I saw on real estate postcards was the ubiquitous "Learn more at www.whatever..." Not a single reason was given to visit the websites, other than the exciting opportunity to "learn more." Yawn.

With small adjustments to their strategies, these same agents could probably have doubled their response rates -- at least. Now I ask you, if you could double your postcard response rates, wouldn't a little extra effort be worthwhile? Of course it would!

Make People Want to Visit
Instead of simply saying "learn more at my website," what if the postcard recipient had a really good reason for visiting the website? And what if, upon reaching the website, they were captivated by what they found and wanted the big "prize" mentioned on the real estate postcard? And what if they offered up their contact info in exchange for said prize ... and revisited the website again in the future .. and sent the web link to their friends in the area?

I'll tell you what if. You would have (A) some viable leads to follow up on, (B) some free word-of-mouth marketing and PR, and (C) the beginnings of a postcard-to-website lead generation program that you could use, modify and repeat well into the future.

What Would Your Audience Truly Desire?
Aside from the logistics, the key to this real estate postcard marketing strategy is the "prize." To come up with a prize, you simply have to determine what your target audience would really want. I mean what they would really, really want! Information works great, provided it's done properly and not in a lazy or lackluster fashion.

I'm not talking about the "Ten Home Buying Tips" kind of reports here. I'm talking about creating a web-based resource with a login requirement (leads) ... or a high-value information report on the local school system, delivered by email (leads) ... or ... you get the picture. You provide something or real value in exchange for the opportunity to communicate with a prospective client. Your real estate postcards simply initiate the exchange.

When combined effectively, real estate postcards and websites can make powerful marketing partners. But when used independently of each other, they will never live up to their full potential.

* Copyright 2007, Brandon Cornett. You may republish this article online if you retain the byline and the live hyperlinks below.